Recipe: Spinach-goats’ cheese bars with dried apricots, pumpkin seeds and rosemary

Recipe for savoury cheese bars from Le Cordon Bleu's recipe book Bakery School

 

Makes 10 bars

 

Ingredients

• 250g T45 flour
• 50g baby spinach leaves, washed and stalks removed
• 5g salt
• 10g sugar
• 10g fresh compressed yeast
• 50g water
• 30g unsalted butter

 

Filling

• 130g fresh goats’ cheese
• 60g dried apricots, chopped into small pieces
• 1g chopped rosemary

 

Finish

• 1 egg and 1 egg yolk beaten together
• Roasted pumpkin seeds
• Olive oil

 

Recipe

 

Kneading

 

Put the flour, spinach, salt, sugar and yeast into the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix for 4 minutes at low speed until you obtain a smooth dough, adding the water little by little. Knead at high speed to obtain an elastic dough. Add the butter and knead again at high speed until the dough is elastic again.

 

First rising and fermentation

 

Cover with a damp cloth and leave to ferment for 45 minutes at room temperature.

 

Dividing and shaping

 

Divide the dough into two pieces and pre-shape each piece into an oval. Cover with a damp cloth and leave to rest for 20 minutes.

 

Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into 32cm x 20cm rectangles. Moisten the edges, spread one of the rectangles with goats’ cheese, then sprinkle with dried apricots and rosemary.

 

Cover with the second rectangle. Place on a 30cm x 38cm baking tray covered with baking parchment.

 

Cover with cling film and place in the freezer to harden; to make it easier to cut the bars.

 

Cut into 18cm x 3cm bars and arrange on a 30cm x 38cm baking tray.

 

Second (final) proofing

 

Leave to proof for 30 minutes in a proving oven at 25°C.

 

Baking

 

Preheat the oven to 155°C. Brush the bars with egg wash and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds. Place in the oven, then lower the temperature to 140°C and bake for 15 minutes.

 

Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack and brush with olive oil.

 

Recipe from Le Cordon Bleu Bakery School by Le Cordon Bleu (Grub Street Publishing, £35)