June 3, 2010 - 9:36pm
Adding cheese to bread
A friend asked me last week to make a rosemary-asiago bread. It sounds terrific, so I asked for her recipe. She doesn't have one! But I'm going to do it anyway.
I'm just wondering if anybody has any pointers on adding cheese to an existing bread recipe. How will the added mlik fat affect the proportions? Should I adjust the other liquid? If part of it is milk, is that a good idea? a bad idea? If my basic recipe includes some other fat (oil, butter...) should I reduce it? leave it out?
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Hi fatherjay, I recently made the Three Cheese Semolina Bread from KA Flour and it was delicious. A couple of points - be sure to bake bread with cheese included on parchment paper and probably on a cookie sheet too. The cheese oozed out in places and while tasty I was unhappy when it reached my new baking stone. The second time I made it I added more Parmesan and should have cut back on the salt in the recipe, so if your cheese is salty keep that in mind. The cheeses were shredded (Parmesan), cubed (Provolone) and crumbled (Asiago). Hope this helps, A.
and I don't make any liquid adjustments. The taste is wonderful !
Have fun :)
Hi fatherjay
I just posted on a range of breads including a Cheese Bread. You can see it here: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/18164/whitsuntide-baking-and-other-antics
For the post to be fully meaningful, you may need access to Hamelman's book; details are found on pp. 180-1.
Best wishes
Andy
...frequently. I like to incorporate cheese cubes (3/8" to 1/2" in size) into standard bread recips. I'll make the dough, let it rise and before shaping, stretch into a rectangle. I add the cheese as I do a fold until it's fairly well distributed. and then shape the loaves. I find the large chunks don't affect the dough. Smaller pieces will assimulate into the dough and change it's characteristics.
I recently made some provolone and proscuitto loaves that dissolved the cheese and made flatter loaves than I wanted. The pieces of cheese and ham were both too small.
Cheese bread is very popular in this house, all I do is add grated cheese to my dough, most often white bread dough.
You will get a much higher rise oven spring with cheese in to dough,
I don't change anything like salt etc. I use Asiago with Parmesan, but always grated, I find if you use chunks large or small the cheese melts and leaves a hole. If you roll out your dough jelly roll style and speinkle a fair amount of cheese over the surface then roll ot up and continue you will find that the cheese again has melted and most of the loaf will have separated.
Also I sprinkle grated cheddar over top it gives a better finish to the loaf......
qahtan
This bread looks wonderful. Did you add the cheese to the entire dough as you had mentioned that it separates when you roll it jelly roll fashion? I have made whole wheat onion cheesy bread and used small chunks of cheddar cheese but found that when it bakes it also leaves holes.
Yes I added the cheese along with the flour etc,,,, qahtan
I baked savory cheese scones for Christmas breakfast and had a scary fire inside my oven. I had put them on a cookie sheet and the cheese melted and dripped on the electric element. Next time I will bake them in a jelly roll pan with a lip.
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Dorothy
A few months ago I made Carol Field's Rosemary Cheese Bread/Panmarino and it couldn't have been easier. The only 'tip' I can give you is to make sure your dough is moist enough that it allows the cheese to incorporate easily and to give it lots of time for rising. Cheese, and to a degree herbs tend to slow down yeast activity. AnnieT's comment regarding salt is good advice to keep in mind. I'm not sure if I cut back the salt when I made mine but I didn't find it overly salty in any case. This bread is worth baking for the aroma alone. You'll love it! Recipe follows:
Rosemary Cheese Bread
Adapted from Carol Field's Italian Baking
Page 161---Rosemary Bread/Panmarino
450 gm flour
10 gm salt
3.4 gm fresh rosemary
7.5 gm instant dried yeast
150 gm warm water
123 gm milk- room temp
34 gm olive oil
180 gm grated cheese (parmesan, asiago, cheddar, provolone etc.) reserve 30 gm of cheese for topping before bake
egg wash- 1 whole egg + 60 gm water- mix until thoroughly combined
In a stand mixer combine water, flour, salt, rosemary and yeast then stir in the the milk and oil using the dough hook. Once combined and liquid is absorbed, knead on medium speed until dough is velvety, elastic , smooth and somewhat moist. The liquid measurment is approx 60% but it may be a +/- depending on flour absorption. Mix in the cheese until thoroughly blended into the dough. Finish kneading by hand.
First rise- place dough in an oiled bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. let rise till doubled, about 1.5 hrs.
Shaping and second rise- punch the dough down and shape into a round. Place on parchment lined peel. Cover with a moist towel and let rise till not quite double, approx 45 minutes.
Baking- preheat oven and stone to 450* Slash an asterisk on top, egg wash, sprinkle with sea salt and reserved cheese and slide off peel on to baking stone. Spray with water 3 times during first 10 minutes then reduce the heat to 400*. Bake for 30-35 minutes longer. Cool on a rack till no longer warm.