Durum Herb Cheese Sourdough Bread Recipes

Steps:

• Build the stiff levain and let it double-to-triple in size.
• Mix all of the dough ingredients, including the ripe stiff levain, until they're incorporated.
• Scrape the dough out onto a clean surface, and slap and fold the dough for about 7 minutes to develop the gluten. See this video for reference.
• Transfer the dough to a clean container, cover, and let it double in size over the next 4-6 hours. You can continue to develop the gluten with coil folding or a lamination if you wish.
• Scrape out the dough onto a floured surface and prehape it into a ball. Cover and let it rest and have a final proof for about 1 hour.
• Thirty minutes before the end of the final proof, begin preheating your oven to 500F with a round baking vessel inside. You can also bake the bread on a stone with a steam system or an upside-down roaster pan as a lid.
• Shape your dough in the high form as in this video, or the low form, which is like a boule.
• Load the dough into your baking vessel and drop the temperature to 480F.
• Bake 25 minutes at 480F covered and another 10-15 minutes at 450F uncovered.
• The internal temperature of the bread should be over 205F when finished baking.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Cut a checkerboard pattern into the sourdough bread round by cutting 5 or more slices about 1 inch apart into the sourdough bread round with a serrated knife, taking care not to cut all the way through the loaf. Rotate the bread a quarter turn, and cut 5 or more slices going the other way, to finish the checkerboard pattern. The slices will still be attached at the bottom.
• Melt the butter over low heat in a saucepan, and stir in the mustard, lemon juice, poppy seeds, seasoned salt, and onion until the mixture is well combined. Place the bread loaf onto the prepared baking sheet, and carefully pour the butter mixture all over the bread, including in the cracks between squares, letting the butter mixture soak into the bread. Stuff slices of Swiss cheese into the spaces between the bread squares.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese is melted and bubbling, and the loaf is browned, about 30 minutes. To serve, let guests pull the bread apart into individual squares.

Steps:

• Add all ingredients to bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer.
• Select dough cycle, but remove from machine at the end of the kneading and do not let dough rise in machine.
• Turn dough out onto lightly floured board and shape into two loaves.
• Place into greased bread pans and spray tops with non-stick cooking spray.
• Cover and let rise in a warm place until light.
• Patience here, as this can take several hours (usually 2 1/2 to 3).
• Bake at 350° F for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Remove from oven and turn out of pans onto wire rack to cool.
• Brush tops of loaves with butter while still hot.
• Recipe can also be made without a bread machine, using conventional methods.