Sausage and Cheese Bread

The pool is open so the never-ending task of drying large towels and juggling vehicles so the homegirlz can get to work have kept me away.  Yes, both of the homegirlz are now gainfully employed!

Emeril Lagasse made Andouille Cheese Bread on a recent episode of Emeril Live and I was totally captivated.  Then he fried the bread and well let's just say the trance was broken.  I couldn't get the idea of sausage, cheese and bread out of my mind.  Over and over, I thought. Seriously, what's life without sausage, cheese and bread?

I really like this dough recipe.  It's one of the easiest dough recipes to work.  It's not sticky and very easy to roll out.  It can be used to make rolls, bread sticks or just some great sandwich bread.

So here's my version:

Sausage and Cheese Bread -

1 envelope dry yeast

2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons plus a litt5le extra Canola or vegetable oil
2 cups warm water (about 110 - 115 degrees F)
6 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of cup yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 pound ground  Polish Kielbasa (Andouille is the sausage of choice if you can get it and I bet hot Italian sausage would be phenomenal too!)
8 ounces grated white sharp cheddar cheese


Combine the yeast, sugar, and 2 tablespoons of the oil in the bowl of an electric mixer with a dough hook. Add the warm water. On stir or low, stir the mixture for about 4 minutes to dissolve the yeast. The yeast is supposed to foam at this point.  If you are sure your yeast isn't old and the mixture doesn't foam, don't  worry about it too much.  The mixture didn't foam for me and I've made this dough several times.  Each time, the dough has risen beautifully. 

While the yeast, water and sugar are making friends, get out a large mixing bowl and combine the flour, 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the cornmeal, and the salt. Once the yeast mixture has been stirred, SLOWLY add the mixed dry ingredients to the yeast mixture. Mix on the lowest speed until it the dry ingredients are blended in and then increase the speed to medium and mix and the dough starts to climby up the dough hook. This will happen very fast.

Coat another large mixing bowl the remaining oil.  Add the dough to the bowl  and turn the dough to coat it on all sides with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, set in a warm, draft-free place, and let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Cut up the sausage in very small pieces and brown it in a skillet over medium heat. Once the sausage has browned, remove from skillet using a slotted spoon and allow the sausage to drain and cool on a paper towel-lined platter.  Grate the cheese.

Prepare a 9x12 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Remove the dough from the bowl and turn it onto a lightly floured surface. Using your hands or a floured rolling pin, gently roll out the dough to a  rectangle, approximately 10" x 24". Sprinkle the cooked sausage over the dough, leaving about a 3/4" to 1" border on all sides.  Sprinkle the grated cheese over the sausage, the sprinkle with your favorite Creole or Cajun seasoning.

Carefully "jelly roll" the dough from the longest side and pinch the ends together.  Using a serrated knife, cut the ends off to where you can feel the sausage and cheese begins and discard or eat if you like raw dough.  Begin slicing the roll in to approximately 1/2" slices and place in prepared baking dish.

Cover the rolls once again with plastic wrap, place in a warm, draft-free place and allow to rise for 30 minutes.  Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.  You and anyone else in your home will begin pacing and tapping their finger tips waiting for this to come out of the oven because your house will be filled with a wonderful baked bread aroma.



The only thing I would add or change would be add more cheese and probably mix with a gooier cheese like fontina, Gruyere or mozzarella.  This just straight-up needs more cheese.

If you need to feel loved, make these soon.  By the way, one of these is a meal all by itself.