Baked Ham (wrapped in bread!)

5 from 2 votes

Baked Ham (wrapped in bread!)

This baked ham is wrapped in German-style rye bread is so moist, tender and delicious. It's perfect to serve for Easter, Mother's Day or the holidays. While in Germany, this baked ham is a great food for Abendbrot, the German traditional evening meal, it would also make for a stunning centerpiece for a festive brunch.

What I love most about this ham experience is that the bread soaks up the warm, smoky flavor from the ham, which makes it taste just SO GOOD!

Prep Time30

Cook Time1

Resting Time4

Course: Abendbrot, Brunch, Dinner

Cuisine: German

Keyword: baked ham in bread recipe, baked ham recipe, easter ham recipe, German ham recipe, holiday ham recipe

Servings: servings

Calories: 595kcal

Author: Author: Sophie Sadler

Equipment

1 dough tools optional, LOVE this 3-piece dough tools set!
1 bread knife I own this bread knife and love it!
1 carving knife I own this carving knife set and love it!
1 bread slicer slices through the bread and ham, so handy and I absolutely love it!

Ingredients

Pre-Dough

150 milliliters water
150 milliliters dark rye flour For the dough portion to be wrapped around the ham, you will use a mixture of flour, including dark rye flour. I love this brand as it brings incredible old-world flavor. Keep it in the fridge unless you bake often. Whole grain flours go rancid faster than white, refined flour. The amount of rye flour is more than the amount of wheat flour, giving the bread a distinct malty note.
1 gram active-dry yeast Just a little pinch. I use dry-active yeast for all of my yeast dough baking recipes as it is closer to German yeast.

Main Dough

3 grams active-dry yeast Half of a little pouch.
15 grams honey The honey is used to activate the yeast and give the bread a balanced flavor. If you don't have honey, feel free to use sugar or maple syrup instead.
275 milliliters water
35 grams balsamic vinegar I use balsamic vinegar in the rye bread recipe, as it adds a nice touch of complex flavor.
250 grams dark rye flour
270 grams all-purpose flour I buy all-purpose flour in bulk because I bake so much. I love the Costco organic all-purpose flour for its higher than average protein and gluten content.
15 grams salt

Ham

1 whole smoked ham Any size works and mine was quite large (8 pounds including a couple of pounds of fat I trimmed off. Typically you will use a lean ham or trim a ham to be lean. This is so all the ham grease does not soak into your bread. I love using Schaller & Weber's Swedish brand smoked party ham. It is full of flavor and a giant! After trimming off the fat (you can use it for other cooking), it is more manageable and the bread dough wraps around it beautifully.

Horseradish Cream Sauce

100 grams sour cream I use full fat sour cream, but you can go lower
100 grams Greek yogurt I use thick-strained Greek yogurt by the Fage brand
2 Tablespoons cream cheese
80 grams prepared horseradish If using fresh horseradish, use half of the amount given in this recipe.
2 Tablespoons finely chopped chives
½ teaspoon chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

If serving your ham for a brunch, the evening before you would like to bake your ham, make your pre-dough for the loaf by mixing some of the rye flour, water, and yeast (amounts listed with this step or under pre-dough section with the ingredients). Cover airtight and let sit overnight until you're ready to proceed with the next step 10 to 12 hours later.
If you are serving your ham for Abendbrot (the German evening meal), place the pre-dough in the fridge right after making it. The next morning, take it out and sit it on the counter with the cover still on until you're ready to continue with the next steps.
150 milliliters water, 150 milliliters dark rye flour, 1 gram active-dry yeast
When ready to make your main dough, combine the yeast with the honey and water and let sit for a few minutes until bubbly. Combine with the pre-dough and other ingredients to make the bread dough. Knead until smooth, then cover the bowl airtight and let sit in a warm spot. Or use a proofer set to 90 degrees Fahrenheit or 32 degrees Celsius.
Let it rise for two hours, folding the dough up and over itself in a circular motion one hour into it. You can leave the dough in the bowl for this step and use a rubber spatula or a bowl scraper.
3 grams active-dry yeast, 15 grams honey, 275 milliliters water, 35 grams balsamic vinegar, 250 grams dark rye flour, 270 grams all-purpose flour, 15 grams salt
Preheat your oven to 250° Celsius (480° Fahrenheit) and add a casserole dish filled with hot water to the bottom of your oven.
In the meantime, remove your whole ham from the fridge and trim off the fatty outer layer. Reserve for other purposes.
1 whole smoked ham
Remove the dough from the bowl and place onto a floured surface (I use all-purpose flour for this step). Dust more flour over the dough, then roll it out large enough to fit your ham. Envelop your ham in the dough.
When I did this, I had some crevices on the bottom of my ham, where dough ended up sneaking into and not fully cooking. You can avoid this by making sure that any uneven sides are on top when baking. You can also trim off any bits and pieces to make the bottom flat. Then place the ham seam side down on a baking sheet topped with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Score the top of the dough in a repeated diamond pattern (see pictures and video). You can use a sharp knife or a bread lame for this step.
Check to make sure there is still plenty of hot water in your casserole dish. If needed, add more. Transfer your dough-wrapped ham quickly to the hot, steamy oven and bake for a total of 60 minutes (important: reduce the temperature to 220° C/ 430° F 10 minutes into baking).
While baking, make the horseradish cream sauce and let it rest in the fridge until you're ready to eat. This helps the flavors develop, too. Feel free to add more horseradish if desired.
100 grams sour cream, 100 grams Greek yogurt, 2 Tablespoons cream cheese, 80 grams prepared horseradish, 2 Tablespoons finely chopped chives, ½ teaspoon chili powder, salt and pepper
Remove the ham from the oven, transfer it to a cooling rack, and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
While slicing with a bread knife works okay, slicing with a bread slicer works amazing! I love this manual slicer and the German-made blade can be removed to clean it.
You can also cut the ham in half, remove the ham from the bread pockets, slice the ham, and then cut the bread into pieces and slice it separately. The bread is so delicious after letting the ham bake in it. This is so worth it and makes for an amazing centerpiece.
Serve and eat immediately. I love serving this ham with some German pickles (Schaller and Weber just started carrying famous German pickles from the Spreewald), deviled eggs (gefüllte Eier), a couple of great cheeses, and some snacking veggies. Guten Appetit!

Video

Nutrition