Cheese-Stuffed Crusty Loaves : ABC April 2013

Time for Avid Baker's Challenge monthly bake! For this month, we, at Avid Baker's Challenge (ABC), are baking Cheese-Stuffed Crusty Loaves, recipe taken from King Arthur Flour. A bread recipe, I was all smiles!

Best described about this recipe, quoted from KAF, "A lava-flow of aromatic cheese melts down the sides of these chewy/crusty loaves." 

It really was a "lava-flow of aromatic cheese melts down the sides of these chewy/crusty loaves!" I was delighted! See the bottom of the loaves, the pool of melted cheese which has been baked to perfect crispiness, oh my, these are so yummy that my son and myself ate almost all of these crispy parts! The only thing I am not satisfied was, the colour of my rather pale-looking loaves.

First, you need to make the starter. I have used the whey from my Homemade Ricotta Cheese to replace the water required for the starter. Mix the bread flour, salt, instant yeast and whey. Cover and let rest overnight at room temperature. Mixture will be bubbly.

1. The next day, mixture has doubled in size but I did not see any "bubbly" look! Too dry maybe?
2. Again I have used the whey from my Homemade Ricotta Cheese. Mix the starter with the whey, salt, flour and yeast. 
3. I used the bread machine to knead the dough. 
4. Place the kneaded dough in an oiled bowl, cover and let rise for 1-1/2 to 2 hours until nearly doubled in bulk.

1. Deflate the risen dough, roll it out into a 3/4-inch thick rectangle, about 9"x12", spray with water
2. Sprinkle on with the grated cheese. I have used a mixture of cheddar and mozzarella.
3. Roll it up into a log, pinching the seam to seal. Cover and let rise for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, till it is puffy but not doubled in bulk. I have unintentionally left it to rise for about 3 hours, went out for an errand and came back much later than my original plan of only an hour! 
4. It has doubled in size!

1. Gently cut the log into four for smaller loaves, or two for bigger loaves.
2. Place them on a greased or lined baking sheet, cut side down.
3. Spread them open a little, to more fully expose the cheese. Spray with warm water and immediately place in a preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the loaves are a very deep golden brown.

The top of the loaves are bubbling and the cheese are oozing out just like a volcano! I tent the top with foil as it is browning too fast and the sides are not brown yet! When the sides starts to brown a little, I checked one loaf and satisfied that they are fully done, took them out as I do not want the loaves to be over baked and dry, especially since I baked these about 5 minutes longer than the recipe states.

The best part is the cheezy top....

and the crispy bottom!!!

The cheezy centre, especially good when eaten warm.

The interior texture is moist and soft. The outer crust is rather chewy. Very tasty loaf. We enjoyed these loaves for our lazy weekend dinner with canned mushroom soup, served piping hot with these crusty loaves! These loaves are best eaten while still warm.

For the full recipe, you may refer to King Arthur Flour.

The only changes I've made was to reduce the salt to 1-1/4 teaspoon in total as the whey that I used was already slightly salted.

     

To view the other members bake on this bread, please stop by Avid Baker's Challenge (ABC). We are currently baking from King Arthur Flour website, if you are interested to join in, please contact Hanaa.