Tofu Broccoli Bread Braid

Ingredients

Broccoli Filling:
1 Head Broccoli, cut into florets (or a small bag of frozen)
Olive Oil to drizzle
Salt to taste

Tofu Filling:
1 block tofu (smoked tofu for added dimension)

Garlic White Sauce:
2 Tbsp vegan margarine (Earth Balance)
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste
2 cups unsweetened soymilk

Dough:
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 1/2 - 4 cups flour (enough to make a soft dough)

Instructions

Broccoli: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread broccoli in a single layer on a cookie sheet or 9x13-inch pan. Drizzle with olive oil and add a dash of salt if desired. Roast in oven for 30-40 minutes, mixing once half way thru, until broccoli is tender inside and a little crispy on the outside.

Dough: Mix yeast, sugar, and warm water in a large mixing bowl and let sit until yeast dissolves. Add remaining dough ingredients and knead a few times just till smooth. Dough should be soft, but not sticky. Place in a greased bowl and set aside while you prepare the tofu and garlic white sauce.

Tofu: Drain and dice tofu into small cubes and set aside.

Garlic White Sauce: In a small to medium saucepan, melt margarine over medium heat. Add garlic, stirring constantly and cook for up to one minute. Add flour and black pepper and whisk until combined. Slowly start whisking in the unsweetened soymilk a little at a time until it is all incorporated. Whisk continuously until it thickens, then remove from heat. Mix in the tofu and stir to combine.

Put it all Together: Roll or pat dough out on a large greased cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. Cut 1-inch strips along both of the long sides of the rectangle, leaving a about a 4-inch strip down the middle. Place a single layer of broccoli on the center strip of dough. Ladle tofu garlic white sauce down the middle to cover broccoli. Don't overfill it! You should have some leftover filling. Fold the 1" strips over the filling, alternating from side to side to form a "braid". It's fine if some of the filling is showing, you don't want to completely close it off. Some heat will need to escape the filling while it is baking.  Bake at 350° for 30 minutes, or till golden brown. I brushed on some melted margarine when it came out of the oven for an added shine, but it is not necessary.

Extra Filling: From here I combined any leftover broccoli and tofu garlic white sauce in the saucepan, then added a cup of vegetable broth to simmer and make a lovely soup.

Notes: Added an unknown heap of nutritional yeast to the white sauce and forgot to measure it, but probably 1/4-1/3 cup. Not necessary, but I love nooch. Also added a no-chicken bouillon to the white sauce because I can't get enough of it.

I hate washing dishes so used the broccoli pan to put the bread braid on.

Leftovers were way tastier than I thought, heated in microwave and dipped in the soup made from the extra filling.

After bread braid cools and sets in the pan a little, make sure to put it on a wire rack so the bottom doesn't get soggy.