the aroma while this bread bakes is ridiculously good

a happy piepie waiting for the bread to cool

I have to hand it to my husband, he makes an amazing loaf of bread.  There’s no doubt that I’m the head of the kitchen in our house – but he has me beat in the bread department. It is adapted from a “Taste of Home” recipe, super simple but you need some time for the dough to rise twice.  It works great for a lazy rainy Sunday! The kids love helping out and it is one of those very satisfying moments for me to see them interact with daddy in the kitchen.

punching out the dough for the 2nd rise

We have made this bread dozens of times and the top two favourite combos are sharp cheddar & scallions, and cinnamon, raisins & pumpkin seeds.  You can certainly play around with different ingredients and find your favourites!

prep: 20 min + 2 hrs time to rise     bake: 30 min       yield: 2 loaves

what you need:

• 1 tbsp active dry yeast
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 3 tbsp sugar (you can use organic cane sugar)
• 1 tbsp salt
• 2 tbsp grape seed oil
• 2 1/4 cups warm water
• 2 cups shredded sharp white cheddar
• 3 scallions, finely chopped
• *optional 1 egg and extra shredded cheese

what to do:

1. In the large bowl of your stand mixer with dough hook, dissolve yeast in warm water, stir gently. Add the sugar, salt, oil, cheese, scallions and flour. Turn the mixer on (slowly) to combine everything. 
2. Flour your working surface slightly.  Turn the dough onto surface and knead with your hands until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
3. Grease a large bowl (quite a bit larger than your dough) and place dough in, cover with a damp tea towel and allow to rise in a warm spot for 1 hour.
4. The dough should double or more in size after an hour – if it doesn’t try putting it in the oven on warm (low temperature, around 180 F) for about 5 minutes then turn off the oven and let it rise for another 30 minutes.
5. Remove the tea towel and turn the dough out onto floured surface – punch the dough to release the air. Cut the dough in half, then press it gently into greased loaf pans (we use silicone ones).
6. Place damp tea towels over the loaves and allow them to rise until doubled, about another hour.
7. If desired, you can brush the top of the loaves with egg wash (beat an egg) and top with a little more cheese.
8. Bake loaves in the middle rack of your oven at 350 F convection for 30 minutes.
9. When the top is evenly golden brown, it’s done! Remove and when cool enough to handle, turn onto a rack to cool some more. Slice and enjoy!