Korean Onion Bread (Yang PaBbang)

Blogging Marathon# 52: Week 4/ Day 2

Theme: Bookmarked Recipes

Dish: Korean Onion Bread from Varada's Kitchen
The second bread that I really wanted to bake right away was Varada's 'Korean Onion Bread'. It looked so colorful and interesting with the onion, pepper and cheese filling and topping. I remember seeing something similar in the local Korean bakery, which was another reason for me try it at home.
I made it for my Mother's day lunch and the entire loaf was gone by the end of the day. It looked and tasted delicious with the cheesy center and topping.

Original recipe had ham in it and Varada used red peppers instead. I think that was a brilliant idea because red pepper gave the bread a beautiful color and makes it taste hearty & yummy!!

The bread itself has a soft crumb and is quite tasty by itself. Since the veggies are added raw to the bread, it has to be baked longer and also left to finish cooking with the oven turned off. So make sure to follow the instructions carefully to have an evenly baked bread.

Recipe from here and here:
Ingredients: Makes 9"x5" loaf

For the dough:
Bread flour - 1cup
Wholewheat flour - 1cup (or just use 2cups of all purpose flour)
Yeast - 2tsp
Sugar - 2tbsp
Salt - ¾tsp
Unsalted Butter - 2tbsp, at room temperature
Lukewarm Milk - ¾cup

For the Topping & Filling:
Onion - 1 small, thinly sliced
Red Pepper - 1 small, thinly sliced
Mayonnaise - 1tbsp
Cilantro or Parsley - 10~15 leaves
Salt & pepper - to taste

Method:

• Combine all the dough ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl. Mix and knead until a smooth, shiny and satiny dough forms.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise for 1~1½hours or until doubled in volume.
• In the meantime prepare the filling/ topping. In a small bowl, combine red pepper strips and a little bit of salt. Set aside for 30~40 minutes to sweat.
• In another bowl, combine onions, cheese, some chopped herbs. 
• Squeeze the excess water from the red pepper, mix it with the onion mixture, season with salt and pepper. Set aside until the dough is doubled in volume.
• Gently deflate the dough and roll it out into a rectangle. Place ⅔rd of the filling mixture evenly in the center and fold the dough over the filling. Seal the edges by pinching the dough with fingers.
• Place the dough seam side down in a greased 9"x5" loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Brush the mayonnaise on top of bread and place the remaining filling mixture evenly on the top, sprinkle the remaining herbs.
• Bake the bread for about 40~45 minutes. Then turn off the oven and finish baking the bread for another 15 minutes.

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 52.