Jamaican Meat Loaf - #BreadBakers

Patties - spicy ground beef enclosed in a flaky crust - are the quintessential Jamaican lunch. Even if you brought lunch to school every day, you still had special days when you bought a patty. People from all walks of life - lawyers, doctors, the higgler at the school gate, we all enjoy our patties. Nothing beats biting into a hot patty knowing that the steam is probably going to burn you. And more than likely there'll be hot meat doing the same. Yes, we look forward to that. Pair your patty with a coco bread and you have a perfect meal. Our patty shops are also known for the meat loaf. It's like a marriage between the patty and the coco bread. The beef filling is now inside a soft dough - no more flaky crust. Not eating meat? Not to worry, you can grab a callaloo loaf. Those are pretty delicious. I've heard rumours of a soy loaf but I haven't paid much attention.

Folded dough (My house is really dark)

I don't eat a lot of meat loaves. I do like them, but my heart belongs to the flaky patty crust. I just cannot bring myself to order a meat loaf over a patty. Patty lover for life! Seriously. When I return from trips home, I almost always have a box or two of frozen patties with me. The patties that are available here are just not the same. The flavour, the crust - it's just all wrong. Despite my "step-child" treatment of the meat loaf, it is actually perfect for this month's Bread Bakers as we are making stuffed breads.Thanks for hosting, Jenni!

As you'll see below, the meat loaf is pretty easy to make. You do a quick beef filling and make a simple dough. I'm not going to tell you that this is the best meat loaf you'll ever eat. It's good. But nothing will hold a candle to what you can get from Juici Beef. This will tide you over until your next fix though. Plus, you can customise this as much as you like. I hear adding cheese is a thing. Not my thing - I'm a purist - but it could be yours. The only thing missing from this is a brown paper bag. I couldn't find one that was the right size. But all patties and coco breads should be consumed from paper bags. I'll rectify that eventually.

Jamaican Meat Loaf

Recipe by: Kelly

Yield: 6 loaves

Dough Ingredients 360 grams flour 2 teaspoons instant yeast 12 grams sugar 1 teaspoon salt 113 grams milk 97 grams water 12 grams oil Filling Ingredients 1 tablespoon oil 1 small onion, finely diced 3 cloves of garlic, minced scotch bonnet pepper, to taste 1 lb ground beef 2 teaspoons dried thyme 1/4 teaspoon pimento (allspice) 1 escallion, green tops finely chopped salt & black pepper, to taste 1/4 cup water or beef stock 1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Directions Mix together all the dough ingredients and knead until you have a soft, tacky dough. This should take about 6-8 minutes. Set the dough aside to rise in a covered bowl while you work on the filling.  In a skillet, heat the tablespoon of oil then add the onion. Cook over medium low heat until softened then add the garlic and scotch bonnet pepper. When the garlic has softened, add the ground beef, thyme, pimento salt and black pepper. Break up any large pieces of ground beef. When the meat is browned and no longer pink, add about a quarter cup or so of water or beef stock and the bread crumbs. Let simmer until most of the water has been absorbed. The filling should be moist but not so wet that it would make the dough soggy. Allow to cool. Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.  When dough has risen, divide into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece out to a 6- 7 inch circle.  Top half of the circle with two heaping tablespoons of filling leaving a quarter inch from the edge untouched. Moisten this untouched edge with water or egg wash. Fold the other half over and press down to seal the dough. Ensure that the filling is even and there are no bulges before sealing. Let rest for 10 minutes then bake for 18 minutes or until the meat loaves are a light golden brown. Let cool for a couple minutes before eating.

Notes The actual shape used by my favourite patty shop is not a circle. It's rectangular with two rounded edges. I actually have a template that I cut out from one of the patties in my freezer. (Obsession.) It's however, a lot easier to roll out a 6 inch circle and I did that for all except the one in the first pic. Scotch bonnets are pretty spicy. Handle with care.

Stuffed Breads from the Bread Bakers

Sweet Breads

• Chocolate Caramel Stuffed Monkey Bread from Robin at A Shaggy Dough Story
• Cinnamon Roll Quickbread from Laura at Baking in Pyjamas
• Cream Pan - Japanese Custard Filled Buns from Shireen at Ruchik Randhap
• Figgy Olive Oil and Sesame Challah from Sarah at What Smells So Good?
• Jam filled Danish Pastries from Holly at A Baker's House
• No-Knead Apricot Sweet Rolls from Renee at Magnolia Days

Savory Breads

• Baked Peas Kachori from Shilpi at SimplyVeggies
• Cauliflower, Paneer & Peas Stromboli from Priya at I Camp in my Kitchen
• Cheesy Bacon Stuffed Pretzel Buns from Allison at The PinterTest Kitchen
• Cheesy Pizza Wheels from Tara at Noshing with the Nolands
• Chicken Stuffed Casserole Bread from Vimala at Cooking Club
• Cuban Sandwich-Stuffed Cuban Bread from Jenni at Jenni Field’s Pastry Chef Online
• Gruyère Stuffed Crusty Loaves from Adam at Bakers and Best
• Jalapeño Cheddar Stuffed Pretzel Rolls from Heather at Hezzi D’s Books and Cooks
• Jamaican Meat Loaf from Kelly of Passion Kneaded
• Paneer Kulchi from Anshie at Spice Roots
• Prosciutto, Salami and Mozzarella Stromboli from Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Russian Pirozhki from Mireille at Chef Mireille's East West Realm
• Sri Lankan Seeni Sambol Buns from Pavani at Cook's Hideout
• Stuffed Bazlama - Turkish Bread from Sneha at Sneha's Recipe
• Stuffed Black Garlic Monkey Bread from Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Stuffed Pretzel Bites from Karen at Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Tiganopsomo - Feta-Stuffed Fried Bread from Stacy at Food Lust People Love
• Zucchini and Goat Cheese Stuffed Bread from Aisha at La cocina de Aisha

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme.  Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.