Thanksgiving Stuffing Loaf

We wait all year for Thanksgiving, bake up a storm for 3 days prior, then POOF!

It's all over in about 30 minutes flat.

The soft dinner roll leaking its melting pat of butter; bright, tangy fresh-cranberry sauce; the perfectly roasted bird, mashed potatoes enhanced with cream, the family's favorite comfort-food side dish (green bean casserole? Sweet potatoes with marshmallow?)...

Enjoyed, and gone.

Gone – but in some cases, not forgotten. While the chocolate cream pie and cherry cheesecake may have vanished, and the turkey been turned into pot pie and soup, you can re-create stuffing's wonderful signature flavor any time of the year – without even resorting to Stove Top.

This loaf smells just like stuffing as it bakes. Cut a couple of slices of the cooled bread, sandwich it around some turkey and cranberry sauce, and you can enjoy the Thanksgiving dinner experience all over again.

This time without the dishes.

Let's bake up a Thanksgiving Stuffing Loaf.

Place the following ingredients in a mixing bowl:

2 3/4 cups (326g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon (14g) sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons celery salt + 1/8 teaspoon regular salt*
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning or Bell's seasoning, or use your favorite combination of thyme, sage, rosemary, marjoram, and nutmeg
1/2 cup (92g) yellow cornmeal
1 large egg
1/2 cup (71g) finely diced onion
3 tablespoons (43g) butter or 3 tablespoons (35g) vegetable oil
3/4 cup (170g) lukewarm water

*Substitute 1 teaspoon celery seeds + 1 1/4 teaspoons regular salt, if desired.

Mix and knead everything together to make a soft, supple dough.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl or large (8-cup) measuring cup, cover it, and let it rise until it's doubled in size, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Gently deflate the dough, and shape it into an 8" log. Place it in a lightly greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan.

Cover the pan, and allow the bread to rise for about an hour, until it's crowned about 1" over the rim of the pan.

Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

Uncover the bread, and bake it for 35 to 40 minutes, tenting it lightly with foil after 20 minutes if it appears to be browning too quickly. When the bread is done, it'll be golden brown, and its internal temperature will register at least 190°F on an instant-read thermometer.

Remove the bread from the oven.

For a soft, satiny, buttery crust, run a stick of butter over the bread's top surface.

Gently loosen the edges of the loaf, and turn it out onto a rack to cool.

I know it's hard to wait – but cool completely before slicing!

Can't you just smell the lovely aroma of this herb-y bread? It's delicious toasted and served with scrambled eggs at breakfast; or made into a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch; or dried out and mixed into strata (savory bread pudding); or...

And don't forget the turkey sandwiches!

Read, bake, and review (please) our recipe for Thanksgiving Stuffing Loaf.