Friday, February 10, 2012

Cheddar Cheese Sour Dough Bread

Forgive me for not having posted anything about sour dough before.  You probably already know that I'm obsessed with it.  I feed it every day and experiment with it often.  I'm still working on it though.  However, I have to share this recipe because it was soooo delicious.


I followed this recipe:
Night before (or 12 hours prior to the next step):
1 1/4 C. unbleached white flour
1 tsp salt (I like kosher salt)
1/2 C. cool water
1 C. sour dough starter (that has been well fed 8-12 hours prior to making bread)
Mix everything together until it is a stiff glob.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm area for 12 hours.

In the morning (or after 12 hours), add:
1 1/4 C. warm water
3 1/2 C. unbleached white flour
Knead the dough until it become a nice ball.  If it needs a little more flour to prevent it from sticking to your hands, do so.  Be careful not to use too much flour as your dough will become stiff.  I tend to add a little bit of flour and the switch to oiling my hands so I can work the dough with ease.  Once the dough is kneaded and in a nice ball, place in oiled bowl and let rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours.

After it has risen, flatten dough ball and add:
8oz grated sharp cheddar cheese (the sharpness of the cheese is the perfect match for the sourdough)
a little garlic oil (optional)-I just used a little bit of my favorite garlic garni seasoning 
Roll up dough and shape the way you'd like.  Place on parchment paper or silpat and allow to rise another 1-2 hours.


Here is my loaf ready to bake with a little garlic garni sprinkled on top.

Bake bread in a 425 degree F oven (preheated) for 30-45 min. or until it is golden in color and sounds hollow when thumped.  Recipe yields: 2 loaves (I halved the recipe and made only one).
Enjoy sliced with butter or like I did with jalapeno jelly, muenster cheese, and sliced turkey! YUM!

Time Snapshot:
12 hours
+2 hours for first rise
+2 hours for second rise 
+30-40min bake time
=approx 17 hours (but only about 5 min to prepare each step)

Note: This bread was really good right out of the oven.  However, it became more dense the more it cooled so I'll have to make this again to try and fix that glitch.

No comments:

Post a Comment