Yes, cheese bread! Rich in color and flavor, crackling with crisp parmesan and studded with pockets of tangy sharp cheddar cheese this quick bread is everything its name suggests and more. All the careful considerations of America’s Test Kitchen’s quick cheese bread but brought up a notch, with more cheese and more spice. If you like it bold and cheesy this is the bread for you!
I know I like it cheesy. Especially around the holidays when I’m all about Hallmark channel romantic tropes, twinkly lights, charcuterie platters, and baking baking baking. So crank up the tunes and turn on the oven and get cheesy.
What I like about this quick cheese bread
As promised, it is rich and cheesy without being greasy or heavy. Even though I upped the cheese from 4 to 6 ounces (I also made the chunks a little smaller than the original recipe) there was still a nice distribution throughout.
I also like to chunk the cheese rather than shred it in my cast iron quiche for the same reason as here, it doesn’t get lost in the batter.
IDK if you’ve ever tried grating parmesan on the outside of your grilled cheese (if you haven’t you should) but this is like that only baked, so beautifully browned and crisped and salty you don’t need anything else.
Quick Cheese Bread with sharp cheddar and parmesan
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Parmesan or Romano cheese grated on a large whole grater.
- 2 1/2 cups 12 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon diamond kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper or about 4-5 grinds
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 6 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese cut into 1/4-inch cubes
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup yogurt or sour cream
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 F. Spray or lightly butter an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan, then sprinkle 1/2 of the grated Parmesan evenly across the bottom of pan.
- In large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and spices to combine. Using a large silicone or rubber spatula or your hands, toss in the cheddar until cheese cubes are not clumped together and are coated with flour. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, yogurt, melted butter, and the egg.
- Using a spatula, gently fold the wet ingredients into dry until just combined and no dry floury bits remain. Scrape batter into buttered or oiled loaf pan; spread to sides of pan and level surface.Top with an even layer of remaining Parmesan.
- Bake until loaf is deep golden brown and internal temperature reaches 195-200 degrees about 45 to 50 minutes. Rotate pan halfway through baking.
- Let cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes, then invert loaf onto wire rack. Turn right side up and let cool for about 30-45 minutes. Serve when sliceable (go too soon and the bread will smush not slice).
- I know you already know this but a gentle reminder to not toast this in the toaster. Chunks of melty cheese and toasters do not go well together. I used a cast iron skillet.
- Can be frozen, double wrapped, for up to 3 months.
Notes
Hi Melinda! I tried out your cheese bread since you made it look so appetizing in the pictures.
I had a little trouble, and I think I know why. In the end, the bread didn’t have any puff in the oven, and didn’t rise at all from the level that I put it in the oven. I attempted to use whipping cream, instead of whole milk, since that’s what was in the fridge, and I think this was the problem. You mentioned that skim milk is not a good substitute in this recipe, likely because the balance of the fat in the recipe is important. Also, mine looked a little dry compared to your picture.
Anyway, I’ll try again, and be a little more careful measuring everything and I’ll use whole milk.
–Howard
Hmmm Howard, interesting. I’m bummed it didn’t turn out for you. With a tablespoon of baking powder I would think you would get some rise even with cream instead of milk. Did you add any water to dilute the cream? I usually do half water half cream when I substitute (and I substitute all the time -. Let me know if you try it again!