Name: Cheese Bread
Ingredients: levain; water; bread flour; yeast; parmesan cheese; salt; olive oil

Jeffrey Hamelman

Cheese Bread

Preparation info

Difficulty
Medium
Dough Yield: About
25
loaves at 1.5 lb each

Appears in

Bread

By Jeffrey Hamelman

Published 2004

About

This is Another Strongly Flavored Bread, good with all sorts of soups and salads, and the quality of the cheese used will have a definitive effect on the bread flavor. Parmesan is the cheese of choice, although less-expensive types, such as Asiago, can be used in combination. The bread can be baked the day it is mixed, or retarded for up to 18 hours. If it will be retarded, use only half the yeast at most.

Pre-Fermented Flour: 18%

Ingredients

Overall Formula

	U.S.	Metric	Home	Baker’s %
Bread Flour	20 lb	10 kg	2 lb	100 %
Water	12 lb	6 kg	1 lb, 3.2 oz	60 %
Olive Oil	1 lb	.5 kg	1.6 oz	5 %
Salt	.3 lb	.15 kg	.5 oz	1.5 %
Yeast	.2 lb, fresh	.1 kg, fresh	.1 oz, instant dry	1 %
Parmesan Cheese, Half Grated, Half Cubed	4 lb	2 kg	6.4 oz	20 %
Total Yield	37.5 lb	18.75 kg	3 lb, 11.8 oz	187.5 %

Stiff-Levain Build

Bread Flour	3.6 lb	1.8 kg	5.8 oz (1⅜ cups)	100 %
Water	2.16 lb	1.08 kg	3.5 oz (½ cup)	60 %
Mature Culture (Stiff)	.72 lb	.36 kg	1.2 oz (2 T + 1 tsp)	20 %
Total	6.48 lb	3.24 kg	10.5 oz

Final Dough

Bread Flour	16.4 lb	8.2 kg	1 lb, 10.2 oz (6 cups)
Water	9.84 lb	4.92 kg	15.7 oz (2 cups)
Olive Oil	1 lb	.5 kg	1.6 oz (3 T + 2 tsp)
Salt	.3 lb	.15 kg	.5 oz (2½ tsp)
Yeast	.2 lb	.1 kg	.1 oz, instant dry (1 tsp)
Levain	5.76 lb	2.88 kg	9.3 oz (all less 2 T + 1 tsp)
Parmesan Cheese, Half Grated, Half Cubed	4 lb	2 kg	6.4 oz (1⅝ cups)
Total	37.5 lb	18.75 kg	3 lb, 11.8 oz

Method

Stiff Levain: Make the final build approximately 12 hours before the final mix and let stand in a covered container at about 70°F. During hot weather, or if the levain will ripen for longer than 12 hours, the flour in the levain build can be salted at 1.8 percent to slow its activity.
Mixing: Add all the ingredients to the mixing bowl, with the exception of the cheese. In a spiral mixer, mix on first speed for 3 minutes, adjusting the hydration as necessary. The dough should be slightly on the stiff side at this point. Once the cheese is incorporated, it will have a looser feel. Mix on second speed for approximately 3 minutes more, to a moderate gluten development. Add the cheese and mix on first speed just until evenly incorporated. Avoid overmixing. Desired dough temperature: 76°F.
Bulk Fermentation: 2½ hours.
Folding: Fold once after 1¼ hours or, if the dough seems to need more strength, fold twice at 50-minute intervals.
Dividing and Shaping: Divide the dough into 1.5-pound pieces; shape round or oblong.
Final Fermentation: 1 to 1½ hours at 76°F. Alternatively, retard the dough for up to 8 hours at 50°F, or up to 18 hours at 42°F.
Baking: With normal steam, 460°F for 40 to 45 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 440°F after 15 minutes to avoid excess darkening due to the cheese.