Bread blogging: Cheddar and Herb.

The previous two breads I made were both repeats that I chose not to write up again here: Shiner Bock Cheddar from Laurence Simon, and Sourdough Chèvre from Brody and Apter. Of those two, the Shiner Bock Cheddar (with Cabot Sharp Cheddar) came out pretty well: I used a custom cycle on it, and still had some top crust problems. I added the jalapenos and sesame seeds right after the third rise started, and found that the peppers stuck better; the sesame seeds did not. Probably I’ll keep this one in the rotation, but won’t be making it again until I try some newer recipes.

The Sourdough Chèvre I jacked up with a tablespoon of Pensys “Italian Herb Mix”. The top crust would have come out okay, except the bread collapsed in the center. Adding the herb mix did make a difference in taste; specifically, it seemed less blah to me. My personal feeling, though, is that it is still a little bland: I’m not keeping that bread in rotation, as I just don’t feel the results are worth the effort.

New bread: Cheddar and Herb, from the Laurence Simon songbook.

Photos and comments after the jump.

c&h1

The rise was a little uneven, so it is lower at one end than the other. Not too horrible, though; I think this may have to do with the size of my bread pan. It also didn’t rise as much as some of the other breads I’ve made, but I expected that: this bread has a lot of cheese in it, and cheese breads generally don’t rise as much.

c&h2

You know how I’m always griping about the top crust on my breads? This is what I’m looking for: the top crust on this one was as close to perfect as I’ve been able to get so far.

c&h3

Good texture, too.

How does it taste?

Wow. This is a really good bread. The mix of herbs gives it a nice assertive taste that I like, and a pleasing smell when toasting or baking. I’d love to try making garlic bread with this next time I make spaghetti. I’d also be interested in using at as a general sandwich bread, maybe with some duck or chicken liver pâté.

This is the first bread I’ve turned out since I started keeping logs that I’d actually give an “A” to. It is so good that I’ve finished the entire loaf in about 48 hours, which hasn’t happened before now. I think this is going to be a bread that gets made pretty frequently around here.

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