Thursday, February 3, 2011

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

heavenly cheese zombies, aromatic memories

Mount Diablo Unified School District ZOMBIE RECIPE

To make 2 ½ pounds of dough: 2 cups warm water 1½ - 2 Tablespoons yeast 6 cups bread flour ¼ cup sugar 1 – 1 ½ teaspoons salt (depending on taste) ¼ cup butter Directions Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add remaining ingredients and mix with dough hook about 10 minutes until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. Dough should be soft and pliable. Let dough rest a few minutes then divide into 1-pound portions. Roll the portions into logs. Cut each log into 5 equal pieces. Place your favorite filling on top of each dough slice, then pull dough up from the sides to cover filling. Pinch closed very carefully. Place zombies pinched side down on parchment paper or a greased cookie sheet pan (parchment works best). If desired, brush with egg wash. Let rise until almost doubled in size. Bake @350 degrees until brown on top, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Fillings: If traditional filling is desired [note: the only REAL ZOMBIE is a CHEESE ZOMBIE] use 1 ½ to 2 oz. of cheese per zombie. * * *

What is a zombie? Why am I posting a recipe here? The story of the wonderful Cheese Zombie is a tale of a special stuffed homemade yeast roll, the stuff of poignant memories. At our high school we had a brunch break each day, and the ZOMBIE was a favorite student treat. The aroma during the morning baking was incredible, filling the air all around the Academic Building where the snack window and bakery kitchen was located.

The crust of the ZOMBIE was sort of Dutch-crunch buttery and sort of cracked, and the inside was cheesy-melty goodness.

I did some online research, and it didn't surprise me to learn that the ZOMBIE was a school favorite for years. Former students from all over the district would go to great lengths, years after graduation, to try and secure the recipe, and to post their effusive thanks for the ZOMBIE memories.


Zombies!