Braided Hazelnut Breads With Spreads - cooking recipe

Ingredients

200 g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
1 tsp dried yeast
1 kg ciabatta bread mix
500 g quark or cottage cheese
250 g mascarpone
1 tsp vanilla extract
50 g caster sugar
2 None tomatoes, deseeded and finely diced
125 g mozzarella, finely chopped
4 sprigs basil, finely chopped
200 g dried tomato sandwich spread
250 g cream cheese
150 g cherry jam
1 tsp each chopped tomato and basil, to garnish

Preparation

Dissolve yeast in 3 cups lukewarm water. Put bread mix and hazelnuts in a large mixing bowl and add the yeast water. Mix ingredients and then knead to make a smooth, pliable dough. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 30 mins. Divide dough into 4 pieces. Roll out each piece on a floured surface to form a roll 10 inch long. Cut each roll lengthwise down the middle and weave the two strands together to form a twist.
Preheat oven to 400\u00b0F. Put the twists on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and leave to rise in a warm place for 40 mins. Sprinkle loaves with a little flour, then bake one after the other for 20-25 mins. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.
Meanwhile, make the spreads. Mix together the cottage cheese, mascarpone (or whipped cream cheese), vanilla extract and sugar in one bowl and the mozzarella, sun-dried tomato pesto and cream cheese in another. Garnish the mozzarella spread with tomatoes and basil. Garnish the vanilla cheese spread with a dollop of cherry jam. Serve the hazelnut twists with the spreads.