Pork Sausage Plait with Caramelized Onion (serves four)
Ingredients
Basic bread dough
250g strong bread flour
5g salt
10g caster sugar
1 teaspoon mustard powder
50g mature English Cheddar cheese, grated
15g fresh yeast
160ml warm water
Black-gowned peppercorns to season
Sausage meat
500g pack of sausagemeat or eight butchers sausages, skinned
1 large red onion, sliced
1tbs brown sugar
1tbs oil
Method
1. Place the flour, salt, sugar, mustard powder and grated cheese into a large mixing bowl.
2. Dissolve the yeast into the warm water and combine with the dry ingredients to form a rough, sticky dough.
3. Knead well on a lightly floured worktop for 10 minutes until smooth and silky.
4. Return your dough back to the mixing bowl and cover with a tea towel allowing to prove and rise well for one hour. At this stage you can prepare the caramelized onions.
5. Once risen well, roll out the dough with a little dusting flour to a large rectangle 26cm x 30cm, the thickness of a pound coin. If the corners are round simply give them a little tug to square them off.
6. Roll out the prepared sausagemeat with a little flour to just short of the length of the rolled out dough, leaving a gap of 5cm at the top and bottom. Tuck the ends under the plait for a professional finish.
7. Cut the sides of the rectangle diagonally about 10 times, egg-wash and start to plait the dough tightly till all the sausagemeat is encased.
8. Place the sausage plait onto a well-buttered baking tray, egg-wash and sprinkle freshly-ground black pepper on top.
9. Bake in a preheated oven 190C/gas mark 6 for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown.
10. Best eaten hot from the oven or serve cold with a picnic.
Caramelised onions
1. Peel and cut the onion into small pieces.
2. Place the prepared onion into a large pan with the oil and very slowly cook them on a low heat stirring with a wooden spoon.
3. After five minutes add the brown sugar and keep stirring steadily till you have a dark, deep, caramelized colour.
4. Allow to cool slightly before combining well with the sausagemeat in the pan with a wooden spoon.
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