Cheese N Onion Bread

Safeway (yes, Safeway) in Canada used to sell very good cheese and onion bread, all soft, aromatic and --sinfully buttery and greasy. But that was way back then and now everybody is into healthy multi-grain or wholemeal bread although I've noticed most people here still prefer white bread because that is the most common bread sold in our bakeries.

Instead of a loaf, I decided to just make large rolls (no tins to wash) and used my basic white bread recipe with a handful of multi-grains and a very minimal amount of butter. This savory bread is so good, you can eat it plain, or with a bowl of soup and a salad. When the bread was baking, Wey came into the kitchen and asked, "What's that heavenly smell??"



(The sun was setting and my camera was on warm mode for this picture. Do any of you have problems with flies when you are taking food pictures? I take most of my pics out in my back patio where the lighting is better. I find it quite a feat sometimes, to be the cook, food stylist, photographer and fly-swoosher.)

Cheese N Onion Bread
500g bread/hi-protein flour
2 handful of multi-grains plus 3 T sesame seeds*
2 t dry yeast
50g butter
1 t salt**
2 T fine sugar
280 ml cold water
250g mature cheddar#, grated
1 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup spring onions, in 2 cm lengths

*Optional. Omit if you prefer plain white bread.
** We are on a low-salt diet but you can add 1/2 t more for a tastier bread.
# Add other cheese like parmesan for extra flavor

1. Put flour, multi-grains, sesame seeds, yeast (make sure it is active), butter, salt, sugar, water and chopped onions into your (Kenwood Major) mixing bowl and, using the dough hook, knead 8 to 10 minutes, stopping in between to scrape dough together and to allow machine to cool down.

If dough is too sticky, add one or two tablespoonful of bread flour but if it's just a little sticky, it is okay. If too dry, add water by the tablespoon.

2. Leave dough in the mixer bowl, punch it down nicely and cover with a tea towel and leave it in a warm place (like the oven) for 1/2 hour.

3. Flour your hands, divide dough into half, knead a couple of times, roll each half out into a large disk (size of a dinner plate) on a floured surface and sprinkle the grated cheese and spring onions all over. Roll up the dough swissroll-like and press the edges to seal, tuck both sides in a bit to puff the roll a bit, lay it on a well-greased tray, cut a couple of slashes on the top using a sharp pair of scissors, and let dough proof for 1 hour or until 2 1/2 times the original size. Carefully brush beaten egg (remove half the whites to give a more golden color) because if you are rough the air will escape and bread will be hard.

4. Heat oven to 200 C (180 C if you don't want a hard crust) and bake 25 minutes (35 to 40 minutes for 180 C), covering the bread halfway with foil if it gets too brown.