Cheese and Herb Dinner Bread

Here's to another shot at baking bread. Sometime I do good and sometimes I fail. I have now learned that yeast can go bad and last weekend I tried to make an apple cheese danish and it failed, super dense. I know feel that was due to the yeast not activating, whether that was an error on my part of old yeast, I don't know. This time around I used a different yeast, newer.

This recipe is super easy to make and really easy to work with. I lessened the flour because it seems every time I use the full amount of flour I have WAY too much. I omitted one cup of flour from the original recipe and that was perfect, because when mixing in the wet ingredients  I actually had to add bout 1/4 cup more lukewarm water to make the dough smooth, tacky, but not sticky.

I also feel this is an extremely versatile bread recipe. I have added cheese and thyme to one loaf and in the other loaf I did Parmesan mozzarella with garlic and kalamata olives. I really feel you could add whatever you wanted to this bread or leave it plain too.

So enjoy this starter recipe and get creative and experiment with additions!

Recipe: Cheese and Herb Dinner Bread

Ingredients:

• 5 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour (can use all purpose, if that’s all you have)
• 2 tsp. fine salt 
• 5 Tbsp. white
• 1 cup lukewarm water, about 95° F. (for even softer bread, use 1 cup water leftover from boiling potatoes, cooled)
• 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. lukewarm buttermilk or milk
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. instant yeast
• 1/4 cup melted, unsalted butter or vegetable oil 

Filling:
Cheddar and Herb

• 1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded, sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 Tbsp cup minced herbs (I used thyme)

Parmesan, Garlic and Olive

• 1 to 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder (or about 2 tsp. minced fresh)
• 1/4 cup diced kalamata olives

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, salt and sugar* together. (Tip: If measuring your flour in cups, without a scale, hold back 1 cup to add as needed later). *If you’re using honey or agave, add with the liquid ingredients instead.
2. In a large measuring cup or bowl, combine the water and buttermilk and whisk in the yeast until dissolved. Add this mixture, along with the melted butter, to the dry ingredients. Mix by hand or with a dough hook, until the mixture is combined, about 2 minutes. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
3. Continue mixing the dough, adding more flour or water, as needed, until the dough becomes soft, smooth and tacky, but not sticky.
4. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for a couple of minutes, then form dough into a ball. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and either refrigerate for up to 4 days, or allow to sit at room temperature until doubled in size (about 60-90 minutes). (*Tip: I like to use an 8-cup glass measuring cup, so it’s easy to see when it’s doubled by the markings).
5. Note: If you have refrigerated your dough, remove from the refrigerator 2 hours before you plan to bake, to allow it to come to room temperature.
6. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Dust each with a bit of flour and then, using a rolling pin, roll into a rectangle approximately 10 inches wide and 16 inches long.
7. For the Cheddar and Thyme Bread: spread shredded cheddar and Thyme evenly over the surface of the dough. Starting with the shortest side, roll the dough up jelly-roll style and pinch the seam together.
   
8. For the Parmesan, Garlic and Olive: spread the ingredients evenly over the surface of the dough. Starting with the shortest side, roll the dough up jelly-roll style and pinch the seam together.
9. Grease two 8-inch by 4-inch loaf pans and set aside. (I only had one, so I took one of the jelly rolls and rolled it like a snake and cooked in a cake pan.)
10. Shaping: The following directions didn't make sense to me. I tried my own version and it didn't end up correct either. Experiment  your loaf doesn't have to look perfect. Directions from the original recipe  Using a sharp knife, cut the roll of dough down the center  lengthwise. Rotate each piece so that the cut sides are facing upward and place them side-by-side. Pinch together the farthest end. Keeping the cuts sides facing upwards as much as possible, place the right-side piece over the left-side piece. Straighten it up and then repeat, pinching together the end closest to you. If any cheese escapes, just place it back on top. Using a bench scraper or spatula, carefully lift the dough into the greased loaf pan. Repeat with the other dough log, then cover both with a greased piece of plastic wrap and allow to rise until the dough rises to about 1-inch about the side of the pans in the middle.
    
    
    
11. Preheat oven to 350° F. Bake for 45-50 minutes total, but after 25 minutes of baking, rotate pans front-to-back in the oven and loosely cover with a piece of aluminum foil, to prevent the top from over-browning. Bread should reach about 185° F. internal temperature in the center.
12. Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool in the pans for a couple of minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the bread and carefully remove the loaves to a cooling rack. Allow to cool for 1 hour before slicing.