This Cheesy Italian Bread is for The Secret Recipe Club, created by Amanda of Amanda’s Cookin’. This is how it works: Every month, you get to scour the blog of another member of the club (assigned to you by Amanda), and pick out and cook or bake any recipe from that person’s blog. And of course, it’s a Secret. Until the big reveal, that is.

This month, I was assigned Little House on the Prairie Living by Merissa, a modern homesteader and frugal living expert, who lives in South Dakota. Merissa is a veritable fount of information and tips on everything from couponing in South Dakota to making a cute dress out of a bedsheet and old tank top for, like, a buck-twenty-eight. And recipes? Oh, yeah, she’s got recipes.

Seeing as I’ve been baking quite a lot of bread, lately, I chose to try her Cheesy French Bread recipe. Merissa uses her bread machine on the “dough” cycle to get a start on her bread, a basic French-style sandwich bread, that she topped with cheddar and Parmesan. I don’t own a bread machine (anymore), and decided to adapt her recipe, using my mixer with the bread hook to mix and knead, and used my second oven (set to 120º F) as a proof box. I also took about a cup of finely shredded cheddar cheese and mixed it right into the dough. Here’s what I did, tracking Merissa’s recipe:

Cheesy French Bread (liberally adapted from Little House on the Prairie Living)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water (not over 120º F)
1 Tbs. yeast
1 Tbs. sugar
4 cups flour (I used half bread flour & half unbleached AP flour)
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preparation:

You can do this completely by hand, but since my old carpal tunnel problem is attempting to rear its ugly head, I used my stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.

Put the yeast in a large bowl, add the warm water, and stir to dissolve. Add the sugar, followed by the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and the salt. Then add the cheese. If doing this by hand, knead on a lightly floured surface for about 10 minutes, or until the dough feels smooth and silky. If using the mixer, run it on the first speed until the bowl is completely clean, and the dough is wrapped in a ball around the dough hook, with a smooth and silky texture. Form the dough into a ball.

Lightly grease a large bowl (I used a couple of spritzes of cooking spray), roll the dough ball around in it, cover with a kitchen towel, and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled (about 30-35 minutes). In the meantime, preheat your oven to 400º F.

When the dough is fully risen (stick your finger into it – if the indentation stays, your dough is fully proofed), divide it into two balls, cover, and allow to rest for about 10 minutes. Form each ball into a long loaf shape, place it on a large cookie sheet, brush with water, and slash each one a couple of times diagonally with a razor or sharp knife.

Bake for 25 – 30 minutes. To test, tap the bottom of each loaf with your fingers. If it sounds hollow, it’s done. Alternatively, insert the probe of an instant-read thermometer. If it reads over 190º F, it’s done.

Next time, I would probably add some more cheese to this. You can never have enough cheese, right?

What? Of course it goes great with jam! ->Giggle!<-

It was really fun, searching through another blogger’s recipe posts for inspiration and a different point of view. Wanna play? Join the Secret Recipe Club here.

Now follow along and see who got who – I can’t wait to see who got me and what they chose to make from my eclectic collection. Will it be a dessert? A main course? A 30-minute family meal? Let’s find out together!