Braided bread stuffed with Paneer (Cottage cheese)

Hello everyone, today I have a very interesting and beautiful looking bread recipe. It was an experiment in my kitchen last night and yes I did it :). I would say that it might look very difficult to you but believe me I found it to be easiest of all. 

These days in CAL we are just talking about the yeast behaviors and variety of breads that can be made. In this regard we planned for an event for 3 days, in which every interested person would submit his/her thoughts, pics, recipes and many more in it. Hence I was fully motivated to start up with this beauty. Second comes the filling part, this is the most adjustable part of the recipe as you can stuff any thing weather sweet or savoury. I planned to make it a vegetarian savoury version and for me Paneer with colourful bell peppers was the best option. It has a nice crunchy crust and inside its quite soft and have all the flavours. So here is the ingredient list following the method :)

Ingredients for the dough :

• All purpose flour/Maida - 2 cups
• Active dry yeast - 1 + 1/2 tsp
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Water - 1/2 cup (Luke warm)
• Milk - 1/4 cup (Luke warm)
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Egg + 1 tbsp of milk for glazing (You can use only milk as well and omit egg)

Ingredients for paneer filling :

• Paneer/Cottage cheese - 300 gms 
• Bell peppers/capsicum - 1 cup chopped finely (If possible use multicolour)
• Onions - 1/2 cup
• Tomatoes - 3/4 cup (finely chopped)
• Ginger/Garlic - 1 tbsp (finely chopped)
• Fresh Coriander - 3 tbsps
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Red chilli flakes - 1 tsp (or as per the taste)
• Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp
• Salt - as per the taste
• Oil - 2 tbsps

Method :

Preparing the Filling :

• In a pan take oil, add ginger garlic and saute, when done add onions and saute till light brown. Now add the bell peppers, tomatoes, dry spices, salt and mix well. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes and then add crumbled or grated paneer, mix well cook for a minute more, add chopped coriander and let it cool.

For the Dough & bread :

• Starting up with the dough, combine together yeast, Lukewarm water and sugar in a bowl, stir and keep aside for 10-15 minutes or until it starts to froth. Once you see a frothy texture that means the yeast is ready to use. Now in a bowl take all purpose flour and salt, mix and knead the dough with yeast mixture and milk as well. Try to knead a soft dough. the quantity of milk can be adjusted. When the dough is almost done apply oil and again knead. Knead the dough for approximately 8-10 minutes or unless you get a nice soft and smooth dough.
• Place the dough in a large greased bowl and brush the top with oil, cover with a kitchen towel and leave aside to rise in a warm place until doubled in volume. The best place I find is my oven keeping its light on (for about 1-1 1/2 hours).
• Once risen, punch down the dough and divide this into 2 equal parts and shape them into smooth flat balls. 
• Now with the help of a rolling pin roll them to a rectangle with 1/4 " of thickness and place the filling in the center (just spreading it in appx 2" of an area. 
• Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut each side into strips about 1" wide down each side, leaving the center with filling uncut.
• Fold strips of dough into the center, crisscrossing the filling by alternating strips from each side. 
• Lightly press ends to seal, and straighten out the braid with your hands, if necessary, to straighten.
• I was in a hurry last night so forgot to take the process pics. Hence found same kind on Google and sharing it with you all. 

Note : the picture shown below is not at all mine, but its just for your reference, Courtesy : Google images

• Beat an egg with milk and apply gently with a brush on the top of the braid. Also you can sprinkle some sesame seeds if you like. Transfer it to a baking sheet and bake the braid in a preheated oven at 200 ° C for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Enjoy !!!!!

Note :

• Filling can be completely of your choice, weather vegetarian or non vegetarian.
• Be careful while transferring the braided bread onto the baking sheet, or you can roll the bread on a baking paper and lift it to keep on the sheet.
• If you are not an egg eater, then simply apply mil.
• The size of the bread depends on you, if you want you can make even 3 braids out of this dough.
• 50% of whole wheat flour can also be used.

Please do share your experiences and feedback with me in the below section of comments or on my Facebook page. I too have a You Tube channel please do visit for all the video recipes. All the links mentioned below :) 

YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/user/cookwithpriyanka

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/cookwithpriyanka

Thanks & Happy Baking

Priyanka