Pan de Jamón
2 tablespoons yeast
2 tablespoons sugar, divided
4 tablespoons warm water
1 cup milk
1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, divided
3¾ cups flour (1.1 pounds)
½ pound sliced ham
8 slices bacon
Capers, olives and raisins to taste
In a small bowl, mix the yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in warm water; it will rise and foam.
In a heatproof bowl, add the milk, butter, 1 tablespoon sugar and salt and microwave for about 2 minutes until the butter melts. Let it cool down until warm. Whisk 2 eggs in another container.
Place the flour on a big tray (I use my roaster) and make a volcano with it. Pour the yeast mixture in the volcano and add the egg mixture. Blend together, then add the milk mixture and knead for about 15 minutes until the dough is pliable and soft. Roll into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and a couple of cloth towels and let rest for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, uncover, take a small piece of dough (size of a lemon) and set aside for decoration. Roll the rest of the dough on top of a parchment paper in the shape of a rectangle. Make it relatively thin.
Cook the bacon in a pan and keep the fat. Spread the bacon fat on the rolled dough. Then cover the whole piece with ham slices. Place the bacon on top of the ham in an order so there is bacon all over the bread. Sprinkle with some raisins, capers and olives to taste.
Now you need to roll the bread. Pick up an edge of the bread and start rolling it to itself. Do this carefully; making sure that all the ham and stuff stays inside. Roll all the way to the end. Tuck in any extra ham and seal the edges of the dough. You will end up with a cylinder.
Roll the small piece you kept aside and choose a nice cookie cutter and make some decorations. Attach them to the bread. Cover with the parchment paper and towels, and let rest for another hour.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. After the hour, remove the towels. Put the bread in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven. Whisk 1 egg with a little milk and brush egg mixture all over the bread. Put the bread back in the oven for another 20 minutes.
Serves about eight.