Russian Leek and Cheese Bread

We're back! Well, okay we didn't actually go anywhere but Blogger did last week for a few days. Posts vanished, comments died, who knows what else broke over in Google land, but its tough to complain about a free service. Anyways, Bloggers back, we're back, lets get back to work, starting with Russian Leek Bread, and a Mother's day recap. First off: Mother's Day was the other weekend and we hosted a surf and turf brunch of both families. Nothing beats lobster, tri-tip and mimosas at noon on a Sunday. Even the cat liked the menu. Or the menu liked the cat. We're still not sure about that one.
What we are sure about is that somewhere along the line Charisse decided that Russians all like Leeks. Confused? So was Eric but by the time he was done taking photos what Russians like didn't matter, what mattered was how quickly he could stuff this slice in his mouth. For those of you wondering, the answer is very quickly. Really though, Eric was sold as soon as he got the shopping list:

we need cream cheese 1 carton
goat cheese 1 log
sour cream get light 1 tub
ricotta cheese get 2% 1 tub


Seriously how could someone not get excited knowing that all of that will somehow combine with leeks and bread? 


Printable Recipe

Russian Leek and Cheese Bread
What You Will Need 

Dough

3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbs baking powder
1 3/4 cups sour cream (you can use light or regular)
1 egg yolk
1 tsp water

Filling

3 ounces cream cheese
4 ounces goat cheese
4 ounces ricotta cheese
1 Tbs butter
2 cups chopped leeks
1 clove of garlic minced
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375*

To make the filling melt the butter over medium heat and saute the leeks and garlic for a few minutes until softened. Let cool and mix in the cheeses and salt and pepper to taste, set aside

To make the dough, sift all of the dry ingredients together, mix in the sour cream. When the dough starts to come together, switch to kneading it until smooth. I had to add a bit more flour to mine so it wasn't so sticky. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes before rolling it out on a lightly floured surface to a 14 inch flat circle. Scoop the leek mixture onto the middle of the circle and spread out just a bit.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk and water to use as a wash. Fold each side of the dough over onto itself to create a square, leaving a smaller square opening on the top of the bread. Use the egg wash on each fold to help the bread hold together. Once all folded up, place on a baking sheet that has been sprinkled with a bit of cornmeal. Brush the entire dough surface with remaining egg wash.

Bake for 35 minutes and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

adapted from www.cookingbread.com