Garlic Cheese Bread

Today I’m going to share with you a recipe for a favourite bread in my household. (I apologize in advance for the lack of pictures.. my family gobbled them up before I could get one) ;-)

I decided to make my own bread again, after the prices of bread went up and everyone in my family felt that it just simply isn’t worth paying those prices for bread that isn’t even of a good quality.

Frankly, I only stopped because of time constraints and how hectic life became. There is just nothing like the smell of fresh bread out of the oven! I’m sure you all agree on that one… plus there is something therapeutic in the kneading of dough... especially in the quiet early morning hours.

In a most timely fashion, the Browneyed baker put out her most favourite bread recipes. They look SO good. You can check them out here.

Now on to my recipe:

Garlic Cheese Bread

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups milk

3 Tbs margarine or butter

1 Tbs instant yeast

2 tsp salt* (if you are watching your salt intake, omit this as cheese has plenty already)

2 Tbs sugar

1 Tbs garlic powder

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

6 ¼ cups flour (approx.)

Method:

Heat milk until lukewarm and butter or margarine is melted. Pour into a large bowl and add sugar and yeast. Stir to dissolve. Stir in grated cheese, garlic powder, salt and 3 cups of the flour, stirring well.

Gradually add remainder of flour, kneading until smooth. Place in a well-greased bowl and cover with a damp towel. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk away from drafts ( I put mine in a cupboard).

Punch down dough and leave for a little while until almost doubled again, then turn onto lightly floured board and divide into two* and shape into loaves. (This will give you two large hand molded loaves).

Bake in preheated oven at 375F/190C for about 30 minutes (time will vary according to your own oven… mine gets super hot really quickly)

Variation: You can add sun-dried tomatoes, rosemary or basil to this recipe to get a deliciously different flavour... the possibilities are endless!

*This recipe actually gives me three 9x5 loaves, 2 larger loaves that I braid at times for a different look or smaller, thinner ones that I turn into garlic bread.  I hope you have fun baking this…I guarantee it will not stay in the kitchen for long!

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