Baking bread has become a national pastime during the coronavirus pandemic. People are talking about baking, posting pictures of their baking adventures, and sharing recipes. Anyone who bakes bread understands the meditative qualities it gives you, getting lost in the process, allowing time for the various stages to complete, knowing that if you cut corners the final product will suffer, and the satisfaction of something wholesome and good to eat and share. The same is true of life itself, if we cut corners we all may suffer needlessly. So, bread baking is the perfect pastime for this uncertain time in our lives.
smell so comforting fills my soul with happiness baked with meraki
The flavors of cheese bread baking in the oven fills the room with soothing, comforting aromas. Stop and take in a deep breath, fill your lungs with the goodness, warmth envelops your soul, and the stress of the day is released. It can be eaten as a snack, or to accompany your meal. My favorite way to enjoy it is to take the warm cheese bread and dip it into tomato basil soup. This bread is the perfect vessel for the cheese and tomato flavors to meld together. I'm in culinary heaven.
There is no right or wrong way to make cheese bread. You can use your favorite bread recipe and fill it with the cheese of your choice, although, I think it would be best to use a hard cheese as the moisture in soft cheese would probably turn the dough into mush. I made the bread dough using the baguette recipe from the Bouchon Bakery Cookbook. Whichever recipe you use, complete the steps until you are ready to shape the dough for the final rise and baking.
At this point, roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a square about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Lift and stretch the dough adding a light sprinkle of flour, as needed, to the surface of the table/board and dough to prevent sticking.
Sprinkle grated hard cheese, I used Comte, over the dough.
From top to bottom, tightly roll the dough, as if you were making cinnamon rolls.
Slice the dough into 1 1/3 inch wide rolls and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet about two inches apart. Cover lightly with a towel or saran wrap and allow to rise, at room temperature, for 1 to 2 hours, until doubled in size.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes until lightly golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes on a cooling rack then remove from baking sheet. Enjoy!
I hope you enjoyed my latest baking adventure! Stay tuned for the next episode of Marion_Macarons 😂.