Durum Herb Cheese Sourdough Bread Recipes

SOURDOUGH CHEESE BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Cut a checkerboard pattern into the sourdough bread round by cutting 5 or more slices about 1 inch apart into the sourdough bread round with a serrated knife, taking care not to cut all the way through the loaf. Rotate the bread a quarter turn, and cut 5 or more slices going the other way, to finish the checkerboard pattern. The slices will still be attached at the bottom.
• Melt the butter over low heat in a saucepan, and stir in the mustard, lemon juice, poppy seeds, seasoned salt, and onion until the mixture is well combined. Place the bread loaf onto the prepared baking sheet, and carefully pour the butter mixture all over the bread, including in the cracks between squares, letting the butter mixture soak into the bread. Stuff slices of Swiss cheese into the spaces between the bread squares.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese is melted and bubbling, and the loaf is browned, about 30 minutes. To serve, let guests pull the bread apart into individual squares.

SOURDOUGH ONION HERB BREAD

Steps:

• Add all ingredients to bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer.
• Select dough cycle, but remove from machine at the end of the kneading and do not let dough rise in machine.
• Turn dough out onto lightly floured board and shape into two loaves.
• Place into greased bread pans and spray tops with non-stick cooking spray.
• Cover and let rise in a warm place until light.
• Patience here, as this can take several hours (usually 2 1/2 to 3).
• Bake at 350° F for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Remove from oven and turn out of pans onto wire rack to cool.
• Brush tops of loaves with butter while still hot.
• Recipe can also be made without a bread machine, using conventional methods.

HERB AND TAHINI SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• Autolyse
• Mix the flours and water until incorporated. Cover and set aside 30-90 minutes.
• Measure your additions and set them aside unless you're doing all-in mixing.
• Adding Starter and Salt
• Sprinkle the salt on your dough, fold the dough over itself, and add the starter to the top of the dough.
• Work the salt and starter into the dough with both hands by gently pressing, stretching and squeezing. Pause if the dough starts to tear. When the dough is smooth and uniform, cover and let rest 30 minutes.
• Gluten Development, Additions, and Bulk Fermentation
• Do four rounds of gluten development with 30-minute rests in between. I recommend stretching and folding for the first round, lamination with additions for the second round, and coil folding for the last two rounds. Videos of these techniques can be found here.
• When putting the additions into the dough, you can fold and press them in, or dab them around the dough when it is stretched into a large rectangle during lamination. During the final two coil folds, the additions will spread more evenly through the dough.
• The dough should begin to feel bubbly and crackly by the final coil fold.
• When the dough has increased in size by 60-70%, it's ready to shape. My dough fermented about 5 hours at warm temps (low 80s) on a Raisenne dough heating pad. Depending on your starter strength and dough temperature, the first rise may be shorter or longer.
• Shaping
• Scrape your dough out of the bowl onto a lightly floured work space.
• Gently stretch it into a small rectangle and shape it into a batard, boule, or oblong loaf depending on your proofing basket shape.
• Flour your basket and place the dough inside seam-side up.
• Final Proof
• Numerous proofing strategies are valid. For this loaf, I proofed at room temperature for 30 minutes, and then in the refrigerator for 14 hours. I baked the dough straight from the refrigerator without warming it up first. You can also proof the dough entirely at room temperature; 1-2 hours should be sufficient. The dough should expand 1-2 cm up the sides of the basket.
• Baking
• Preheat your oven and baking vessel to 500F for at least 30 minutes.
• Flip the dough out of the proofing basket and onto a sheet of parchment paper or onto the base of your hot baking vessel. Score the dough, then cover and return the vessel to the oven.
• If your baking vessel is a ceramic cloche, bake at:
• 500°F for 20 minutes, lid on
• 450°F for 5 minutes, lid on
• 450°F for 10 minutes, lid off
• If your baking vessel is cast iron, bake at:
• 500°F for 15 minutes, lid on
• 450°F for 10 minutes, lid on
• 450°F for 10 minutes, lid off
• At the 15-minute mark, place a baking sheet directly under the cast iron on the same shelf. This will prevent the base of the bread from burning.
• When baking is complete, the bread should have an internal temperature of at least 205F and it should sound hollow when you knock on the bottom of the loaf.