There is a farm market not too far from where I live called Gouchers Farm Market. Its the favorite of my sister and myself. I reckon we visit it several times a week, and not just for vegetables or fruits. They are open all year round and are very consistent in the quality of what they sell, plus the prices are fairly competitive.
The sell organic frozen locally ground beef and other meats. Local cheeses, jams, pickles, syrups, smoked meats, etc.
Twice a week they get in fresh bakery goods that are produced right here in the valley. Pies, cakes, cookies, squares, rolls, breads, etc. They have two suppliers of these goods that arrive on two separate days.
They get the most fabulous Nova Scotia Brown Bread and the most wonderful cheese bread. These things run out fairly quickly. You have to be quick off the mark to get some!
I love the cheese bread. I can eat it just plain, on its own without any butter or anything else spread on it. It is wonderfully delicious. The other day we were there, they only had one fresh loaf. I let my sister have it because I knew it would get used up if she took it home, whereas the likelihood of me being able to use the full loaf was pretty slim.
She gave me a few slices and I got to enjoy some anyways. Very tasty!
I decided to try to bake my own. I had not used my bread machine in a while so I dusted it off, determined to bake a cheese bread of my own in it. I went searching on Pinterest for a recipe. (As you do.)
I saw a couple recipes that looked very promising, but then I discovered this one and that was it. I had found my loaf. This Cheddar Cheese Bread recipe that I am sharing today has been adapted from one I found on a page called Sum of Yum.
It looked like it had the perfect texture and promised to be a bakery style loaf. I just had to give it a go. I did adapt the recipe a bit in line with the requirements of my bread machine and with what I know that works well when making bread in the bread machine.
The end result was a delicious, soft, beautiful textured loaf of Cheddar Cheese Bread. I declare it even better than the one we have been buying at the farm market. Its fabulous!
As you can see it rose nice and tall and has a beautiful crisp crust. It did sink a bit in the center after I took it out of the machine, but the interior is cooked perfectly so I am not sure what that is about. It has not affected the flavor or texture of the bread at all.
I think it was perhaps a bit tall for my machine? I don't know how these things work. In any case, it is a beautiful loaf of bread!
What I love most about it is that it is such a simple make and bake. I struggle with baking bread in the ordinary way, but I have the best bread machine. It bakes beautiful bread that I just love!
My machine is the Panasonic Automatic Bread Maker Model# SD-RD250. This is the bread machine I have been using for over 20 years. I went through two of them in the UK. My friend Jo, who was the housekeeper at the Manor for a few of the years that I worked there, had this particular model also.
When it came time to buy a new one here in Canada, I had to go with the same thing again. It is, quite simply, the best bread machine. I highly recommend.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CHEDDAR CHEESE BREAD (BREAD MACHINE)
Pretty basic bread making ingredients. There is nothing special here. I highly recommend using the best cheddar you can buy and a strong cheddar for the best flavor!
- 1 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast
- 3 cups (420g) white bread flour
- 1 TBS granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 TBS Vital Wheat Gluten (optional)
- 1 cup (240ml) room temperature whole milk
- 1/2 cup (120g) butter, melted
- 2 cups (241g) extra strong cheddar, grated
I think extra strong/sharp cheddar gives the best flavor. You could use white, but I used dyed cheddar today because I was looking for the lovely warmth in color it would give to the bread.
Vital Wheat Gluten is an additive that I use. I add Vital Wheat Gluten to all of my recipes for bread making in a bread machine. You can purchase it online. (I get mine on Amazon.)It helps to yield a much better loaf, helping the loaf to rise higher with a nicer texture than without.
It stores for a really long time in the freezer.
HINTS AND TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST BREAD IN A BREAD MACHINE
1. Measure by weight and not volume. Weight is a much more precise way to measure. You can't go wrong. I have a set of digital scales that I use. I just pop the bread pan onto them and measure away. My scales measure in grams, Kg, pounds and ounces, milliliters, etc. I started baking by weight when I lived in the UK and I would now never bake any other way.
2. Bread machine loaves work best with bread flour. Bread flour can also be labeled "Best for Bread" or "High Gluten flour."
3. You can use regular flour, but if you do, I really recommend adding Vital Wheat Gluten to the recipe. This helps to boost the protein content of the bread.
4. Measure very carefully. If you don't add enough flour, no matter the type of flour you use, the bread will collapse and is often uncooked in the center. If you add too much flour, you will end up with a dense, hard heavy ball.
5. Yeast is a vital component in making yeasted breads! Duh. It can come in many forms. I recommend using yeast which is prepared specifically for use in the bread machine. I store my yeast in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator.
6. Salt is another important component in bread making. Do not however, let the salt touch the yeast. Salt is important in bread making, not only as a flavor enhancer, but also in controlling the level of yeast fermentation.
8. Follow the recommendations when it comes to the order of adding ingredients to your machine. There are reasons why some machines put the dry ingredients first and the wet last. Others might recommend putting in the wet first and the dry last. YOU NEED TO FOLLOW THE EXACT ORDER AS RECOMMENDED BY YOUR PARTICULAR MODEL!!
Most of the time when a recipe fails it is because the baker fails to follow the correct directions as per the machine they are using.
This is a really beautiful loaf of bread. Today I enjoyed some of it sliced and buttered along with a can of Chili Soup. Its a chilly, rainy day and it went down a real treat!
Soft, moist and delicious, this is one fantastic loaf of bread. A new favorite. I think it would make great sandwiches as well!
Some other bread machine recipes that I have shared on here that you might enjoy are:
BREAD MACHINE PARKER HOUSE ROLLS - These are beautiful rolls and well deserving of being served at your holiday meal, or at any meal for that matter. Using the Bread Machine makes them quick and very simple to make.
BUTTERMILK WHOLEWHEAT BREAD - With a mixture of both whole wheat and white bread flours, and sweetened with maple syrup. Then there is the addition of buttermilk. Together these things make for a really delicious wholesome loaf of bread.
Cheddar Cheese Bread
Yield: 1 loaf
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 4 HourTotal time: 4 H & 15 M
This is a soft and delicious bakery quality type of bread. It bakes up very easily in the bread machine.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast
- 3 cups (420g) white bread flour
- 1 TBS granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 TBS Vital Wheat Gluten (optional)
- 1 cup (240ml) room temperature whole milk
- 1/2 cup (120g) butter, melted
- 2 cups (241g) extra strong cheddar, grated
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients into your bread maker, according to the manufacturers instructions. (For mine I place them in the machine in the order written in the ingredients list above, beginning with the yeast and ending with the cheese.) It is important not to let the yeast come in contact with the liquids or the salt.
- Set your bread machine to the basic setting, light crust. Press start.
- Mine takes 4 hours.
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Is the cheddar added together with flour? Or added in much later?
ReplyDeleteYou add the cheddar in with everything else at the beginning. The way my bread machine requires the ingredients added, they go in according to the way I have listed the ingredients on the recipe card. Your bread machine might be different. Follow the directions according to your own model of machine. I hope this helps and that you try the bread. It is fabulous!
DeleteThis sounds delicious. I suspect you would do much the same if NOT using a bread machine?
ReplyDeleteYou might have to put it together a bit differently, but yes, pretty much the same. Just do it as you would any normal loaf of bread. Stir the sugar into the milk, add the yeast. Leave it to prove for a few minutes, then add the butter, cheese, and remaining ingredients. Knead until soft and smooth. Pop into a greased bowl, cover, let rise until double. Knock down, shape into a loaf, pop into a greased pan, cover and let rise again, then bake!
DeleteSO EAGER to try this! Does your bread machine make a 1.5 or 2lb loaf?
ReplyDeleteIt makes both. This is a 2 pound loaf. Hope this helps!
DeleteBummer--my bread machine does 1.5 lb loaves. All that cheese would push it over capacity. So my Kitchenaid stand mixer is kneading it right now. My GOSH does that dough smell good!!
DeleteThe dough does smell amazing. Wait until you smell the finished bread!! xo
DeleteMarie, this bread is everything you said it would be! We cut into it early, because we just couldn't resist! What a beautiful crumb and crisp crust. And the flavor is superb!
DeleteI baked this without my bread machine, so I did consult a few similar non-bread-machine recipes. Long story short: I added a 1 large egg, increased the instant yeast to 2-1/4 tsp, used bread flour but did not add wheat gluten. Used the Kitchenaid paddle to mix, then switched to the bread hook and let it knead on 2 speed for 5 minutes. Covered the mixing bowl with the plastic lid and let it rise for 2 hours. Dumped it out on a lightly floured counter & kneaded it ~10x (the dough was beautifully smooth and wonderful to work with!). Shaped it, and put it in a greased 9x5 loaf pan for a 30 min 2nd rise. Baked at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes. The internal temp was 200 degrees at that point, and the bread was beautifully browned, so I took it out and racked it for cooling. It's one of the nicest-looking loaves I've ever baked--and surely one of the tastiest!
I learned that all I need to do to convert your 2lb loaf recipe to my own 1.5lb bread machine is multiply all the ingredients by .75 (or 3/4). I will do that for a future loaf, just to test. But my machine only takes 2hr 20 min for a light crust setting, and that just doesn't compare to your 4-hour machine time...so that concerns me a little. I'll just have to see how it goes. Because the bread dough is such a pleasure to work with, I'm not going to mind making it with my Kitchenaid's help.
Thank you for introducing us to such a wonderful bread--I will make it again & again!
I am so pleased you made this and were happy with the results Sue! Thank you so much for your feedback and sharing of how you adapted it! I am sure this will be helpful to many others! I so appreciate it! xo
DeleteMarie: Can I make this and cook in the oven?
ReplyDeleteYou absolutely can! Just do it as you would any normal loaf of bread. Stir the sugar into the milk, add the yeast. Leave it to prove for a few minutes, then add the butter, cheese, and remaining ingredients. Knead until soft and smooth. Pop into a greased bowl, cover, let rise until double. Knock down, shape into a loaf, pop into a greased pan, cover and let rise again, then bake! I hope this helps! PS - cook in a 375*F/190*C oven until golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
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