Cheddar Jalapeño Bread

Today, Rads got two items baked for her. The first was an Apple Cheddar Bread. And the second one is this recipe. Well, I want to continue with my 1 recipe a day until I complete all 29, and didn't want to miss out on today, so had to have a backup! Thankfully, I did complete this one today. Think of it as a BOGOF (Bake One Get One Free) for reaching my midpoint!  I came across the original recipe on Hold the Onions, who themselves got from epicurious. I wonder who will get it from my blog? :)

I didn't have any Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, so I just skipped that ingredient! I think thats why the bread could have done with just a little more salt - but it is still edible and lush! Oh, and reading through the steps, I forgot to add a little salt to the

• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast (less than a ¼-ounce package)
• 1 tbps warm water
• 4 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 1 ¾ cups warm water
• ½ cup fresh chopped jalapeño (including seeds and ribs), plus 2 tbsp chopped fresh jalapeño, without seeds and ribs
• 2 cups coarsely grated extra-sharp Cheddar (plus 2 tbsp)
• A little milk, with some salt for glazing
• 1 ½ ounces finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (¾ cup)

1. Stir together yeast and 1 tbsp warm water in a small bowl - let mixture stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If it doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast)
2. Mix together flour, salt, and oil, 
3. Add yeast mixture, mix, and the remaining 1x cups warm water in bowl (or mixer at low speed) until a soft dough forms. 
4. Add jalapeño, and 2 cups cheddar and mix until combined.
5. Sprinkle lightly with flour, cover bowl plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk - which should take about 2-2½ hours
6. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and gently form into a roughly 11- by 8-inch rectangle with floured hands
7. Fold dough in thirds (like a letter) with floured hands (dough will be sticky), pressing along seam of each fold to seal
8. Put dough, seam side down, in an oiled 9- by 5-inch loaf pan. Cover pan with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until dough completely fills pan and rises above it slightly - which will take about 1-1¼ hours
9. Preheat oven to 400F
10. Brush loaf with salted milk, then sprinkle remaining 2 tbsp cheddar down center of loaf
11. Bake until bread is golden and sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, 50-60 minutes. Run a knife around edge of pan to loosen loaf, then remove from pan to test for doneness.
12. Return bread (not in pan) to oven and turn on its side, then bake 10 minutes more to crisp crust. Cool completely on a rack, about 1 ½ hours before slicing and enjoying!

Obviously, I could not wait ti slice this... And I knew I should have baked this in a loaf pan!!! In fact, I split my dough into 2 to make 2 loaves. BUT its still yummy! :))

Apple Cheddar Bread

Today is Sunday. I know Rads like cheese, and bread. I was sleeping at 6am in the morning, if not later, and was woken up at 2:30pm by a phone call... So, my original recipe for today (Cheesey Jalapeno Bread) won't be completed until the wee hours of Monday morning (due to allowing the bread to rise, etc.,) and cooking is therapeutic... So I decided to make this recipe which I came across. I love cheese, and I love apples, and I did have 2 Granny Smith apples. The original recipe calls for 2 large eggs, and I used Ener-G egg replacer. Writing this up now, I think I should have used applesauce instead! Well, next time! :))

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 stick butter, at room temperature
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• 2 Ener-G eggs, (or 2 large eggs, room temperature fork beaten)
• 2 cups Granny Smith (or any sharp) apples, unpeeled,  finely shredded
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 
2. Coat a 9” loaf pan with cooking spray. (Or, you can insert parchment paper overlapping over the long sides of the pan)
3. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar until creamy
4. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and Ener-G egg replacer powder into the mixture, and mix in well
5. Add in the Ener-G water for the 2 eggs, blend, then add the grated apple and cheese
6. The dough will be quite sticky - so spread evenly into the pan
7. Bake until risen and a wooden skewer comes out of the center clean, about 45-60 minutes. 
8. Cool to room temperature (about 30 minutes) before slicing.

This is sooooo yummy! My apartment smells sooooo delicious too! It was still warm when I sliced it, and then I just had to eat it! A little butter or sour cream on it, tastes sooooo good!