Buttery Pull-Apart Blossom Bread
Serves 10
Here is a simplified approach to stuffing that requires zero pots and pans. All the seasonings of everyone's favorite Thanksgiving side dish are packed into a buttery mixture and slathered onto each section of a crosscut loaf of bread. After you make a deep crosshatch pattern on the bread, you slip in softened butter mixed with garlic, fresh herbs, crushed fennel seed, onion powder, celery salt, and Worcestershire. Celery salt is a magic bullet of traditional stuffing flavor, but if you don't have it, use regular salt. The bread emerges from the oven looking like a flower. For a centerpiece-worthy blossoming effect, use a round loaf, sometimes called a boule, such as sourdough or country wheat. Guests can pull off crunchy corner pieces or soft inner chunks. No one will miss traditional stuffing and the person washing up, like everyone else, will be smiling.
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage leaves
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
½ teaspoon fennel seed, ground in a spice mill or mortar and pestle
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon celery salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 round sourdough or country boule (1½ pounds)
1. Set the oven at 375 degrees.
2. In a bowl, use a rubber spatula to mash together the butter, garlic, sage, thyme, parsley, fennel, onion powder, celery salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. The consistency of the mixture should be like thick yogurt. If the butter is too firm, set the bowl in a warm place for a few minutes to soften.
3. Cut the bread: Without going all the way through to the bottom crust, make a crosshatch pattern, cutting the perpendicular lines about 1½ inches apart. Place the bread on top of a small inverted bowl; this will encourage the loaf to splay and make the buttering job easier. Butter all four sides of each section and brush any extra butter over the top of the loaf. Wrap the loaf in foil.
4. Place the bread directly on the middle oven rack for 25 minutes. Open up the foil. Continue baking for 5 minutes, or until the bread is lightly browned. (Total baking time is 30 minutes.) Transfer the bread to a platter or board and serve hot.