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Pane Bianco Loaf

Pane Bianco With Sun Dried Tomatoes, Cheese, Garlic and Basil

An Italian soft white bread filled with cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and fresh basil. Beautiful, delicious and easy to make.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 10 minutes
Course breads
Cuisine Italian
Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients
  

For the Dough:

  • 1 tsp active dried or instant yeast
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1/8 cup lukewarm water
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/4 cup lukewarm milk

For the Filling:

  • 1/2 cup grated cheese of choice
  • 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes chopped
  • 1 to 2 cloves garlic minced, or 3/4 to 1 tsp garlic paste
  • 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
  • 1/8 cup chopped fresh basil

Instructions
 

Make the dough:

  • If using active dried yeast, activate the yeast separately with the sugar and warm water. Once it is frothy add it to the dry ingredients. Put all the dry ingredients for the dough into a bowl or the bowl of your kneading machine. Mix together and add yeast mixture if using active dried yeast. Now add the oil and the warm milk and knead till you have a soft dough that will be just slightly sticky.
  • If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much) and knead till required consistency. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in an oiled bowl, coating well. Cover and let it rise till double in volume (about 1 to 1 1/2 hours).

In the meanwhile get the ingredients for the filling together.

  • If using dried tomatoes in oil, drain them well before chopping them into pieces. If you use garlic paste like I did, mix it with some of the oil from the tomatoes. Also chop the fresh basil into smaller pieces.
  • Gently deflate the dough. Lightly pat to flatten the dough or lightly roll it out into an 11" x 8 1/2" rectangle. If using garlic paste, brush the garlic oil mixture evenly over the surface of the dough. Otherwise evenly spread the cheese, tomatoes, garlic, and basil over the dough.
  • Starting with one long edge, roll the dough into a log. Seal the edge well and then pinch the edges to seal. Place the log seam-side down on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Using kitchen shears start 1/2" from one end and cut the log lengthwise along the centre, about 1" deep, up to 1/2" of the other end. Keeping the cut side up, bend both edges form "S" shapes. Tuck both ends under the centre of the "S". Your shaped dough should resemble a "figure 8;" pinch the ends together to seal.
  • Loosely cover and allow the dough to rise until double in size (about an hour). Bake the bread at 180C (350F) for about 35 to 40 minutes till golden brown and cooked. If the bread seems to browning too quickly, loosely cover it with foil after about 20 minutes of baking.
  • When done cool the bread on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. This Pane Bianco will keep , well-wrapped, at room temperature for a couple of days.