Friday Recipe: Whole-Wheat Cheese Bread

You haven't really been to the Madison Farmer's Market until you've had the hot, spicy cheese bread. That bread is a challah-like egg bread with hot-peppered mozzarella braided in. This recipe is not that bread -- it's a whole wheat dough rolled with cheddar -- but it's pretty close in deliciousness. You could always adapt it by subbing in mozzarella and hot pepper flakes for the cheddar. Serve it with soup and salad or eat it all by itself. One loaf will not last very long.


Whole-Wheat Cheese Bread
Makes 1 loaf

1 pkg active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp yeast)
1 cup lukewarm milk [I use skim]
2 tbsp butter
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 c. white flour
2 tsp salt
1 c. (or more!) grated sharp cheddar

1. Combine yeast and milk. Stir and let sit for ~15 minutes.
2. Melt butter. Let cool, and add to yeast mixture.
3. Mix flour and salt in large bowl. Make a well in the middle.
4. Pour yeast mixture into well.
5. With a wooden spoon, stir until you have a rough dough (you can add a few drops of water if the dough seems dry -- it will depend on the weather).
6. Transfer to a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic.
7. Return to bowl, cover with a damp towel, and leave to rise in a warm place until it doubles in size (~ 2-3 hours).
8. Punch down the dough. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a large oval.
9. Spread cheese on the oval.


10. Roll the dough up into a jelly roll/loaf and place in a greased loaf pan. [You can use water to "seal" the roll.]

11. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until the dough rises above the rim of the pan (~ 1-2 hours).
12. Preheat the oven to 400. Bake for 15 minutes at 400. Lower the temperature to 375, and bake for about 25 minutes more.
13. Enjoy!

Notes:
*As you can see, I made two loaves at a time. It's a very easy recipe to double and the bread freezes well (but it will be eaten before you can freeze it).

*I mixed white cheddar and orange cheddar. Use whatever cheese you prefer. Sometimes I grate it myself and sometimes I buy it pre-grated.

*This is a very easy basic bread recipe. You can make the bread without the cheese if you want. It's good too.

*Rising takes the longest of any of the steps. Aside from the rising, it's a fairly quick bread to make. I've started it 4 hours before dinner and it works. Sometimes I get up in the morning, start it, let it rise all day, and then finish it. It's flexible like that.

*The flecked bread in the pictures results from using Washington Island Stone-Ground wheat flour (thanks Joel!). When I don't have that, I usually use King Arthur flour (available at Trader Joe's, among other places).

*I would have a picture of the final product if it hadn't been eaten so quickly. Use your imagination or make the bread and see for yourself.

*Thanks to Abby for first introducing me to this delicious bread, showing me how to make it, and giving me the recipe.