Thursday, January 1, 2009

Volcano Cheese Bread

I love melty, gooey cheese and warm, fragrant bread, and to find both in a recipe is a bread-baker's (and glutton's) dream. This recipe is an adaptation of one from the King Arthur Flour website and will not disappoint.

Volcano Cheese Bread
Starter
1-1/4 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1/2 cup cool water

Dough
All of the Starter
1-1/4 cups lukewarm water
1 teaspoon salt
3-1/4 cups unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

Filling
2-1/2 cups grated cheese (I used fresh mozzarella, havarti, parmesan, and sharp Cheddar)

Directions
Starter:
In a medium-sized bowl, mix Starter ingredients together till well-combined. Make sure all ingredients are well-mixed; batter will be stiff. Cover and let rest overnight at room temperature. After the overnight resting, it will look similar to this:


Bread Dough:
Combine risen starter with Dough ingredients. Knead (using your favorite method--I used my KitchenAid dough hook) until smooth dough is formed. Put dough in lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or till nearly doubled.

Gently press on dough with your fist to deflate it, then press it into a 9" x 12" shape. Mist with water; sprinkle with grated cheese. Starting with long side, roll carefully into a log and seal seam by pinching. Place seam-side down on lightly oiled or floured surface. Cover and let rise for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, or until puffed but not necessarily doubled.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Cut dough crosswise into 2 halves or four pieces, depending on the size of loaf you prefer. Place cut side up on lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, using one sheet for two halves or two sheets for four pieces. Gently spread apart to expose cheese.


Mist with warm water and bake immediately, 20 minutes for smaller loaves or 35 minutes for larger loaves, or until the cheese is melted and loaves are deep golden brown. Remove from the oven, cool on a rack until you can’t stand it anymore, then tear off pieces with your fingers and enjoy bites of savory fondue-like cheese encased in a tender and tangy bread.

21 comments:

  1. Oh Granny! Who wouldn't love some bread just exploding with cheesy deliciousness! Looks wonderful!

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  2. Lawsa mercy! What I wouldn't give for one of those warm from the oven right now! I love the cheese & bread combo!

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  3. Oh my gosh Granny, why must you tempt me with this cheesy goodness???!! Why???!! I need to make these as soon as possible! Do you think a little garlic mixed with the cheese would hurt?

    I think I'll make these for dinner sometime- just these with some broccoli or salad or something. Lol.

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  4. Thank you to HoneyB, LadyJP, What A Dish, and Kaitlin!

    This bread is really at its best fresh out of the oven, but I did slice some I had frozen and broil it, and it was still good!

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  5. And What A Dish, I think garlic mixed in would be great!

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  6. Thanks for the mention. Glad you enjoyed the recipe and added new cheeses to make it unique.

    Happy Baking in 2009

    MJR @ King Arthur Flour

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  7. Thank you KA Customer Service! :))

    OK Chick--what fun to find a fellow Okie blogger! If you would like to email me at grannyloohoo@yahoo.com, I will be glad to provide you with more information about my bakery.

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  8. Thank you Plum Bush Cottage--I'm glad you stopped by!

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  9. Thanks for coming by my blog! I love the King Arthur Flour blog too. They are so creative. Your rolls look so yummy.

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  10. Thank you for your visit, Joie de vivre!

    Love your name--you probably wouldn't want this Okie to pronounce it though ;)

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  11. Wow, Granny King Arthur flour contacted you to thank you! I mean they should, you've been hawking their flour for years ;o) I'm just surprised they did.

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  12. Cami, you're not as surprised as I was! :))

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  13. i was looking for nice baking blogs ,thanx i found ur blog...

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  14. Vrinda, now I feel pressure to have a good baking blog. :0)

    Thanks for visiting.

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  15. These look great! thanks for sharing hope I get some time to try the recipe - Janet
    http://seeoklahoma.blogspot.com

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  16. OETA’s Gallery Series Launches Cake Baking Contest

    If you are a sugar artist, or simply enjoy baking, share your sweet creation with OETA. Send us a picture of your best cake and it might be chosen to be featured at the end of the March episode of Gallery, OETA’s award-winning arts and culture series.

    The episode follows the “Sugar Artists” who come from all over the world to Tulsa each year for the Grand National Wedding Cake Competition. Close to 100 Master Cake Designers who compete each year at the Tulsa State Fair. Recent winners include Lori Cossou of Welch, who will fight to keep her title, and a former Oklahoma champion, Kim Payne of Cheyenne.

    The sweet installment of Gallery airs in March 2009 – and in the meantime, viewers across the state are invited to showcase their cake-baking skills …

    Participation is easy:
    1) E-mail the picture of your cake as a .jpg attachment to lholliday@oeta. If you do not have e-mail, you can send a photo of your cake to Lori Holliday, OETA, P.O. Box 14190, Oklahoma City, OK 73113.
    2) Include a note with your picture telling OETA what you enjoy most about cake baking and decorating. Let us know if you had any particular inspiration for creating the cake in the picture you are submitting. Please sign your name and include your complete address and phone number with area code. Your signature confirms that the cake in the picture was your original creation.
    3) All pictures received by the deadline will be featured on the Gallery web site at oeta.tv/gallery. By participating in this fun contest, you are giving OETA permission to publish the picture you submit on air, on-line and in print.
    4) Deadline: Cake pictures are due to OETA by Tuesday, February 10, at 5:00 p.m.

    Gallery, airing Thursdays at 8 p.m. on OETA-The Oklahoma Network, captures the best Oklahoma has to offer in all forms of art, including dance, sculpture, education, music, painting, photography, performances and more from every part of the state.

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  17. MMMMMMM....this breda looks so delicious!!!
    yum yum, can I have some?

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  18. I make this bread with cheddar and a layer of pickled jalapeno pepper slices. My son who has never baked before asked for the recipe!

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