The previous two breads I made were both repeats that I chose not to write up again here: Shiner Bock Cheddar from Laurence Simon, and Sourdough Chèvre from Brody and Apter. Of those two, the Shiner Bock Cheddar (with Cabot Sharp Cheddar) came out pretty well: I used a custom cycle on it, and still had some top crust problems. I added the jalapenos and sesame seeds right after the third rise started, and found that the peppers stuck better; the sesame seeds did not. Probably I’ll keep this one in the rotation, but won’t be making it again until I try some newer recipes.
The Sourdough Chèvre I jacked up with a tablespoon of Pensys “Italian Herb Mix”. The top crust would have come out okay, except the bread collapsed in the center. Adding the herb mix did make a difference in taste; specifically, it seemed less blah to me. My personal feeling, though, is that it is still a little bland: I’m not keeping that bread in rotation, as I just don’t feel the results are worth the effort.
New bread: Cheddar and Herb, from the Laurence Simon songbook.
Photos and comments after the jump.
The rise was a little uneven, so it is lower at one end than the other. Not too horrible, though; I think this may have to do with the size of my bread pan. It also didn’t rise as much as some of the other breads I’ve made, but I expected that: this bread has a lot of cheese in it, and cheese breads generally don’t rise as much.
You know how I’m always griping about the top crust on my breads? This is what I’m looking for: the top crust on this one was as close to perfect as I’ve been able to get so far.
Good texture, too.
How does it taste?
Wow. This is a really good bread. The mix of herbs gives it a nice assertive taste that I like, and a pleasing smell when toasting or baking. I’d love to try making garlic bread with this next time I make spaghetti. I’d also be interested in using at as a general sandwich bread, maybe with some duck or chicken liver pâté.
This is the first bread I’ve turned out since I started keeping logs that I’d actually give an “A” to. It is so good that I’ve finished the entire loaf in about 48 hours, which hasn’t happened before now. I think this is going to be a bread that gets made pretty frequently around here.