Chef Johns Salami Bread Recipes

CHEF JOHN'S WHITE BREAD

Steps:

• Pour warm milk into a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Sprinkle yeast on top and let dissolve until a few small bubbles begin to a form, 10 to 15 minutes. Add beaten egg, sugar, vinegar, baking soda, salt, cayenne, flour, and butter.
• Knead on low speed until dough begins to come together. Increase speed slightly and knead about 3 minutes more. Use a spatula to scrape the sides clean and gather the dough into the center. Cover and let rise until doubled in volume, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Butter a spatula and a loaf pan. Scrape the dough into the pan using the spatula. Smooth out the top to distribute dough evenly. Dust the top with flour and press gently to even out the dough. Let rise in pan for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Use a sharp knife or razor to cut a deep slash lengthwise through the center of the loaf. You may need to go over it several times. Brush the top with most of the melted butter.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes.
• Brush hot loaf with remaining butter. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool for at least 1 hour before slicing.

CHEF JOHN'S CUBAN BREAD

Steps:

• Combine 1/2 cup warm water, 1/2 teaspoon yeast, and 1/2 cup flour in a bowl or measuring cup. Whisk the starter until well blended. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• Place 1 package active dry yeast and 2 teaspoons sugar in a mixing bowl. Pour in 3/4 cup warm water. Let rest 15 minutes to ensure yeast is alive (bubbles will form on surface). Add lard and salt to bowl; add 1 cup of the flour. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated and dough forms a sticky ball. Add the starter (reserving 1/4 cup if you want to keep the starter going, if desired. Otherwise add it all.). Sprinkle most of the rest of the flour on the dough, reserving 1/2 cup to be used if needed when kneading.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until dough comes together in a firm ball, adding additional flour only as needed. Dough should be soft and supple with just a bit of tackiness on the surface.
• Place dough in a bowl and coat surface with a little vegetable oil. Cover bowl with a damp kitchen towel and place in a warm spot to rise. Let rise until at least doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and sprinkle with a little cornmeal.
• Transfer dough onto lightly floured surface. Lightly press the dough into a rectangle with your lightly floured hands. Divide dough in half and press and shape each half into a long 1/2-inch thick rectangle about 12 inches long. Roll up tightly starting at the long end to form a skinny loaf. Flatten a bit. Transfer each loaf to a prepared baking sheet and dust with a bit of flour. Cover with a light, dry towel and let rise until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Cut a 1/4-inch deep slit down the top of the loaves with a sharp knife or razor. Mist loaves lightly with water.
• Place pans in pre-heated oven, one pan on lower rack, one on higher rack. After 10 minutes, switch pan positions. Continue to bake until loaves are golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Transfer loaves to cooling rack and let cool to room temperature before slicing.

CHEF JOHN'S ZUCCHINI BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously butter two loaf pans.
• Mix kosher salt into zucchini and let sit for 10 minutes. Transfer to a strainer and rinse very thoroughly under cold water to remove salt. Let drain for 15 to 20 minutes before using.
• Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cayenne, and nutmeg together in a mixing bowl. Reserve until needed.
• Combine eggs, sugar, and vanilla in another large mixing bowl, and whisk until mixture is smooth and turns a pale yellow, about 1 minute. Grab a handful of the drained zucchini with both hands and squeeze out any excess water before transferring into the egg-sugar mixture. Repeat until all the zucchini has been transferred in.
• Pour in melted butter and stir until combined. Stir walnuts into the batter, followed by the flour mixture. Use a spatula to mix until the flour disappears.
• Transfer into the prepared loaf pans. Tap pans on the countertop to settle the batter.
• Bake in the center of the preheated oven until golden brown on top and a skewer poked in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan, and then turn out on to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before serving.

CHEF JOHN'S SAUSAGE ROLLS

Steps:

• Place ground pork, onions, garlic, sage, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, coriander, thyme, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl. Mix with a fork until ingredients are evenly distributed, 2 to 3 minutes. Divide mixture in half and place each half on a length of plastic wrap. Use your damp fingers to shape each half into a cylinder, approximately the same length as the puff pastry. Roll up in the plastic and form into a round roll. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Whisk egg with water to make the egg wash.
• Separate the semi-frozen puff pastry dough into thirds. Halve one of the thirds lengthwise. Bring pastry to room temperature. Brush a 2-inch strip of egg wash along 1 long edge of the 2 larger pastry pieces. Place the narrower pieces on the egg wash strip, overlapping about 1 inch, to make a wider piece of pastry dough. Press lightly to form 2 wide lengths of pastry dough.
• Transfer 2 sheets of dough to a lightly floured piece of parchment paper; dust tops lightly with flour. Cover with another sheet of parchment. Roll gently to achieve an even thickness. Remove top sheet of parchment. Flatten the longs edges of the dough slightly about 1 inch wide so that when the roll-up is completed, the seam side won't be thicker than the rest of the dough. Place a sausage log at the end of a pastry sheet. Begin to roll the sausage log in the pastry, brushing the far edge with egg wash before sealing the edges together. Place seam side down on parchment and place on a dish. Repeat with 2nd sausage roll. Freeze until dough firms up, about 10 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat.
• Place rolls on a lightly floured surface. Lightly brush top and sides with egg wash. Cut each roll into 8 pieces. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place on prepared baking sheet seam side down (standing up). Lightly press each roll to flatten it slightly so they don't fall over when baking.
• Place in preheated oven; bake until nicely browned, pastry is cooked through, and bottoms are browned, about 30 minutes.

CHEF JOHN'S ROSEMARY SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Place cold butter, sugar, rosemary, salt, and vanilla extract in bowl. Combine with the back of a spatula or spoon, slowly incorporating ingredients together until butter has softened somewhat and ingredients come together.
• Pour flour into bowl with butter mixture. Flour your hands to then incorporate flour into the butter, using fingertips and rubbing mixture together until flour-y crumbs become buttery crumbs, 1 to 2 minutes. Press mixture together into a dough ball.
• Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface. Press dough into a disk, then into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap. Flatten dough to 1/4-inch thick using a flat pan or rolling pin. Reshape into a rectangle.
• Cut dough lengthwise into 5 even strips about 1 inch wide, trimming extra dough if necessary. Cut each strip into 6 evenly sized squares. (You can roll out scraps to form more cookies if necessary). Transfer cookies to prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle each cookie with about a pinch of sugar. Using a fork, poke 4 rows of holes into each cookie.
• Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 50 minutes.
• Cool cookies 10 minutes on sheet; transfer cookies to rack to cool completely.

CHEF JOHN'S BOSTON CREAM PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Spray 2 (8-inch) cake pans with cooking spray.
• Stir yellow cake mix, 3 eggs, water, and vegetable oil in a bowl until moistened. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
• Divide cake batter between the two prepared cake pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cakes have risen and are lightly golden brown, 33 to 38 minutes. Check for doneness after 25 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes should come out clean. Allow cakes to cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the pans. Cool cakes completely, about 40 minutes.
• Whisk 3 eggs, cornstarch, and sugar in a large bowl until well mixed and lemon colored, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside.
• Heat 1 cup heavy whipping cream, whole milk, and 1/2 tablespoon butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to boil.
• Reduce heat to low; pour egg mixture into cream mixture and whisk until thick, about 1 minute.
• Pour egg and cream mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl; discard any chunks.
• Whisk vanilla and salt into the egg and cream mixture until combined. Cover with a layer of plastic wrap pressed against the surface. Chill in refrigerator to form a pastry cream texture, 3 to 4 hours.
• Place chocolate in a large bowl. Heat 1 teaspoon butter and 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream in a saucepan over medium heat until butter is melted. Pour cream mixture over chocolate and whisk until smooth. Set aside until cooled, but still pourable, about 20 minutes.
• Place one cake layer on a plate, flat side up. Spread pastry cream to within 1-inch of the edge of cake. Place second cake layer on top, rounded side up. Press gently to push pastry cream to the edge. Pour chocolate mixture over top of the cake and spread so it drips over the edge.