Call it stuffing, call it dressing, call it whatever you want: It's utterly, addictively delicious. I consider stuffing the unsung hero of the Thanksgiving table. Give me the choice to eat only one dish (perish the thought!), and I'd choose stuffing, hands down. For starters, it's far and away the most flavorful—savory with herbs and spices and dripping with butter. Stuffing has everything in one: vegetables, dairy, bread, and often meat. There's a gorgeous interplay of texture with softened celery and crisp, buttery cubes of bread. Plus, it tastes very good the next morning.
We spy those stuffing spices. PhotobyPosie Harwood
And let's be honest here, since we're all friends: The bread is the best part. Without, stuffing would merely be a humble vegetable side: delicious, sure, but not showstopping. So, imagine my excitement when I stumbled upon a recipe (hidden in the Fleischmann's Yeast Canada archives) for Harvest Stuffing Bread, a tender-crumbed, golden loaf laced with all the classic flavors of stuffing.
This bread is excellent. Full stop. It also happens to be quite forgiving, so you can make it when you're in the tizzy leading up to the main event, and not worry about needing to fuss over it. It's versatile, too. Turn it into rolls and bake them in a round pan, divide the dough into long ropes and twist them into coils, or toss the whole mound of dough into a Dutch oven and bake it without shaping it. (The latter is my recommended method. Go easy on yourself!)
PhotobyPosie Harwood
As it bakes, you'll find yourself glancing around the kitchen looking for the pan of stuffing, because it smells and taste just like it. There's onion powder, parsley, sage, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, black pepper, and plenty of butter. And so as not to forget the vegetables, you'll add a generous sprinkling of celery seed on top.
Try this stuffing bread. I suspect you'll love it so much, it'll become your favorite way to enjoy Thanksgiving year-round without needing to deep-fry a turkey in the sweltering heat of July.
Harvest Stuffing Bread
- 3 cups (12 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant or active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
- 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
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