This Crusty Cheese and Onion Bread, with its crispy and cheesy crust and soft savory interior, is totally captivating.
I took one of the loaves to work, and it disappeared immediately.
One of my favorite "foods" is burnt cheese. If you are with me on this, you will love this bread. It was really hard not to pick off every last bit of it.
The cheese is rolled up into the dough, kind of like cinnamon swirl bread (only with cheese), and the cheese just oozes out of the slashes on top as the bread expands in the oven.
This bread uses a sourdough starter to develop flavor. The final dough also includes some instant yeast, so you don't have to totally rely on your starter for the dough to rise and you still get that faint sourdough tang.
The dough for this bread can be made up to four days in advance, and then shaped and baked at your convenience. This bread also freezes very well after baking.
For the cheese, I rummaged through my fridge for whatever cheese I had on hand, and used a combination of bits of mozzarella, gruyere, and cheddar (mostly gruyere) and was really happy with the results. As long as some of the cheese you use is "melty," any cheese will work.
I also used a sweet onion for the onion component. Feel free to experiment with red onions, scallions, chives, or even caramelized onions. Mmmmmm.
Ingredients
For the Starter
- 1/4 C/2 ounces/56.5 grams sourdough starter
- 1 1/3 C/6 ounces/170 grams unbleached bread flour
- 1/2 C/4 ounces water
Final Dough
- All of the starter
- 1 C/8 ounces/227 grams lukewarm water
- 1/2 C/4 ounces lukewarm milk
- 2 1/4 tsp/7 grams instant yeast
- 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 4 1/2 C/20 ounces/567 grams unbleached bread flour
- 2 tsp/14 grams salt
- 1 3/4 C/7 ounces/198 grams diced sweet onion
- 2 1/2 C/12 ounces/340 grams grated cheese of your choice
Instructions
- Mix the starter ingredients and let sit, covered, until nearly doubled. Either use immediately or refrigerate up to 4 days.
- To make the dough, break up the starter into pieces and combine with the water, milk, yeast and honey. Stir until fairly mixed. Add the flour and salt except and knead with a dough hook for 5 minutes on low. Let sit for 5 minutes. Knead on medium low for five minutes more, adjusting to achieve a tacky but not sticky dough.
- Add the onions and mix for about a minute on low.
- Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight or up to 4 days. If you plan to make the loaves on different days, divide the dough in half before refrigerating.
- On baking day, take the dough out of the refrigerator and let sit for about 2 hours.
- Divide the dough in half on a lightly floured surface, and gently press the dough into two 8 by 12 inch rectangles. Spread the cheese over each half and roll up the dough like cinnamon bread. Seal the seam and shape the dough into a batard or baguette.
- Place the loaves on a parchment lined baking sheet, spray with oil, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for about 90 to 120 minutes. They should be puffy. (If the loaves are too big, you might have to use two pans).
- Place a baking stone on the middle rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and prepare the oven with a steam pan on the bottom rack. Slash the loaves with 3 diagonal cuts and place the pan(s) in the oven. Pour a cup of hot water into the steam pan, shut the door, and turn the oven down to 425 degrees F (218 C).
- Bake or 30 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until they are deep golden brown and the internal temperature is about 195 degrees F (90 degrees C).
- Cool on a wire rack for about an hour.
Yield: 2 large loaves
Recipe adapted from Artisan Breads Every Day by Peter Reinhart. This is one of my all time favorite bread books. The croissant recipe in the book is my all time favorite.
Take a look at what our #TwelveLoaves bakes have created this month:
FAQs
French bread tends to be hard and crusty on the outside, with a light and soft crumb. Italian bread can also have a hard crust, but the crumb tends to be denser. Baking Method. French bread can be cooked in any oven.
Where does Fergasa bread come from? ›
It is one of the most requested breads at our sandwich station. Rumour has it Fergasa Bread originated at a bakery in Winnipeg.
What are examples of crusty bread? ›
While there are many types of French bread, some of the most popular kinds—like baguettes and boules—have an extremely crusty exterior and a chewy crumb, making them perfect for tearing, dipping or slathering with butter. It's not uncommon for these breads to require a lengthy preparation process.
What cheese goes well with bread? ›
Bread & cheese
For soft rind-washed cheeses, such as Camembert, Brie, or Chaource, a French baguette is the best. It provides a tasty contrast of creamy cheese and crispy baguette. Bleu du Vercors, Fourme d'Ambert, and other blue cheeses go well with rye bread.
Why is it called cowboy bread? ›
Pan de Campo is also called Cowboy bread and is a sort of flat bread. The bread was eaten by Cowboys who worked the ranches in early Texas. The cowboys prepared it in small portable ovens which gave it its distinct texture and flavor.
What is the name of the French hard bread? ›
Baguette – a long, thin type of bread of French origin. The "baguette de tradition française" is made from wheat flour, water, yeast, and common salt.
What is Elvis bread? ›
2015-01-18 15:00:03. Serves 8. This "Elvis" banana bread is loaded up with a smooth and creamy peanut butter glaze and brown sugar-candied bacon. It's just basically freakin' awesome. 55 min.
What is New Orleans bread called? ›
This thin-crusted variety of French Bread—more commonly known as the Baguette, Po' Boy Loaf or Sunday Cap Bread—is fundamental to the New Orleans gastronomy.
What is Caribbean bread? ›
Hard dough bread, also called hardo bread, is a Caribbean cuisine bread similar to the Pullman loaf or pain de mie, although hard dough bread tends to be sweeter. The dough consists of flour, water, yeast, salt and sugar. Additional ingredients such as treacle, molasses, and vegetable shortening can be used.
What is the secret of crusty bread? ›
How to make crusty bread
- To make crusty bread, choose the right recipe. ...
- Shape the dough with more rather than less surface area. ...
- To make crusty bread, create steam in the oven. ...
- Bake on a pizza stone or steel. ...
- To keep bread crusty, cool baked loaves in the oven.
The interaction of the various ingredients and the preparation method used for French bread and sourdough bread are intended to create a bread which has a coarse texture and uneven holes.
What is cheese and bread called? ›
A cheese sandwich is a sandwich made with cheese on bread. Typically semi-hard cheeses are used for the filling, such as Cheddar, Red Leicester, or Double Gloucester. A Guardian article called the cheese sandwich a "British lunchtime staple".
What cheese do Italians eat with bread? ›
Top Cheeses For Your Italian Cheese Board.
- Parmigiano-Reggiano – Cows Milk.
- Mozzarella Di Bufala – Buffalo Milk.
- Gorganzola – Goats Milk.
- Pecorino – Sheeps Milk.
- Scamorza – Combined Milk.
Pão de queijo (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpɐ̃w dʒi ˈkejʒu], "cheese buns" in Portuguese) or Brazilian cheese buns is a small, baked cheese roll or cheese bun, a popular snack and breakfast food in Brazil.
What is a long hard bread called? ›
Baguette. Nothing else in the bread family, not even the wonderfully flaky croissant, conjures images of the Eiffel Tower and all things French the way the baguette does. The long, stick-like loaf, also called French bread (thanks to its origins), is made with flour, yeast, water, and salt.
What is dense bread called? ›
“Heavy” multigrain breads are characterised by small volume, dense texture and a high grain content. “Light” breads are similar to white bread in terms of composition, whereas “heavy” breads are similar to or denser than wholemeal bread. Multigrain bread contains whole grains of different types.
What causes hard crust on bread? ›
Excess flour can cause a thick, tough crust. If you are using rice flour in particular, this can cause a tougher crust to form. Try to minimise the amount of rice flour you use and brush off the excess before baking.
