Everything IS better with Cheddar!

The finished cheesy loaves

     
     As mentioned last week, during my cooking/baking extravaganza, I made chili and cornbread and this lovely cheese bread.  I knew from the start that I would love this bread, seeing as I love pretty much anything with cheese and I like to add cheese to pretty much everything.  This is why it will be important for me to maintain the habit of exercising vigorously  as I am just not the dieting type.  Who trusts a skinny chef right?  Bread is honestly something that I don't think I could live without, this cheese bread included. 

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     When I was flipping through The Tassajara Bread Book (TBB) deciding what I wanted to bake, I was a little startled to come across this recipe.  I have this feeling when it comes to baking from the TBB, that everything is healthy and wholesome, so it was somewhat shocking to see a recipe that included 3 cups of cheese, 2 eggs and 1/2 cup of melted butter. But, if you are using this bread to make a sandwich and skip the cheese and mayonnaise, (because there is cheese and butter in the bread itself), you have probably balanced things out.

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     What I am learning more and more as I get older (and I have been feeling a little bit older lately) is not some new nugget of information that I have never heard before, but something that I have heard from almost everyone I know of a certain age; "everything in moderation".  So I guess I will skip adding cheese to a sandwich on a cheesy loaf, or better yet, eat the cheese and walk an extra mile to compensate.

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The bubbling yeast doing it's magic

Adding the cheddar

Rolling the dough to fit the bread pan

#14 Cheese Bread

From the Tassajara Bread Book

3 cups lukewarm water

2 packages dry yeast

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup dry milk

2 eggs, beaten

2 cups unbleached flour and 2 cups whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup melted butter

3 cups grated Cheddar (or other strong favored cheese)

3-5 cups whole wheat flour as required to form the dough and knead it

Proceed with directions for recipe #1, stirring in the beaten eggs after the dry milk, and folding in the grated cheese after the salt and butter.