BREAD in its many shapes and flavours plays a part in most of our daily lives.
In a busy household the local store is often the best way to put bread on the table - it's convenient and there's often a great range available to buy. And it takes planning to bake your own bread.
That said, modern breadmaking machines and an enthusiasm for many cooks to get their hands in on the action, has meant that finding time to make your own loaf or two can ultimately be quite therapeutic, and with delicious results.
Here's a cheesy recipe that works well as an accompaniment to soups and other casual meals, as toast for a late-night snack or as framework for a salad sandwich. The bread can be sliced and frozen in plastic wrap as a good stand-by for later re-heating.
This recipe makes two loaves using 27cm loaf tins. You can use smaller tins and divide the loaves according, as I have done.
CHEESE BREAD
- 7g active dry yeast
- 1 tbspn sugar
- 1 1/2 tbspns vegetable oil
- 85g semi-hard goats' milk cheese, finely grated
- 155g gruyere cheese, coarsely grated
- 550g plain flour
- 1 tbspn salt
- 60g butter, at room temperature, cubed
- 1 tspn tabasco
- 1 egg white, lightly beaten
Dissolve the yeast and the sugar in 1/4 cup warm water; set aside until foamy. Meanwhile, grease two 6-cup loaf tins (or 1 large and 2 small tins) and a large bowl with oil; set aside. Mix 2 tbspns of the goat cheese and 1/4 cup of the gruyere in a small bowl; set aside.
Combine 500g of the flour and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the yeast mixture, 1 1/2 cups warm water, the butter and the tabasco. Turn the dough out on to a work surface dusted with the remaining flour and knead until almost smooth, 15-20 minutes. (You can use an electric mixer, in which case it won't take as long to achieve a smooth dough.)
Transfer the dough to the greased bowl; turn the dough to coat it thoroughly with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot to let the dough rise until doubled in bulk, about 90 minutes.
Knead the remaining cheeses into the dough on a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two or three balls (depending on the tins you are using) and let it rest for 10 minutes. Roll out the balls with a rolling pin into rectangles so that the long edge is slightly less than the length of your tin; let rest for 3 minutes.
Starting with a short end of each rectangle, roll up each into a tight cylinder. Transfer the dough, seam side down, to the prepared tins and flatten slightly. If you are using a round tin (as I did for my two small loaves), shape the dough similarly and curl the dough to fit into the tin. Cover the pans with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot to let the dough rise until doubled in bulk, a further 90 minutes. Preheat oven to 190C.
Bake the loaves for 20 minutes. Brush the tops with egg white and sprinkle with the reserved cheeses. Continue baking until loaves sound hollow when tapped on top and bottom, 25 to 30 minutes. Tip the loaves out of the tins and return them to the oven for 5-7 minutes to firm the crusts. Let the loaves cool on a wire rack before serving.
