Ham and Cheese Pastry Braid: crowd-pleasing breakfast dish or appetizer! Recipe via MonPetitFour.com

Ham and Cheese Pastry (Feuillete au jambon)

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Spring entertaining just became a whole lot easier with this ham and cheese pastry braid. Translated to French as feuillete au jambon, this ham and cheese pastry braid is a major crowd-pleaser and a cinch to make!

Ham and Cheese Pastry

After recently sharing my sweet pastry braid recipe only to receive a ton of positive feedback, I decided it was time to share a savory version. 

Ham and Cheese Pastry Braid: crowd-pleasing breakfast dish or appetizer! Recipe via MonPetitFour.com

This ham and cheese pastry braid has fantastic flavor; everybody who tries it loves it! The ham and cheese are enclosed in golden [easyazon_link keywords=”puff pastry” locale=”US” tag=”monpetitfour-20″]puff pastry[/easyazon_link], which is cut and criss-crossed to look like a braid. 

With Easter and spring entertaining on the mind, I knew I wanted to share a recipe with you guys that you could easily prepare on a whim with crowd-pleasing results. 

Au jambon

To create this pastry braid, I used honey ham from Castle Wood Reserve®, which I picked up at my local Walmart’s deli department. I love their ham because it not only has great flavor and premium quality, but the ham has no nitrites or nitrates added, and no artificial flavors. 

Ham and Cheese Pastry Braid: crowd-pleasing breakfast dish or appetizer! Recipe via MonPetitFour.com

This honey ham is the real deal, and it shows in this delectable ham and cheese pastry braid. 

The ham is accompanied by cheese (your pick! I chose provolone) and [easyazon_link identifier=”B007PQUFZ2″ locale=”US” tag=”monpetitfour-20″]honey dijon mustard[/easyazon_link]. That’s all! These ingredients are placed on a sheet of puff pastry, which is braided and pinched at the seams to ensure all that glorious filling stays inside. 

Ham and Cheese Pastry Braid: crowd-pleasing breakfast dish or appetizer! Recipe via MonPetitFour.com

Cutting up the Pastry

This ham and cheese pastry braid looks gorgeous right out of the oven. The puff pastry is golden and flaky, and you can see just the slightest bit of cheese peeking out through the braid.

As tempting as it is to slice right into this when it’s hot out of the oven, I recommend allowing the pastry to cool until it’s just slightly warm or room temperature. 

Ham and Cheese Pastry Braid: crowd-pleasing breakfast dish or appetizer! Recipe via MonPetitFour.com

Ham and Cheese Pastry Braid: crowd-pleasing breakfast dish or appetizer! Recipe via MonPetitFour.com

This way, the flavors will shine through better and no one will burn trying to eat the hot filling!

I like to slice the pastry braid into about 6 pieces and serve this as a party appetizer. The dish works as both a breakfast/brunch option or a lunch/dinner appetizer, so it’s really your choice. 

I can promise that no matter what occasion you choose to serve this at, your guests are going to love it!

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[easyazon_image align=”none” height=”104″ identifier=”B00629K4YK” locale=”US” src=”https://www.monpetitfour.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/41MTUhWaO2BL.SL160.jpg” tag=”monpetitfour-20″ width=”160″][easyazon_image align=”none” height=”160″ identifier=”B007PQUFZ2″ locale=”US” src=”https://www.monpetitfour.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/51AuKxBam4L.SL160.jpg” tag=”monpetitfour-20″ width=”109″]

Ham and Cheese Pastry Braid: crowd-pleasing breakfast dish or appetizer! Recipe via MonPetitFour.com
Ham and Cheese Pastry Braid: crowd-pleasing breakfast dish or appetizer! Recipe via MonPetitFour.com

Ham and Cheese Pastry

Yield: 6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

A delectable pastry braid made up of puff pastry filled with honey ham, dijon, and cheese. The perfect entertaining dish to please a crowd!

Ingredients

  • 1 sheet of puff pastry
  • 5-6 slices of Castle Wood Reserve® Honey Ham
  • 1 tbsp honey dijon mustard
  • 3 slices of provolone cheese
  • 1 egg, beaten, for egg wash

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper or a silicone mat. Thaw a sheet of puff pastry, then unfold it into a large square. 
  2. Spread a thin layer of honey dijon mustard in the center of the puff pastry, in a straight, vertical column (making sure to leave a 1.5" gap between where the mustard is and where the edge of the puff pastry is - so top and bottom of this dijon column should be clear). If you're using a store-bought sheet of puff pastry, you should spread the dijon where the center fold is, leaving the top and bottom of the pastry's center fold bare. Layer slices of the ham over the dijon, again leaving the top and bottom areas bare. Follow with the slices of cheese, trimming the cheese if needed. 
  3. Use a sharp knife to make 4 cuts in the puff pastry, one cut for each corner of the pastry filling. Then, beginning on one side of the filling, making 7 diagonal cuts in the puff pastry. Follow with 7 diagonal cuts on the opposite site. Take the flap of dough that is directly above the center filling and pull it over the filling. Do the same for the bottom flap of dough. The triangular flaps of dough on the very corners of the puff pastry can be discarded or re-purposed. 
  4. Grab one diagonal strip of puff pastry from one side and bring it up and over the filling. Grab a strip from the opposite side and bring it up and over the filling. Continue to "braid" the pastry down to the bottom. When you reach the last pieces, tuck the edges under the entire pastry braid to keep the braid pinched shut. 
  5. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg, then bake the braid for 20 minutes. Allow the braid to cool completely before slicing into 6 pieces and serving. 

Notes

To see a video tutorial of a similar recipe where the pastry was braided, please visit: http://monpetitfour.com/chocolate-pastry-braid

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 6 Servings
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 379

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8 Comments

    1. Hi Kim! Yes it can, just keep the pastry frozen until you’re ready to bake. Note that the bake time may need to be increased a bit to compensate for the fact that it’s coming straight out of the freezer and into the oven. 🙂

  1. Hello, Do you have a photo showcasing the curing and braiding part? Do you overlap each braid or line them up?
    Thanks, it looks delicious!

  2. Looks delicious! I just found your blog, and I wanted to follow you FB, but there’s an error message. Pinned.

    1. Thank you, Vicky! Looks like you ended up finding the Facebook page. So happy to be connected now! 🙂

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