Sweet-chilli pull-apart

At the sourdough workshop on Saturday, I made a Sweet-chilli pull-apart, for tasting. I'd love to have demonstrated it, but 2 hours wasn't nearly long enough. People may have burned their mouths, on the hot capsicum, after it came out of the oven. So I promised to write a tutorial, on how to make it.

First, start with your basic white sourdough recipe, found here. Once the dough has adequate time to double in size, you're ready to start preparing the pull-apart loaf. It's called a Pull-apart (also known as a Peasant loaf) because the way it's cut and shaped, makes it easier to pull apart by hand. For this reason, it's a great savoury, to take on a picnic or road-trip.

Ready to begin

Remove your ball of dough from the bowl, and give it a light knead. Then reshape the ball, again.

Split

Using the largest, sharpest knife you have, cut the ball into, two separate, but equal pieces. This will make two loaves.

Flatten

Using a rolling pin, flatten to approximately 30cms long, and 25cms wide. It should be approximately 5-6mm thick. It needs to fit on a large baking tray.

Time to add the filling...

Ingredients:

• sweet-chill jam
• dried garlic flakes
• 1/2 red, & 1/2 green capsicum (thinly sliced)
• sliced salami (omit if you want vegetarian)
• grated mozzarella

A mix of red, green and gold, roasted capsicum

Spread the base with Sweet-Chilli Jam (if you cannot make your own, buy a suitable replacement) then sprinkle with garlic flakes. Layer capsicum onto dough. I used roasted capsicum I made previously, for the loaf above, but used fresh capsicum for the workshop tasting. Both are suitable. Just be sure to drain liquid off, if roasted and contained in oil.

Vegetarian filling

Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Not too heavy, or too light. Just enough to cover the base. You can add the salami now, if you're going to use it.

 Omnivore filling

Once all the fillings are down, you'll appreciate why we didn't go too heavy on the cheese. Because now comes the slightly tricky part...

Roll

Using a scraper, or suitable spatula with a fine edge, tease dough from counter, and gradually roll-up like a swiss roll. Work your way up, the length of the sausage with your scraper, then roll, and repeat. Until you reach the end. Don't try this, if your dough has over-proved or otherwise, too sticky. You'll have a fine mess on your hands!

So make sure, if you're going to make this loaf, your dough is, "just right".

Seam down

Place your roll onto a baking tray, lined with parchment paper. Make sure the seam is facing downwards. Then find the biggest, most sturdy pair of scissors you have in the house, and...

Cut

Cut into the roll, on an angle, approximately every inch. You'll need to cut all the way through, except for a small section, on the base. You should get 7-8 segments, to a roll.

Separate

Then nudge each segment out, alternate to the adjoining one, like a fan. These are your pull-apart segments, that will bake into one loaf, at the end.

Bunch together

Final step is to nudge the segments closer together, so they're laying on top of one another. Gently start at one end, pushing segments closer to the centre. Repeat from the other end. Your pull-apart segments should be bunched up, but not spilling the filling.

Now prove in your oven, set to 50 degrees Cecilius, with a shallow bowl of water at the base - anywhere from 50-60 minutes. It should double in size.

Extra cheese

Remove from oven, and sprinkle liberally with more mozzarella cheese. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180-200, fan-forced (200-220 conventional oven, or gas mark 6-7). When fully heated, place back into oven, and bake for 20-25 minutes. Turn tray, half way through baking.

It's ready to come out, when it's a consistent, golden brown colour. If it's pale on the edges (near the base) you'll want to bake 5-10 minutes more.

Finished ~ click to enlarge

Slide onto a cooling rack, as soon as you get it out of the oven. It should slide easily, off the parchment paper. The hard part is waiting 30 minutes to an hour, before eating. As you don't want to scold your mouth on hot capsicum.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment at the end.

Enjoy!