Guava Cheese Braided Bread

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A favorite from my bakery days, guava cheese braided bread is a sweet braided bread filled with sweet guava and cream cheese – a classic Cuban flavor combination!

This recipe is going up on the blog by request of one of my former bakery clients. Whenever I would have the guava cheese braided breads on the menu, she’d have me set at least one aside for her to pick up. As much as I love blogging, I do miss the lovely conversations and relationships I built at the farmer’s market with my little pink tent. So of course, when {S} requested that I share the recipe, I decided it would make it on the blog, because why not? I hope you enjoy this glimpse into the Goodie Godmother’s “vault” recipes.

The bread itself is very simple, it’s a sweet brioche bread recipe that lends itself well to a variety of fillings. In fact, the other braided breads I would make were just variations on this recipe. I like that this particular bread is friendly to new bread bakers as you can “see” each step clearly as it happens and it’s not particularly fussy, you can make it by hand or let a stand mixer do most of the work. When I make braided breads now, I typically make a double batch and place one loaf in the freezer and leave the other for baking that day. In fact, that’s what I did to prepare for the 4th of July weekend when we had guests over!

These are long loaves, and often go end to end on my baking sheets. If you don’t have a baking sheet long enough for the length of your dough, flip your sheet over, place your parchment paper or silicone mat along the bottom of the sheet and then lay the loaf diagonally across the baking sheet. That way you won’t end up with crispy edges because the bread has been in contact with the baking sheet “lip” if you’re using a jelly roll style pan.

The “braid” that goes around the filling is created by crossing over strands cut out on either side of the loaf. It’s easier to demonstrate than it is to explain, so I’ve made you a video:

The filling for the guava cheese braid is actually very very simple. Cut cream cheese into slice, and layer along the middle third of your loaf, then top with sliced guava paste. You can find guava sold in blocks or rounds in the Hispanic food section at your grocery store. If you can’t find that, guava jelly may be used as a substitute. One day I’ll post how to make your own, but it’s a bit of a process, so buying is much easier if you can find it.

I hope you enjoy this guava cheese braided bread recipe!

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Guava Cheese Braided Bread

Yield: 1 loaf

Prep Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours

Enjoy the flavors of Miami in this delicious guava cheese braided bread!

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Ingredients

• 1/3 cup warm water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp yeast
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 tbsp sour cream
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 2 eggs, (one for dough, one for brushing)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for sprinkling
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 7 ounces guava paste

Instructions

1. Combine the warm water, teaspoon of sugar, yeast, and 1/4 cup flour in your mixing bowl. Stir to combine, then cover with plastic wrap and set aside 10-15 minutes until foamy. In the meantime, measure/weigh the rest of your ingredients.
2. When the yeast mixture is ready, add the rest of the sugar, sour cream, butter, 1 of the eggs, salt, vanilla extract, and 1 cup of flour. Stir to combine.
3. Add the additional flour and continue to knead 5-6 minutes until the dough is smooth. You may do this by hand or using a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook on low speed.
4. When the dough is smooth, place in a greased bowl, cover with the plastic wrap, and allow to rise for about 1 hour in a warm, draft free spot, until just about doubled in size.
5. Roll out your dough into a long rectangle on a lightly floured work surface, mentally divide in 3 length-wise, and cut strips of "fringe" along the edges of the dough. Fill with the cream cheese and guava, then fold into a braid following the method shown in the video in the post.
6. At this time, you may transfer the bread to the freezer for later. Skip this step if you are not freezing the bread! If you are freezing the bread, place it in the freezer 1-2 hours to freeze solid, then wrap well in plastic wrap. To thaw, unwrap and place in the refrigerator overnight and then remove to room temperature to complete the instructions for the second rise and bake.
7. Set the bread on a parchment paper or silicone baking mat lined sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise another 45 minutes to 1 hour until quite puffy. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat your oven to 365 F and beat the remaining egg in a bowl with a tsp of water.
8. Brush the egg wash over your loaf of bread and bake for 28-35 minutes until the bread is baked through and a light golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to rest 10 minutes before slicing.

Notes

• If you'd like to add a little something to decorate the top of the loaf, sprinkle a bit of turbinado sugar over the bread before baking.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  The Original Danish Dough Whisk - LARGE 13.5” Stainless Steel Dutch Style bread dough whisk 
• 
  Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Commercial Baker's Half Sheet (2 Pack), Silver

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