I love making bread. There’s nothing quite like the look of bread dough rising or the smell of it coming out of the oven or the taste of hot buttered slice fresh off the loaf.
I’ve experimented with several different varieties of bread. From oat bread to seedy bread to whole wheat bread. I found out I like them all.
This recipe, however, is one I use when I feel like making some extra special bread. It takes extra time and effort, but it is worth every minute. Believe me!
This recipe is all my own, so if there is anything wrong with it, I have no one to blame but me. Thankfully, I know of nothing wrong with it. 🙂
Anyway, on to the details of the bread. There are several things that make this bread unique.
- Buttermilk. I replaced the typical water with warm buttermilk, and it really takes this loaf up a notch. Super soft and moist.
- Fresh herbs. You might be able to use dry herbs in place of fresh, but I’ve never tried it and don’t think it would work quite as well. I have used several different blends of herbs and they were all good. Rosemary, thyme, and parsley is a delicious combo. Chop them fairly small and discard the tough stems.
- Cheddar Cheese. While not an absolute necessity, it does add a nice flavor. It’s also delicious without it, but I’ll give the recipe with cheese included. Other kinds of cheese would probably be good as well.
Homemade Herb Cheese Bread
Ingredients
2 c Warm Buttermilk
2 T Sugar
2 t Yeast
2 t Salt
1/4 c Oil (or melted butter or lard)
4.5-5 c Flour
1/2 c Fresh Herbs, chopped
1/2 c Cheddar Cheese, grated
Instructions
- Put warm buttermilk, sugar, and yeast in bowl of stand mixer. If you’re using active yeast, let it bloom for 5-10 minutes until foamy. If you’re using instant yeast, blooming is not needed.
- Stir to make sure sugar and yeast are mixed in and not stuck on the bottom.
- Add the salt, oil of choice, and flour.
- Mix until flour is mostly incorporated then add chopped herbs and shredded cheese.
- Continue to knead until everything is well mixed and the dough is pulling away from the sides of the bowl. Add more flour if needed.
- Keep mixing for at least 5 minutes. I’ve found that the longer you knead the dough, the softer the bread is. If the dough stays really soft and sticky and you don’t want to add more flour, it should still work. I’ve had it happen to me lots of times, especially in warm or humid weather, and the bread turns out great. You just have to kinda pour the dough into the bowl and then the loaf pans instead of forming it.
- Transfer the dough into a large, greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled. About 1-1.5 hours.
- Form dough into a loaf, or two if it rose enough, and place in a greased 9×5 bread pan. Cover and let rise until the center is about 1-2 inches above the edge of the pan. I usually turn the oven on to preheat and let the pans sit on top the stove to cut down the rise time.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, then without taking the bread out, turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake another 20 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.
- Try to let it cool before you blister your fingers to get it out of the pans and sample it. If you’re like me and mine, you’ll endure the pain just to get a fresh, hot slice with butter. 🙂
- Serve warm with stew or baked chicken or cool as a delicious sandwich base. Whatever you do, make sure you enjoy it!
Bringing Life 