Ok, so enough whining about the house.
It is what it is.
And we have a plan for dealing with it, which I will go into when it seems fairly certain the plan will probably happen. Possibly later this week, possibly next month, possibly March 2017. Who knows.
I decided that I’d had enough dealing with things I can’t control & it was time to take charge of *something* I could control.
Even though it was over 90F Saturday, I decided to bake bread.
I mean, what the heck, I’m already mentally miserable, why not be physically uncomfortable as well? At least there will be something good to eat at the end of it.
I made my favorite cheddar cheese bread.
It’s dark in spots because I used a cheddar made with porter. This is my favorite cheese to use with this bread but I don’t come across it very often. The little specialty shop in town stocks it at random & I visit the specialty shop even more randomly. Lacking it, I like Coombs’ Farm Mature & Creamy Cheddar and failing that I get the Kerrygold Irish Cheddar.
A block of Kraft Extra Sharp also works just fine if that’s all that’s available. Whatever your favorite cheddar is.
First mix together in a large bowl:
1.5c white flour
1.25c whole wheat flour
1.25 teas dry yeast
1 teas sea salt
Then mix together in a much smaller bowl:
1.25c warm water
1 Tbsp oil
.5 Tbsp honey
Add the liquids to the dry stuff & stir to combine, then knead for 7-10 minutes. I use a dough hook on my stand mixer & only go for about 5-7 minutes.
Let rise covered in a warmish place for 90 minutes or so. Punch it down and knead in:
6 ounces cheddar diced in .5 inch cubes (I shred mine, it’s quicker & easier)
Grease a loaf pan, shape the dough, place in pan & let rise covered in a warmish place for an hour.
Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes. Remove from loaf pan & place on rack until completely cooled.
You know what this bread is excellent for? Grilled sandwiches. Especially ham & cheese. Ham, cheddar & thinly sliced granny smith apples with just a touch of Dijon mustard to be specific.
I don’t have a photo of the sandwich because I ate it too quickly.
It also makes a good steak sandwich if you toast it first. It’s a soft bread.
This recipe also works well with swiss or other fairly firm cheese.
This bread sounds really yummy! I’ve been meaning to try a yeast bread for a while now (I usually only make banana bread) and this sounds like a good one! Maybe not for my first attempt, though.
Yummy Stacey! Super-yummy…Oh I do love cheddar cheese! (I’m not supposed to eat dairy foods, but now and then I eat cheese…). Maybe I should post you some Real Cheddar… We’re very lucky in the UK, to have such great cheeses to choose from – so many types and regional cheeses – not only Cheddar, but stuff like Leicestershire (orange-yellow, mild flavour), Wensleydale (white, slightly crumbly, tangy flavour), Double Gloucester (golden coloured, mild and creamy flavour), Caerphilly (Welsh cheese, white, crumbly, tangy but kind-of creamy, makes excellent toasted cheese, esp. mixed with Cheddar), Stilton (blue-veined, creamy whitish cheese, strong/med.strong flavour)… loads of other types of cheese.
Why am I talking about cheese? I’m not allowed to eat cheese, and I love the stuff! Your cheese-bread looks great – I think I will try it; it’ll certainly go down well with the Boys! Thanks for taking the time to photograph and write out the recipe.
Hope the House Issues get sorted out soon. X
That DOES look like good bread…glad you were able to drag your mind away from house issues to do something therapeutic, and with a yummy outcome!
Alison xx
Oh man! That looks delicious! And can I just say I LOVE the Monty Python reference!