Cheddar-Sriracha Swirl Bread

 I've found a new love. My weakness for cheesy goodness and carbohydrate laden bread has been compiled into one decadent feast for my tastebuds. The recipe: Cheddar Swirl Bread.


Now, this recipe calls for Sriracha as well, which is a sweet chili sauce that you can find in the grocery store in the Asian food section. In case you're interested, there's even a Wikipedia entry on Sriracha sauce. Who knew? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sriracha_sauce.


The recipe that spawned this tasty delight was found on Epicurious: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cheddar-Sriracha-Swirl-Bread-364269. I've found many a good recipe on Epicurious, and the user reviews help quite a bit in determining whether a recipe is worth trying or not.


But enough about that. On to the recipe!

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The Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons sugar
1 (1/4-ounce) package instant dry yeast
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
Vegetable oil or nonstick cooking spray, as needed
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 cup Sriracha
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Instructions:

1. Warm the milk, butter, and sugar in a medium saucepan until the butter melts (around 100°F). Make sure the temperature is a few degrees within 100°F, and let it cool if necessary. 


Sprinkle the yeast over the milk mixture. Let sit for 10 minutes or until bubbly.

2. Mix together the flour and salt in a KitchenAid bowl, then add the milk and yeast mixture using the dough hook. Mix in KitchenAid until a soft, ragged dough is formed. Knead until dough has come together (about a minute).


Wrap plastic wrap around the KitchenAid bowl and allow dough to rest for 20 minutes.

3. Knead dough in the KitchenAid until a soft, elastic dough results, 3 to 5 minutes. 


Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise in a warm oven or warm area until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

4. On a lightly floured surface, gently flatten dough into a 9-inch-wide rectangle. Leaving a one-inch border, spread the Sriracha over the dough (this is to allow for the dough to seal later). 


Sprinkle the cheese over the Sriracha, again leaving a one-inch border.

Roll the dough up snugly, like making a cinnamon roll. When you reach the end of the roll, press the ends together to form a tight seam. 


Place the dough in a 9 by 5-inch, lightly oiled pan with the seam side down. 


5. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm spot until dough has doubled and is cresting about an inch over the top of the pan, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

6. Preheat the oven to 400°F with the rack in the center of the oven. Just before baking, make a 1/4-inch-deep slit down the center of the loaf using a razor blade. 


7. Put the pan in the oven and generously spray the inside walls of the oven and the top of the loaf with water. Quickly close the oven door and bake for 30 minutes. Alternatively, you can put a baking sheet below the loaf and fill with 1/2 to 1 cup of water to create steam.


After 30 minutes of baking, remove the loaf from the pan and return to the oven for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. When finished, the center of the loaf should register 190°F and the bottom of the loaf should sound hollow when tapped. 


Set bread on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before slicing for best results. Store refrigerated, tightly wrapped, for up to 3 days.

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My Variations: 


As always, I made a few alterations within my first few attempts. First of all, the Sriracha was not necessary for me, and I made my first loaf without it. I upped the amount of cheese to probably close to two cups, and sprayed my 9 by 5-inch dough rectangle with water in order for the cheese to adhere a little bit. After spreading the cheese evenly on the dough, I sprayed it with a vegetable oil spray in order to set it. Then I rolled the dough and put it in the pan. 


For my second attempt, I added a couple of tablespoons of shredded cheese to the flour mixture directly before adding the warm yeast, milk and sugar mixture. This dough had no problems rising or being kneaded. For that loaf, I also omitted the Sriracha sauce and, instead of normal sharp cheddar cheese, used Tillamook's Garlic Pepper Cheddar, shredded. That cheese is another favorite of mine, an excellent flavor. One that I anticipate to have a wonderful taste to in bread. In addition, I sprinkled a couple of tablespoons of shredded sharp cheddar cheese on top of the loaf after incising the top of the loaf. I love that crusty cheese on the top of a loaf, and was disappointed that the recipe didn't call for it (so I did it anyways!).


For my third and final attempt, I made the recipe as called for, Sriracha and all. Only difference was sprinkling shredded sharp cheddar cheese on the top of the loaf before baking.

Final note: 


Instead of spraying the inside of the oven with water as the recipe calls for, I used a rimmed cookie sheet pan, which I allowed to pre-heat with the oven, then, when I put the loaves in the oven, poured about 1/4 of a cup of cool water into the pan and quickly shut the door. This creates the steam that will make the bread crusty, and, in my opinion, is a little easier than misting the inside of a hot oven with water.




The Process:

Yeast after just being added to the milk, sugar and butter mixture.

Yeast after soaking in the milk, sugar and butter mix for 20 minutes. I did not stir this, if I had, it would not have dry yeast granules on the top. The problem I've had with stirring the yeast in has been that it tends to clump, so I opted to let the yeast just sit on top this time. It worked fine for the recipe.

My second batch after 20 minutes. I did end up stirring this batch after about 10 minutes, because it was in a smaller pan and did not have as much surface contact with the milk. As a result, it frothed much more. However, I did not notice any significant difference in rising between the two loaves.

Cheesy dough ball resting for 20 minutes.

Cheesy dough ball ready to rise for 2 hours.

Cheesy dough approximately 2 hours later.

My 9 by 5 (approximate) rectangle, ready for toppings!

Adding the Sriracha sauce, leaving a one inch margin around the edge in order to promote sealing in the next step.

Without adding any Sriracha sauce, I sprayed my 9 by 5 rectangle with a light mist of water before sprinkling the cheese on it. This ensures that it sticks a little better.

My pinched seam. If the dough is too dry to be pinched together (like I got excess flour on the seam area), add a little dash of water along the seam and then pinch. It'll stick like a charm. 

Put in the pan, seam side down. 

Rolled doughs after rising for about 2 hours. The first time I made the recipe, the bread took 2.5 hours to crest over the top of the pan like this, but this time it only took 2.

I sliced a seam down the center of the loaf, and sprinkled a couple of tablespoons of shredded cheese on the top. 

In the oven they go with a pan beneath them, which I added about 1/4-1/2 cup water to in order to create steam.

Before being taken out of the pan, after about 30 minutes of baking.

This recipe calls for you to, after 30 minutes baking time, remove the loaves from the pan and replace in the oven for another 10-15 minutes. Make sure you adequately spray your pans with vegetable oil spray so that you aren't struggling with a hot pan to remove a hot loaf of bread!

Results:

Cheddar-Sriracha Swirl Bread

As I've already said, this is a new favorite of mine. Excellent with some deli meat, this is a new best sandwich bread. Since the cheese is already in the bread, you don't have to add cheese to your sandwich either! It's truly an excellent addition to lunch time!


Even though I was skeptical of the Sriracha sauce on this bread, after taste-testing the Sriracha version this morning, I must say that I actually like it better than the plain cheesy bread. I am quite surprised to be saying this, but it does add a little extra bite to the bread that serves to intensify the cheesy flavor. I would definitely recommend using the Sriracha sauce.


Cons:
One downside to this recipe is the long time that it takes to prepare. Unlike other yeast breads that I've made, this dough is slow to rise (2-2.5 hours per rise). Therefore, it takes approximately 6 hours from start to finish. Granted, 4.5 hours of that is rising and another 45 minutes for baking. Still, it's a more intensive bread than I usually have time for. That said, I made two loaves the second time I made it, and am freezing one. We'll see how it comes out of the freezer.

Also, the recipe says that after making this bread, it stores best in the refrigerator for up to three days. Only three days! If there's only one of you eating it, you'd better be hungry for some sandwiches or cut the loaf in half and freeze half. It's a lot of bread for one person to consume in three days. However, it is possible. Trust me.


Tips:

• Make sure your dough rises in a warm, draft-free area. I use my oven. I turn the oven on to the lowest setting (170ºF) and then, once it heats up, turn it off. Don't put the dough in the oven until the oven has cooled to a merely warm environment, otherwise you'll bake the top of your rising dough, and it will develop a crust that won't go away (doesn't affect the taste significantly, although it may impede the rising of the dough).

• Add a little bit more cheese than called for in the recipe. If you don't use the Sriracha sauce, mist the dough rectangle with water before adding the cheese to make sure it sticks when you roll it up.
• Leave a one-inch margin when you spread the cheese on the dough. You want the edges to seal the cheese inside.
• Sprinkle cheese on top. It looks awesome and it gives an extra crunch to the bread.

• Instead of spraying the inside of the oven with a mist of water, use a pan underneath the bread and pour about a 1/4 cup of cool water directly into the pan before closing the oven door. Then don't open the oven while the bread is baking. You want that steam to remain inside to make the bread crusty.
• Keep refrigerated. Since there's cheese in the bread, it's best to refrigerate the bread (I imagine this is the main reason for the short shelf life of the bread).