Asiago Cheese Bread
Ingredients
3½-3¾ cups all-purpose flour, divided
2¼ teaspoons yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
1¼ cups warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
1¼ cups Asiago cheese, grated
How to Prepare
Preheat your oven to 450ºF.
Place 1½ cups of flour, yeast, and sugar in a bowl and mix well.
Add warm water and with an electric beater, beat until smooth.
With a plastic wrap, cover the dough bowl and set aside in a warm place for about 1 hour.
In the bowl of flour mixture, add the oil and rosemary and beat well.
Slowly, add remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, and mix until a dough forms.
With your hands, knead until a sticky dough ball is formed.
With a plastic wrap, cover the bowl and set aside in a warm place for about 15 minutes.
Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and with your hands, toss until dough becomes sticky.
Leave the dough for 5–10 minutes.
Place 1 cup of Asiago cheese over dough and with your hands, knead until well combined.
Place the dough into a greased bowl and turn to coat well.
With a plastic wrap, cover the bowl and set aside at room temperature for about 45–60 minutes or until doubled in size.
Preheat your oven to 450ºF.
Grease 2 bread loaf pans.
Now, place the dough ball onto a lightly floured surface and divided in 2 portions.
Place 1 dough portion in each prepared loaf pan and sprinkle each with remaining cheese.
Bake for approximately 20–25 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove the bread pans from the oven and place onto a wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes.
Now, invert each bread onto the wire rack.
With a sharp knife, cut each bread loaf into desired-sized slices and serve warm.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes
Servings: 20
