HBin5 Blueberry Bread with Lemon Ricotta Filling

One of my favorite combos is blueberries and lemon. When I had heard that this particular blueberry bread wasn't that well received (I would guess because it's not a sweet bread) I knew I would be disappointed. What could I do to make this dough really super yummy? Thats when I remembered my Whole Wheat Carrot Bread with a Cream Cheese Filling. Now that was super yummy! But I couldn't do the exact same thing now could I?

Of course not.

Lemons started dancing in my head and pulled out a jar of lemon curd...and a container of ricotta cheese and went for it.

Oh...before I get to far into this...let me tell ya, that this is the 14th Bread Braid of the HBin5 group headed by our wonderful leader, Michelle over at Big Black Dogs. Head on over there...check out what we're all up to and ya know.....you just might wanna join in on the shenanigans!

Back to blueberries. How fun does this dough look?

I made some slight changes to the original recipe. I halved the whole wheat flour (as is my preference) and replaced it with all purpose flour. I doubled the honey for sweetness... I don't think I really measured the blueberries. I figure, the more the merrier. Oh ya...did I mention that it was suppose to be mixed berries? I stuck with only blueberries, obviously.

After the first rise, I stuck it in the fridge over night. The dough is easier to handle after a good nights rest (aren't we all?)

I grabbed a good handful of dough and rolled it out into a rectangle. I spread some lemon curd in the center, trying to leave an even measurement of dough on each side.

Then I mixed up my ricotta cheese filling:

8 oz ricotta cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt (or a pinch)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
2 tablespoons softened butter
1-2 tablespoons flour

Mix all ingredients well. The flour was used to help thicken it up cuz it seemed to be a bit on the runny side. Hind site...you can probably halve this recipe and have plenty.

Spread enough mixture over the lemon curd to cover. Fold each end down about an inch.

Next I sliced strips about an inch wide along each side and folded the strips across the cheese filling as if I were folding the doughy arms...

You'll end up with a  nice little dough mummy

Brush the top with an egg / water mixture and sprinkle with raw sugar. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for about 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375' F 30 minutes before the dough is going to be baked. Slide onto a preheated baking stone and bake for about 45 minutes

It was good. But I think next time I'll use the cream cheese filling instead. Apparently my girls liked it though.

By the time I got home from work the next day...it was looooong gone!

There was another assignment as well. Whole Wheat Banana Bread. I didn't change the recipe at all. Well...except for my whole wheat - all purpose switch out. I didn't get a very good rise :(

It had a very nice banana flavor even though it was a little dense. But then again, even regular quick bread banana bread is dense. But I have to tell you....this bread, sliced thickly and toasted....smothered with butter and peanut butter is wooooooooonderfuuuuuul!!!

Do you ever wonder what to do when you have a very small amount of dough left in your container?

Why not roll it out and make cinnamon rolls with it?

They aren't as light and fluffy as your typical cinnamon roll...but they are delicious. I brushed some butter on the rolls before baking so make them more moist and soft. This particular batch was made with the master whole wheat dough. It had your typical crushed nuts, cinnamon and brown sugar in the middle. But I added some orange zest to the glaze. mmmmm

I still have a bit of blueberry dough left. I think I just might do a similar thing. Maybe not cinnamon...just nuts and brown sugar....and a lovely lemon glaze over the top.

I wish I had time in the morning to bake those babies up!

One more thing....

Reminder!! I'm having a GIVEAWAY!! I'm giving away an $80 gift certificate to shop online at any of the many many many CSN Stores. Check on my Morels, Soup and A Giveaway post for details! You have until 7/6/10 to enter. (open to US and Canadian residents only)

Good Luck!!!