Recipe: Cheese Bread (yeast bread using Tabasco and Gruyere, James Beard recipe)

CHEESE BREAD

1 package active dry yeast
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups warm water (about 100-115 degrees F), divided use
5 to 6 cups all-purpose flour, divided use
1 tbsp salt, or slightly more to taste
1/2 stick butter, softened
1 tsp Tabasco
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, or slightly more to taste
3/4 cup shredded Gruyere or Swiss Emmenthaler cheese

Dissolve the yeast with the sugar in 1/4 cup of the warm water and allow to proof (let stand for a few minutes).

In a large bowl, mix 5 cups of flour and the salt. Make a well in the center and add the remaining 1 1/2 cups warm water, the butter, the Tabasco and the yeast mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula or with your floured hands until the dough is well amalgamated. Turn out on a heavily flour board (use about 1/2 cup flour) and knead for 10 to 12 minutes or until the dough is smooth, elastic and rather satiny in texture and all the flour on the board is absorbed; add flour if you need it. Place the dough in a buttered or oiled bowl and turn to coat on all sides.

Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours or slightly more.

Punch down the dough, turn it out on a lightly floured board and knead in the cheeses. When thoroughly blended, cut the dough in half and let rest for 10 minutes.

Roll each half into a rectangle about 11 by 6 inches and let rest for 2-3 minutes more. Roll each rectangle up, pinching the edges as you do so, and tucking in the ends so that the loaf measures about 4 1/2 by 7 inches. Place the dough in two well-buttered 8-by-4-by-2 inch tins, cover and let rise in a warm spot until the bread has reached the top of the tin, or has more or less doubled in size.

Bake on the center of the middle rack in a preheated 375 degree F oven for about 30 minutes, or until the loaves sound hollow when removed from the tins and rapped with the knuckles on both top and bottom. Then bake directly on the oven rack, without the tins, for a few minutes to firm the crust. Cool the bread on racks before slicing.

Makes 2 loaves
Adapted from source: Beard on Bread by James Beard