Ashtead Village Day
Thank you for coming along to my breadmaking demonstration at this year’s Ashtead Village Day. I hope you went away with some great tips to get baking your own bread.
If you’re looking to learn more about making your own fresh, tasty bread, check out my upcoming classes. From an Introduction to bread making to Sourdough Breads, there’s something for everyone. You can find out more, and book a class, here.
If you liked the look of my Cheese Swirls, why not have a go yourself? The full recipe is below.
You could also try out my malthouse loaf recipe, for a sandwich loaf with a sweet, nutty flavour. Or get more from my top tips for brilliant bread. Enjoy baking!
Cheese Swirls
These are a great lunchtime treat, or addition to a picnic. The filling would be easy to vary – perhaps try adding in some roasted onions or using pesto instead. This batch makes 10 – 12 swirls.
Finished cheese swirl
Ingredients
500g strong white bread flour
5g (1 tsp) dried active yeast
10g (2 tsp) salt
320ml water
Grated cheese, such as a strong Cheddar
Cheese swirls proving before the bake
Method
- Mix together the flour, yeast and salt into a large mixing bowl, avoiding direct contact between the salt and yeast. Pour in the water and mix together until no dry flour remains.
- Turn the dough out of the bowl onto a clean, un-floured surface. Knead for 10 minutes, or until it becomes smooth and elastic. The dough will be quite sticky to start with but keep going!
- Shape the dough into a rough ball and place it back into the bowl. Cover the bowl and leave the dough to rise for 1 – 2 hours or until it has doubled in size.
- Turn the dough out of the bowl and gently deflate it by kneading it for a minute or two. Turn the oven on at 210C.
- Stretch out the dough into a rectangle approximately 40cm by 25cm. The dough should be about 1.5cm deep.
- Sprinkle grated cheese liberally across the dough. Now tightly roll the rectangle up along the long edge, carefully rolling the dough towards you. Ensure each roll is tightly tucked before continuing, otherwise your finished swirls might unroll.
- Roll until the final seam is on the bottom of the dough. Now use a sharp knife or dough scraper to cut the roll into slices about 2cm wide. Place the slices open side up on a lined baking tray or two.
- Cover the slices with greased clingfilm and leave them to rise for 30 – 45 minutes. Then bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown and with the cheese melted. Cool on a rack before serving (these could be eaten warm too!).