Creative Oyster Loaf Recipes

SAN FRANCISCO OYSTER LOAF

Steps:

• Slice the bread in half, lengthwise and scoop out the soft center from the lower half. Save for other use in other dishes. Place both halves of loaf on a baking sheet, cut side up.
• Melt butter in a small sauce pan and blend in onion, garlic, thyme, basil, paprika and cayenne. Brush 2/3 of the butter mixture over cut edges of the bread, covering completely. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes or until slightly browned.
• Rinse oysters in cold water and drain. Mix egg, salt and pepper in small bowl. dip oysters into egg mixture then coat with cracker crumbs. Saute in butter until golden brown.
• Fill lower half of loaf with oyster filling, cover with top of loaf and brush with seasoned butter (pour any remaining butter over the oyster filling).
• Bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes. Cut into 6 diagonal pieces and garnish each piece with parsley and a lemon wedge. Have Tabasco or Red's hot sauce available for those who desire.
• Serve hot.

OYSTERS BIENVILLE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Spread a 1/2-inch thick layer of rock salt on a large baking sheet and across the bottoms of 2 large plates. Set aside.
• Fry the bacon until just crisp in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, salt, and cayenne and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and butter, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until the butter melts. Add the flour, and stirring slowly and constantly, cook for 2 minutes. Add the milk and wine and stir to blend.
• Reduce the heat to medium, then add the mushrooms and shrimp. Stir and fold to mix and cook until the mixture is thick, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the Parmesan, lemon juice, green onions and parsley and stir to blend.
• Remove from the heat, add the egg yolk, and blend well. Let cool to room temperature.
• Arrange the reserved oyster shells on the prepared baking sheet. Put 1 oyster in each shell and top with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the sauce, spreading the sauce evenly out to the edges of the shell to completely cover the oyster. (Alternatively, pipe the sauce over the oysters.) Bake until the sauce is lightly browned and the oysters begin to curl around the edges, about 20 minutes.
• Using tongs or a spatula, carefully transfer the hot shells to the salt-covered plates and serve immediately.

THREE-SEED CROWN LOAF

Steps:

• Measure the water and honey in a bowl and sprinkle the yeast on the top. Let the yeast sit for a couple of minutes to activate it. Add 2 cups of the flour, salt, gluten, dough enhancer, and 4 tablespoons of the sunflower oil to the yeast mixture and mix well. Slowly add the rest of the flour (approximately 6 cups) to the mixture until a soft, moist dough is formed and the dough no longer clings to the outside of the bowl. You may need a little more or less flour. Knead the dough until gluten is formed (it is critical that the gluten be formed or you will get a heavy bread). The dough should be smooth and spring back when pressed, about 8 to 10 minutes. You can also check to see if gluten is formed by doing the "window test". The window test is when the dough can be stretched and it doesn't break, but will stretch and create a translucent membrane or window.
• Rub 1 teaspoon of sunflower oil around a large bowl. Turn the dough in the oil, then cover the bowl and let dough stand until double, about 1 hour.
• While dough is rising, lightly grease a 12-inch deep Dutch Oven. When dough has doubled, turn out dough and shape it into a round even ball. Cut the ball into 8 equal wedges. Combine 2 of the wedges into a ball and place in the middle of the Dutch oven for the larger middle ball of the crown. Form the remaining 6 wedges into individual balls. Lightly beat the egg in a small bowl to make the egg glaze. Brush each of the balls in egg glaze and then dip 2 balls in poppy seeds, 2 balls in sesame seeds, and 2 balls in sunflower seeds. Place each set of balls on the opposite side of the middle ball so that you have the different balls alternating around the outside of the middle ball or Dutch oven (eg. Going around the circle, it may go poppy, sesame, sunflower, poppy, sesame, and sunflower.) Let the dough rise until just about double again inside the Dutch oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake until golden brown, about 40 minutes to 1 hour.
• Notes: To get lighter dough you can substitute about 1/2 of your whole-wheat flour with white flour. However, you can still get remarkably light dough using all whole-wheat flour if you add the dough enhancer and gluten and make sure your gluten is properly formed during the kneading process. Adding the enhancer and gluten were tricks learned from my mother who raised us on home made whole-wheat bread. I have yet to find a better way to get whole-wheat bread as light and fluffy as this.

OYSTER AND SPINACH LOAF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F and butter a loaf pan.
• Melt butter in a large skillet, add onions, celery and garlic and cook over medium high heat, stirring until vegetables soften.
• Add spinach, cream, hot sauce, nutmeg and salt.
• Cook 5 minutes, stirring often.
• Remove pan from heat, stir in bread crumbs, eggs and oysters, stirring until well mixed.
• Spoon mixture into the prepared loaf pan.
• Set pan in a larger baking dish and add about 1 1/2 inchs of boiling water.
• Bake 45-50 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

CHESAPEAKE OYSTER LOAF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Cut top crust of bread off and scoop out inside.
• Butter 1/3 of the scooped out bread and toast in the oven.
• Fry oysters in butter; add cream, celery, pepper, salt, Tabasco and toasted bread.
• Fill the hollowed loaf with this mixture, cover with top crust and bake for 20 minutes, basting often with oyster liquor.
• Slice and serve hot.

OYSTER LOAF SANDWICH

Steps:

• To make the tartar sauce: (see note above for short cut) Place yolks (or egg beaters), 1 tablespoon oil, lemon juice, mustard and cayenne in food processor or blender and blend or process to combine. With machine running add the remaining oil (7 tablespoons) and process until thick. Transfer tartar sauce to a small bowl and stir in remaining sauce ingredients (green onions - salt. (*sauce can be prepared two days ahead and refrigerated).
• To prepare bread for sandwiches: using a long serrated knife, cut loaves in half length-wise. Remove centers from each half, leaving a 1-inch shell. Place bread centers in clean processor or blender and using on/off turns, process until crumbs are fine. Transfer to pie dish or medium bowl and stir in dry breadcrumbs.
• To prepare oysters: set up three pie dishes or bowls for dipping. Pie dish 1: whisk eggs and milk together in dish, set aside. Pie dish 2: pour in flour and set aside. Pie dish 3: bread crumbs.
• Season oysters with salt and pepper and then dredge in flour, patting off excess, dip in egg mixture and then roll in the breadcrumbs. Repeat for all oysters (or see note above and use other or a combination of shell fish) and then refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Place bread halves on cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
• Heat oil in skillet or deep fryer to 375°F.
• Deep fry oysters in batches until crisp and golden brown, turning occasionally (3-5 minutes). Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
• To make sandwiches: spread the tartar sauce (see note above in description) on insides of each bread half, sprinkle with lettuce over the bottom halves and then top with tomato slices and finally top with oysters. Cover loaves with top halves of the bread. Cut each loaf into thirds.