Spinach Bread

I forgot to take a picture of the lovely bread I made for our friends, but here is a photo of the beautiful flowers that they brought for us.




When we had friends over on the weekend, I made another version of this bread. I followed the same recipe, but for the filling I used Spinach, feta cheese, black olives, garlic and some fresh dill with the olive oil (salt and pepper to taste).

I wilted the spinach first. The garlic I chopped pretty fine, and didn’t pre-cook. This would have been really great, but I forgot how much spinach shrinks when it cooks. I used way too little. The flavor of the filling was really good, and the garlic was fine to use raw, but it was a very small strip of filling, and mostly bread. I’d say if you are using fresh spinach, you need a bag about the size of a large bed pillow.

My dad made a spinach version of this bread too. I made the original for him while he was out visiting, and he totally loved it. His version was with spinach and ricotta and garlic, but the garlic was precooked in some oil, that was also used in the filling. It came out really well.

This bread recipe really lends itself to just about any filling that you can think of. The bread has a great texture, and a beautiful, but entirely subtle flavor, so you can really get creative. I’m thinking of trying a version with some Indian potato and pea curry as a filling. My dad is thinking about making a version that is a giant Ruben sandwich. I’m in love with that idea, and if it comes out well, I might just corn another beef and try it too.