Reuben bread

This particular experiment makes use of two different microorganisms: a yeast culture is used for the bread making, and a bacterial one for the lactic fermentation of cabbage. While I have made sauerkraut in the past, for this recipe I used some fresh sauerkraut from the local Deli, as the canned ones are less crunchy.

This recipe makes a delicious, filling meal and keeps well if frozen. I skipped the rye flour in favor of a simple, all-purpose, unbleached type.

Ingredients
Dough:
1.25 cups warm water
1 tbsp olive oil
2.75-3 cups flour
1 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp ground caraway seeds
1/2 tbsp honey

Filling:
1/3 cup thousand island or russian dressing
1/4 pound thin-sliced corned beef
1/4 pound thin-sliced Swiss cheese
1.5 cups well drained sauerkraut
1 egg white

Preparation
Mix the warm water, olive oil and honey in a large bowl. Add the caraway seed, yeast and 1.5 cups of flour to the mixture. Blend well and allow to rest for 10 minutes uncovered. Add in the salt and the remaining flour half a cup at a time, mixing each time flour is added. When it becomes hard to mix with a spoon, pour onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough for 5-6 minutes adding small amounts of flour as required.

When the dough is smooth and elastic, a little on the sticky side, add a little bit of oil to a clean bowl. Form the dough into a ball and turn it around in the bowl to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 1 hour.

At this point, get all your ingredients for the filling. Lightly flour a surface and pour out the dough onto it. Knead a few times and roll out into a 9 by 11 inch rectangle. Leaving two inches on all sides free, spread half of the thousand island dressing onto the dough. Layer the meat and cheese on top, and spread the remaining dressing on top of the cheese. Cover with the sauerkraut.

Now cut around 1/2 inch wide strips along the long sides of the dough. Fold up the edges that remain on the short side and cover the top by pulling the strips onto the filling.

Brush the top with the whipped egg white. You can sprinkle caraway seeds on the top.

Line a cookie sheet with baking paper, or just dust it with cornmeal ahead of time. Move the bread onto it and allow to rest for 30 minutes. This can be tricky, you may need two people or a pizza peel to move the bread. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 375F.

When the 30 minutes are up, bake the bread for 30-40 minutes, until the top turns golden brown. Cool on a cookie rack.

Slice and serve with more thousand island dressing!