Bacon, Onion And Walnut Mini-breads

Total Time: 3 hrs Preparation Time: 2 hrs 30 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons warm milk
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 slices bacon, finely diced
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 1/4 cups flour, plus more as needed
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk, at room temperature
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, at room temperature, plus
• more butter, for brushing
• 2 tablespoons diced cooked ham
• 2 tablespoons coarsely minced walnuts
• 1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
• 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten with
• 1 teaspoon water, for brushing on bread tops

Recipe

• 1 to make sponge, in a bowl, dissolve the yeast in the milk, stir in flour, cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place until foamy, about 10 minutes.
• 2 to make dough, in a small nonstick fry pan over medium heat, cook bacon, stirring often, until evenly browned, about 3 minutes; using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a plate, leaving the drippings in the pan; add onion to the pan and cook, stirring often, until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes; transfer the onion to the plate with the bacon, set aside.
• 3 in a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with dough hook, combine the flour, sugar and salt and beat on low speed until well blended, about 1 minute; with the mixer running, add the egg and milk; increase the speed to medium and knead for 5 minutes;add the 3 tablespoons butter and knead for 3 minutes.
• 4 stop the the mixer and add the sponge; increase speed to medium-high and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, 7 to 10 minutes; add the bacon, onion, ham, walnuts, thyme and parsley and knead until well incorporated about 2 minutes; add more flour if dough is to sticky; cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel, set in a warm place and let rise until doubled in volume, about 1 1/2 hours.
• 5 preheat oven to 400°f; butter a 6-well silicone or 6-large muffin pan and place on baking sheet; punch down dough; divide into 6-equal-size balls and place in cups.
• 6 let dough rise in a warm place for 30 minutes; brush the tops with egg mixture and bake until golden brown 20 to 25 minutes, immediately invert cups onto a wire rack and remove breads, using a toothpick to gently loosen them, if needed; let cool slightly, serve warm or at room temperature, enjoy.