Day 107: Parmesan Bread

Happy Saturday! Saturdays should be a holiday. It feels good not to have to do a million things. I mean, I do have a million things to do today, but most of them I WANT to do. Like planting a new raspberry patch. I have 30 new purple raspberry plants that will nicely compliment the red and gold raspberries I already have. YUM! This summer I will have to do a week of DO recipes using raspberries. But, enough of that....

Today's recipe is a yeast bread. I got it from the World Championship Cook off recipe book. Bill and Toni Thayn made this as their bread in the semi final round. I don't know how well it scored, but it was sure tasty. It is also beautiful, and surprisingly easy to shape.

Parmesan Bread

12" dutch oven

2 1/2-3 cups flour

1 1/2 Tbs. sugar

1 Tsp. salt

1 pkg. yeast

1 cup water

2 Tbs. oil

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

1 tsp. oil

1 small clove finely chopped garlic

Combine 1 cup flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Blend well. Heat water and oil until very warm (120*-130*). Add warm liquid to flour mixture. Stir in additional 1 1/4-1 1/2 cups flour until mixture forms a ball. Knead additional 1/4-1/2 cup flour until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10-12 minutes. Place in a greased bowl and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Sprinkle 2 Tbs. of Parmesan cheese over a flat surface. Roll bread dough into a 24" rope and roll in cheese. Place rope in your DO and form into a circle. Pinch ends to seal. Make cuts in the dough at about 1 1/2 inch intervals from the outer edge of the circle, cutting 2/3 of the way through. Lift and turn every other section of the dough toward the center of the circle. Cover and let rise until double, about 1 hour. Mix oil and garlic. Brush over the dough. Sprinkle with remaining 2 Tbs. Parmesan cheese. Preheat DO lid until hot, and bake 375* for 25 minutes or until golden. Serves 6-8.

The Finished Product

What I Learned

This is actually something I already knew, but forgot to do. Whenever I make any kinds of yeast breads, whether in a DO or indoors, I always grease my pan with shortening. It doesn't absorb into the bread as quickly as cooking oil, so the bread is easier to get out of the pan in one piece.

The Review

Man, this was easy to make. The whole thing went off without a hitch! The dough rose perfectly, and the bread had a nice soft, smooth texture. It is these kinds of recipes that really boost one's confidence. It looks complicated to shape, and it's pretty impressive. As I think back to how intimidated I was to make DO yeast breads, I want to laugh. Not that I don't still have a lot of learning to do, but I'm not nervous to try them. Yeast breads have become one of those fun challenges. So give this recipe a try, it is simple, delicious, and beautiful. Grade A.