Picnic Basket Bread

"My aunt has been making this wonderful bread for years. You can make it ahead and serve it cold. It makes a great appetizer, and is wonderful left over. It also travels well, and is a hit at pot-lucks!"
 
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photo by GaylaJ photo by GaylaJ
photo by GaylaJ
Ready In:
1hr
Ingredients:
11
Yields:
1 loaf
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ingredients

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directions

  • Preheat oven to 375°.
  • Mix cheese, spinach, chicken, onion, and 1/4 teaspoon salt for filling.
  • Set aside.
  • Dissolve yeast in 1 cup warm water.
  • Mix yeast mixture, sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 cup flour in a mixing bowl.
  • Gradually add 1 1/2 cups flour to dough.
  • Knead dough until smooth, using other 1/2 cup flour if dough is sticky.
  • Roll dough into a 16 x 10-inch rectangle.
  • Spread filling down the middle of dough.
  • Bring dough edges together and seal.
  • Place seam-side down on lightly greased cookie sheet.
  • Brush bread with egg white and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
  • Bake at 375° for 40 minutes.
  • Serve warm, or cool and refrigerate.

Questions & Replies

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Reviews

  1. We really love this! I made it last summer, following the recipe as written, and it was very good. I just made it again yesterday with a few changes to suit our tastes, and it was fantastic. First, since I had time, I did allow the dough a good rise before forming the loaf. (I think the texture was better and the flavor more developed.) I subbed Provolone for the Swiss and added 2 cloves of minced garlic to the filling. To me, spinach screams for garlic :), and it just seemed to be missing something without it. Anyway, I think this is a fun recipe and is practically a meal in itself. Thanks so much for posting!
     
  2. Tastes and looks amazing. It would be a nice present.
     
  3. This is my go to picnic recipe. Its also awesome for the weekend when everyone is "grazing." It travels exceptionally well and is still good when only somewhat warm.
     
  4. I made this for dinner tonight. Super easy to make, I used my bread maker for the dough, keeping an eye on the flour requirements as it mixed it, and pulling it out before the rise. I just put the ingredients in according to my manufacturer's directions. This is SO tasty and beautiful as well! I would give it more stars if I could.
     
  5. The last time I made this, I pretty much followed the recipe and it was very good. Today I made it again using cheddar cheese, canned albicore instead of the chicken (1 to 2 6oz. cans), onion powder instead of the chopped onions, and plendty of dry roasted garlic. It was fabulous. I doubled the recipe because I was taking it on a picnic with guests and didn't want to run short, but the 5 of us ate exactly 1 loaf.
     
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Tweaks

  1. Delicious and easy to put together. I made this for a picnic lunch and got rave reviews from the whole group. I used 2C cheddar cheese instead of the swiss and parm, added a clove of garlic and let the dough rise 30 min. as another reviewer suggested. Also I used 1 C whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 C unbleached all purpose white flour for the dough. It turned out great and I'm already trying to think of when I can make it again. Update: Made it again with leftover Thanksgiving turkey- we'll have it for lunches next week.
     
  2. At first I was apprehensive that you didn't have to let the dough rise, but it still turned out great. I made a few adjustments: used canned mushrooms instead of the spinach,did a mix of leftover roast chicken and vienna sausage, and added chopped parsley for color. The filling could use more seasonings I think: I'd probably do a mix of cooked chicken and ham next time, mix of mushrooms and spinach, then probably throw in some chopped garlic and red pepper flakes for a little heat. Also don't forget to brush the entire dough with egg white so you get a nice even brown color.
     
  3. We really love this! I made it last summer, following the recipe as written, and it was very good. I just made it again yesterday with a few changes to suit our tastes, and it was fantastic. First, since I had time, I did allow the dough a good rise before forming the loaf. (I think the texture was better and the flavor more developed.) I subbed Provolone for the Swiss and added 2 cloves of minced garlic to the filling. To me, spinach screams for garlic :), and it just seemed to be missing something without it. Anyway, I think this is a fun recipe and is practically a meal in itself. Thanks so much for posting!
     

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