Ingredients
8 ounces (227 g) cream cheese
2 tablespoons (1 oz / 28.5 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature or melted
6 tablespoons (3 oz / 85 g) sugar
1 egg (1.75 oz / 50 g)
1 teaspoon (0.25 oz / 7 g) vanilla or lemon extract
1 3/4 tablespoons (0.5 oz / 14 g) unbleached all-purpose flour or unbleached bread flour
Pinch of salt
Preparation
Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and cream them together until smooth and slightly fluffy. If using a mixer, use the paddle attachment and gradually increase the speed of the mixer to high. If mixing this filling by hand, use a large, sturdy spoon and be prepared to stir vigorously. The filling should be thick, creamy, and custardlike; it will firm up when baked.
"Reprinted with permission from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day: Fast and Easy Recipes for World-Class Breads by Peter Reinhart, copyright © 2009. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc." Photo credit: Leo Gong © 2009
Peter Reinhart is a baking instructor and faculty member at Johnson and Wales University in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was the cofounder of Brother Juniper's Bakery in Santa Rosa, California, and is the author of seven books on bread baking, including Crust and Crumb, the 2002 James Beard Cookbook of the Year and IACP Cookbook of the Year, The Bread Baker's Apprentice, and the 2008 James Beard Award-winning Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads.
