Easy Cheese Bread

By MissHeather

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup warm water
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 6 ounces old cheddar cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, approximately
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Preparation

Step 1

In large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle in yeast; let stand for 10 minutes or until frothy. In small saucepan, heat buttermilk with butter over medium heat just until butter is melted; let cool to lukewarm. Stir into yeast mixture. Grate 1/3 cup of the cheese, add to buttermilk mixture along with salt, mustard and cayenne. Stir in 3 cups of the flour to form soft dough.

Turn onto lightly floured surface. Knead for 10 minutes, adding enough of the remaining flour as necessary to make dough smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease all over. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, cut remaining cheese into 1/2 inch cubes; freeze until solid, about 1 hour. Grease 8 x 4 inch loaf pan; set aside.

Punch down dough. urn out onto lightly floured surface; knead for 1 minute. Roll or press into 14 x 11 inch rectangle; sprinkle with frozen cheese. Fold ends under to meet seam. Press to seal. Place seam side down, in pan. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise in warm draft-free place until double in bulk, about 1 hour.

Brush loaf with egg. With serrated knife, cut 4 shallow diagonal slashes on loaf. Bake in centre of 400 oven for 30 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped on bottom. Immediately remove form pan. Let cool on rack for 20 mintues before slicing.