Gruyere Cheese Stuffed Bread

Before I made this bread I had a whole lot of wonderful ideas in mind to write about how much I love visiting Farmers' Markets and how great they are. The problem is that now every time I think about this bread everything else just fades away into oblivion while my eyes and mind start to glaze over and I completely lose my train of thought. It is just that good. Ridiculously good.

So, this post is going to be abnormally short for me with just a lot of pictures. The bread, hot out of the oven is stellar, but even cold it is just so ridiculously good that I will now openly admit that I ate all of this for lunch, without even anything to go with it, and literally decided to hoard it all for myself. I did offer some to Aidan, but he was too focused on trying to get candy from me that he declined. Oh, so sad... more for me!! Now, before you think I am a complete glutton, I did only make half the recipe shown below, and I savored the bread over the span of a few hours - but, I could eat this everyday and be a very happy girl.

Park across the street from Gardners' Market - so beautiful!

I do think that the quality of the cheese you use makes a difference, and I was very excited that I did get to go to the Gardners' Market while visiting my parents and that I got to get some Rock Hill Creamery gruyere cheese. They are a small, artisan type operation and they even have a blog, with the too cute name Holy Cows. If you are in the Continental U.S. you can even buy their cheese online. It was so worth it.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go get groceries and buy more cheeses to try this bread with.

Gruyère-Stuffed Crusty Loaves
Adapted from the King Arthur Flour website

Step-by-step photos illustrating how to make this bread are available at Bakers’ Banter, the King Arthur blog.

Starter:
1 1/4 cups (5 1/4 ounces) unbleached bread flour (I used all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1/2 cup (4 ounces) cool water

To make the starter:
Mix the 1 1/4 cups flour, salt, yeast, and 1/2 cup water in a medium-sized bowl. Mix till well combined. Cover and let rest overnight at room temperature.

Dough:
All of the starter
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (9 ounces) to 1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) lukewarm water*
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups (14 3/4 ounces) unbleached bread flour (I used all-purpose flour)
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

* Use the greater amount of water in winter, when conditions are dry; and the lesser amount in summer, when the weather is humid.

Filling:
2 1/2 cups (10 ounces) grated Gruyère cheese, or the grated/shredded cheese of your choice

To make the dough:
Combine the risen starter with the water, salt, flour, and yeast. Knead—by hand, mixer, or bread machine set on the dough cycle—to make a smooth dough. Place it in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, till it’s nearly doubled in bulk.

Gently deflate the dough, and pat and stretch it into a ¾"-thick rectangle, about 9" x 12". Spritz with water, and sprinkle with the grated cheese. Starting with a long side, roll it into a log, pinching the seam to seal. Place the log, seam-side down, on a lightly floured or lightly oiled surface. Cover it and let it rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, till it’s puffy though not doubled in bulk.

Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 425°F. Gently cut the log into four crosswise slices, for mini-breads; or simply cut the dough in half, for two normal-sized loaves.

Place them on one (for two loaves) or two (for four mini-loaves) lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheets, cut side up. Spread them open a bit, if necessary, to more fully expose the cheese. Spritz with warm water, and immediately place them in the preheated oven. Bake for 20 minutes (for the mini-loaves), or 35 minutes (for the full-sized loaves), or until the cheese is melted and the loaves are a very deep golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.

Yield:
four mini-loaves or two standard-size loaves.

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