Chrysanthemum Bread with Sausage, Pepperoni, and Mozzarella Cheese

My version of this Chrysanthemum Bread probably doesn't make you immediately think "that looks just like a flower!" It did look like a flower at one point, but then I tossed a handful of grated mozzarella on top just before placing the carefully shaped bread in the oven. What else was I going to do with leftover cheese?


It was well worth the sacrifice to get those glorious and tasty bits of crispy and oozy cheese.

This month, the Bread Baking Babes are baking Chrysanthemum Bread. The bread is originally from Georgia (the country between Russia and Turkey, not the state between Alabama and South Carolina). We were challenged by Lien of Notitie Van Lien to make this decorative bread.

She gave us a recipe for a soft, enriched dough that was really easy to work with. She also gave us a recipe for a traditional Georgian savory filling of beef, onion, spices, and cheese. She then added the magic words, "you can make up your own savory filling..."  At this point, my mind goes magically to pizza.

I've been obsessing about Detroit pizza ever since I picked up a copy of The Pizza Bible. I've had every intention of making this pizza every weekend, but something seems to always get in the way. Enter this Chrysanthemum Bread!

I kind of think of this bread as Georgian Chrysanthemum bread meets Detroit style pizza. Detroit style pizza is basically a super cheesy thick crust pizza baked in a pan and topped with hot pizza sauce after it emerges from the oven. The dough for this bread is soft and tender, and does not resemble pizza crust, yet the resulting bread is seriously tasty.. and it works!! I heated up my favorite pizza sauce and used it as a dip for this bread, and it was soooo delicious.

For my fellow "leftover pizza for breakfast" aficionados, this nails it.

I had some trouble getting the dough to relax, and the flower petals kept popping open after filling them. Clearly, I was meant to make rustic breads. It kind of reminded me of my attempt to make this brioche flower, another Bread Baking Babes challenge. P.S. My cakes are "rustic" too. Just saying.

I used a 9 inch pie pan for this bread, which is a little too small, and the reason why a row of chrysanthemum "petals" are missing (plus I had quite a bit of leftover dough). If you have an 11 inch pie plate or pan, definitely use it.

For some amazing photos of the shaping of this bread, as well as a traditional Georgian filling, visit Lien's post, or the original post in Russian.  My only other deviation from the original recipe was to use sour cream instead of the yogurt in the dough.

Chrysanthemum Bread with Sausage, Pepperoni, and Mozzarella Cheese

Ingredients

Dough

500 grams bread flour
7 grams instant yeast (I used SAF Gold)
125 ml milk (I used 2% milk) at 95 to 105 degrees F
125 grams (by weight) sour cream

1 tbsp sugar
1 generous tsp salt
1 large egg
90 ml olive oil
1 to 2 tbsp water

Filling

12 ounces of bulk Italian sausage

About 3 to 4 ounces pepperoni, cut into small slivers

170 grams mozzarella cheese, grated

Optional

Warm tomato sauce of your choice for dipping

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer add all of the dough ingredients and mix on low until incorporated. 
2. Knead the dough on second speed for about 7 to 9 minutes, until you have a soft, tacky dough. I had to add about 2 tablespoons of water. 
3. Form the dough into a ball and place it into an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for about an hour, until doubled. 
4. While the dough is rising, sauté the sausage in a large frying pan for about five to seven minutes, breaking it into pieces, until browned and cooked through. 
5. Cut the risen dough into thirds. Roll each piece very thinly, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest for 10 minutes. 
6. Using a 3 to 3 1/2 inch round cookie cutter, cut the dough, one at a time, into circles. 
7. Place about 1 tbsp of the sausage in the center of each circle of the dough. Sprinkle with some pepperoni and cheese. Fold the circle in half, and then fold the points of the crescent together. Place this petal in the pie dish, on the outer border so the curvy part of the crescent faces up and the first fold is on the bottom of the pan. 
8. Continue to cut and fill circles of dough. You should end up with three circles in the pan if you have an 11 inch pan (see note below). 
9. Fill the center with three half circles overlapping each other and then rolled up like a rose flower, as demonstrated by Lien's post. 
10. Cover the bread with plastic wrap and let rise for about 45 minutes. 
11. Preheat the oven to 355 degrees F.
12. Place the pie dish in the oven on the middle rack, and bake for 25 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 340 degrees F and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. You can lightly tent with foil if the cheese gets too dark. 
13. Serve while still warm. I served mine with tomato sauce for dipping. Refrigerate any leftovers. They can easily be reheated. Just wrap loosely with foil and reheat in a 325 degree oven for about 15 to 20 minutes. 

Note: I found that if I placed the petals in the pan without something to place it next to, it just popped open, and spilled the contents into the pie plate. I found it easier to shape enough petals for each row before placing them in the pie plate. I placed them on their sides and covered them with plastic wrap and held them down with light plate so they wouldn't pop open. Once I had enough for an entire circle, I placed them in the pan. It's a bit of work, but the bread is amazing.