Garlic, celery, onion and bell peppers	Add the crawfish tails

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Crawfish Bread

Source: Sauce Magazine, March 1, 2011

Yield: 8 servings

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Ingredients

• 4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

• 2 cups warm water

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 2 tsp salt

• 7 cups plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, divided

• 3 eggs, beaten, plus 1 whole egg

• 1 1/4 cup shortening, lard or butter, melted

• 1/4 lb (1 stick) butter

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 stalk celery, small dice

• 1 medium onion, small dice

• 2 red bell peppers, small dice

• 3 Tbsp sherry

• 3 Tbsp Crystal hot sauce

• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

• 1 tsp onion powder

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

• 2 lb crawfish tails

• 2 cups shredded pepper Jack cheese

• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Cayenne pepper to taste

• Semolina

• 1 Tbsp water

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Preparation

Combine the yeast, water and sugar in a mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly and allow to sit in a warm spot for about 10 minutes or until very foamy.

Combine the salt and 7 cups of the flour in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the yeast mixture and, using a dough hook, mix them together on low speed. After mixing for 1 minute, slowly add in the beaten eggs.

Once the eggs are thoroughly combined, drizzle in the melted shortening, lard or butter. Continue mixing for 5 minutes on low speed.

Remove the dough to an oiled mixing bowl. Cover loosely with a towel and allow to proof until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Punch the dough down. The dough is ready to use or it can be refrigerated for later use.

In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Sweat the garlic, celery, onion and bell peppers until translucent. Add the sherry and cook for 1 minute. Add the hot sauce, Worcestershire, onion powder and garlic powder.

Add the remaining ¼ cup flour, stirring constantly so that nothing burns and there are no lumps. Add the heavy cream and cook over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes or until the raw flour flavor has been cooked out.

Add the crawfish tails and cook for another 5 minutes, then remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the cheeses.

Season to taste with salt, pepper and cayenne. Transfer the crawfish mixture to a casserole dish and cool completely in the refrigerator.

To assemble, prepare a baking tray with a copious amount of semolina in order to prevent the crawfish breads from sticking. Preheat a fryer to 350 degrees and an oven to 250 degrees. Prepare an egg wash by whisking together the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon of water.

Measure the dough into eight 4-ounce portions. On a flour-dusted surface, roll out the dough to a 7-inch circle a little more than 1/8-inch thick. Brush the dough with the egg wash, then place slightly less than ½ cup of the crawfish filling slightly off center on each piece of dough. Fold the dough over the filling into a half-moon shape, pressing the dough close to the filling to minimize air pockets.

Using a fork, crimp the edges of each bread. Use a knife or a pizza cutter to remove the excess edge and transfer to the semolina-dusted baking tray.

Place the breads into the fryer, frying no more than two breads at a time. Fry for 3 minutes on the first side, then gently flip the bread and fry for 2 minutes on the second side. Carefully remove from the fryer and drain on a baking tray lined with paper towels. Hold the crawfish bread in the oven until you’re ready to serve them.