07 October 2009

cheesy bread

cheddar bread

I've been hearing again about Artisan Baking in 5 Minutes recently, first on Adam's blog (now I want a Key Lime Pi shirt -- I'm such a sucker for subliminal advertising), then I saw a recipe over at Pete Bakes! for roasted tomato and cheddar bread. The recipe makes 4 1-pound loaves, though you don't have to make it all at once since you can leave the dough in the fridge for up to seven days. Nice.

slices

As you can see, I left the tomatoes out, using them as a base for a quick pasta sauce instead. But that doesn't detract from the bread in any way. Using whole wheat flour in place of some of the white flour, the sharp cheddar paired well with the nuttiness. Definitely I need to toast a slice, and I wish I had apple butter.

bread texture

What impressed me the most about this was two things, 1) no real kneading, and 2) no fat in the recipe. You'd get some if you added the tomatoes, but otherwise nothing. The bread comes out wonderfully moist and spongy with an even crumb. A rustic crust and a subtle fermented flavor is also there, though since I made this loaf the first day I'm betting the second loaf will taste even better. I opted to divide the dough in half to make two 9x5" loaves, suitable for sandwiches and such, though considering that I should have sliced them a bit thinner.


I'm submitting this to YeastSpotting and One Good Loaf.
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6 comments

  1. There's the awesome bread baker in your coming out! Fantastic job. I'm planning on making some bread real soon too, maybe next week.

    Thanks for the shout out, and I hope you find your cute t-shirt. Somebody was a genius when he came up with that wear and advertisement thing.

    Oh and I gotta take a pic of my new 3rd guitar... it's a real looker.

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  2. You're quite the bread baker! I've never-ever baked such a perfect loaf of bread.

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  3. i need to get on that train, too!

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  4. I've been wanting to make Pete's bread but I was too lazy to make the tomatoes. It's good to see it turns out so well without them!

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  5. Like what you have done, leaving out the tomatoes and using whole wheat flour. It would be perfect toasted and slathered with apple butter...very much an autumn snack.
    Did it make two full sized sandwich loaves?

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  6. I can imagine this making an extra-cheesy grilled cheese sandwich too. Beautiful!

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Thanks for taking the time to comment. Your thoughts are appreciated! ^,^

~Christina

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