I have been somewhat dreading today for the last ten days. On this, National Stuffing Day, and nearing the biggest stuffing holiday of them all, Thanksgiving, I was completely unable to track down a seasoned stuffing loaf...even Amazon didn’t have it! Have you ever used this type of loaf before? Have you been able to find it this year? Growing up, the night before Thanksgiving, my mom would task my dad and me to rip apart this now seemingly extinct loaf into bite-sized morsels so she had one less thing to do on turkey day.
I wanted to share a little tradition, and family recipe, with you all, but how could I do so without using a fresh loaf? I’ve never used the boxed stuff, and why would I buy tiny, cubed stale bread when I could make. . .that’s it! I decided this morning to attempt to make my own seasoned loaf of bread, as opposed to try and cook with something I have absolutely no experience with nor desire to ever use: dried cubes of bread. Yes, it took much longer than normal, but hey, that’s never stopped me before and the bread turned out pretty much exactly like what I remember, just in a different shape.
I set out to gussy-up a focaccia loaf. I had to add much more dried herbs than I would ever normally be comfortable with (not to mention bake it longer than you normally would) and I had to make an adjustment or two to my overall family stuffing recipe. But, this smelled just like the loaf I grew up using and the stuffing came out great. As you can see, I also got my girls in on the ripping action, passing down a tradition that now spans, at least, 3 generations.
By the way, did you know that stuffing is only really “stuffing” once it gets shoved into a bird - or other cavernous creature? Otherwise, it should be called dressing. It’s ok, though. Go ahead and call it stuffing anyway because people will look at you like you’re a weirdo if you refer to stuffing as dressing, or possibly pass along something for your salad. But, it will be a nice piece of food trivia to share with your family or friends. Plus, if you use stuffing in your chosen fowl, it will take longer to cook and may come out mushy, or worse, have uncooked poultry dripping contained within, potentially messing with your digestive system for a few days. So, if you want that real soft, juicy interior texture, just add an extra ¾ cup of stock to the bowl.
Turkey Stuffing/Dressing
Seasoned Stuffing Bread (see recipe below)
1 lb sage sausage roll
1 lb sweet Italian sausage
1 box of chicken stock
Extra-virgin olive oil
6 stalks celery
1 large onion
1 lb mushrooms (button or baby bella)
2 green apples
3 cloves of garlic
1 bunch of parsley
1 stick of butter
Lemon, finely grated/zested
⅓ cup pine nuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 375. Dice or tear the bread into roughly 1 inch cubes and place in a large bowl. If using pine nuts, toast them lightly in a skillet and set aside for later. In a large, non-stick pan, brown the sausage, removing it with a slotted spoon, and set it aside on a paper-towel lined plate.
Meanwhile, in a separate pot, bring the chicken stock to a boil then lower the heat to keep warm.
In the empty pan you cooked the sausage, add a tablespoon of evoo, and saute the diced onion and celery, adding some salt and pepper. Meanwhile dice the mushrooms. When cool enough, chop the sausage fine and add to the cubed bread along with the pine nuts.
Once the veggies are soft, add the diced mushrooms and cook for another 5 mins or so until the mushrooms soften. Afterward, stir in the garlic until fragrant. Then add the skinned, diced apple, chopped parsley and cubed butter to the pan and cook until the butter is melted.
Add the vegetables to the bread and sausage mixture. Stir in the zest of the lemon. Add all but ¾ cup of the warm chicken stock, gently stirring so the bread absorbs the stock. Add more stock if desired.
Butter a 13x9 pan, pour in the dressing/stuffing mixture and bake uncovered for 45 mins until the top gets crusty.
Seasoned Stuffing Bread
Russet potato
1 ½ tsp instant yeast
3 ½ cups flour
1 cup warm water, approximately 110 degrees, divided
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 ¼ tsp salt
½ cup dried Herbs de Provence
1 cup dried Italian Seasoning (Herbs)
1 tbsp celery salt
½ tbsp garlic powder
½ tbsp onion powder
Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Peel and quarter the potato and drop into the pot, simmer for about 30 minutes. Drain and using a box grater or a potato ricer, process the potato into small pieces.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl of a Kitchen Aid or similar mixer, stir the yeast and a ½ cup each of the flour and warm water together until incorporated. Cover and let the starter do its thing for about 25 minutes. Afterward, add in the remaining flour, herbs, seasonings, riced potato, a ½ cup of warm water and salt to the starter and stir to combine, using the paddle attachment on low speed about 30 seconds. Once combined, process the dough with the hook attachment on speed setting 4 for five minutes. Transfer the dough to a large oiled bowl. Cover and let sit in a warm place for 60 minutes to rise.
After the initial rise, lightly oil a baking sheet and transfer the dough to it, quickly stretching the dough out toward the corner and sides of the baking sheet. Cover with damp dish towels and let it rise again for about an hour.
Preheat your oven to 475. When the dough has fully rested, dimple the dough using all of your finger tips. Drizzle generously with olive oil. Season with some kosher salt. Bake, uncovered for 30 minutes or more until the focaccia is browned. Transfer to a rack to cool.
______________________________ Copyright 2020, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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