Thanksgiving-In-A-Loaf Bread Recipe

While some recipes are designed to use up Thanksgiving leftovers after the holiday, others can provide a sneak preview of the festivities to come. Such a dish is this Thanksgiving-in-a-loaf quick bread, something that developer Tess Le Moing says is inspired by a French recipe called gateaux sale, or savory cake.

While a typical gateaux sale may be flavored with ham, olives, and cheese, Le Moing explains that this version is "...filled with our Thanksgiving favorites." This includes sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberries, and turkey in sausage form, as well as some cheese to tie it all together. This bread would make a nice meal if you're having a quiet holiday with a few friends and still want to sample all the traditional delights of Thanksgiving. Le Moing feels that this bread is perfect for picnics or potlucks, so it's also something you might make if you're missing Thanksgiving foods in the middle of summer. She also says, "It's great as a light lunch served with a side salad," which would work at any time of year.

To make the bread itself, you'll be using flour, baking powder, eggs, salt, pepper, and chicken broth. Add-ins include a sweet potato, an onion, thyme, sage, gruyère cheese, turkey sausage, dried cranberries, and frozen green beans; while you're also going to need olive oil and butter for cooking.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Line a loaf pan with parchment paper overlapping the sides.

On a baking sheet, toss the sweet potatoes with olive oil and ¼ teaspoon salt.

Roast the sweet potatoes until fork tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.

Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.

Add the onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the thyme and sage and cook until fragrant. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.

In a separate bowl, beat the 3 eggs, 1 teaspoon salt, and black pepper.

Add the sauteed onions, grated cheese, and chicken broth.

Fold the wet ingredients into dry ingredients.

Fold in the sweet potato, turkey sausage, dried cranberries, and green beans.

Pour into the prepared loaf pan.

Brush the top with a beaten yolk.

Bake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean, about 1 hour.

Slice loaf and serve at room temperature or warmed-up for 15 minutes in a 250 F oven.

Though this recipe isn't designed to use up Thanksgiving leftovers, it can easily be adapted to do so. As Le Moing tells us, "You can substitute the turkey sausage for cubed or shredded cooked turkey." The flavor and texture may be slightly different, but it should still taste great. The only downside, as she notes, is a strictly aesthetic one, "It won't stand out in the cross-section like the sausage does." If you're more concerned with how your food tastes than how it photographs, though, that may not be such a concern.

It's possible that other leftovers could work in this recipe, too. You could try using leftover pre-cooked green beans and sweet potatoes, while broth made from turkey bones (which is the best way to use them) could be subbed in for the chicken broth called for here. Cranberry sauce can't really take the place of the craisins Le Moing favors as it has a completely different consistency, but you could always serve it on the side or dolloped on top of a slice of Thanksgiving-in-a-loaf bread.

If you like to prepare your food ahead of time, you may appreciate the fact that Le Moing tells us this bread should really be made a day in advance. As she explains, "It tastes better the longer it sits." If you will be storing it, however, she recommends covering it with foil or plastic wrap after it has completely cooled down.

When you're ready to enjoy the bread, you can eat it at room temperature or even straight out of the fridge, but if you want it warm, Le Moing advises that 15 minutes in a 250 F oven will heat it up nicely. She also offers an alternate method of reheating the bread that will allow you to warm it and butter it at the same time. As she suggests, "You can melt some butter in a skillet and fry a leftover slice on both sides" to make the bread both toasty and tasty.