Roquefort Bread

Roquefort is not high on my list of favorite cheeses, but J loves it! To be honest, I’m not a blue cheese fan. It’s not that I cringe at the blue-green veined mold growth, but the flavor of the cheese is enough to make me hurl. Let’s just say blue cheese is an acquired taste.

I've been informed that Roquefort is like no other blue cheese - it’s creamier and richer than other blue cheeses, such as Stilton. I guess that I’ll just have to believe it, because I can't see myself sitting through a blue cheese tasting session – ugh!

This recipe is from one of my most trusted bread books that I managed to grab whilst losing myself in Half-Price books. I’m aiming to make a different loaf of bread every Saturday from this book, and to start I chose the Roquefort Bread.

I didn’t sample the bread, but the smell emanating from my oven when it was cooking was deeeelicious! The bread had a soft crumb and was very easy to slice once cool. The texture wasn’t what I hoped for, it was slightly more cakey and dense rather than an airily-light bread, but J seemed to love it.

The bread is at its best on the day of baking, but toasts up exceptionally well.


ROQUEFORT BREAD
Makes 1 loaf
Adapted from "Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads" - Roquefort Bread

Ingredients
180 ml (¾ c) milk/milk substitute
60 g (2 oz) Roquefort cheese, crumbled
1 T unsalted butter
½ beaten egg
5 t sugar
½ t salt
200 g (1 ⅓ c) plain (all-purpose) or bread flour
100 g (⅔ c) whole-wheat flour
½ T yeast

Method
1. In a medium saucepan, gently heat together the milk, cheese, butter, egg, sugar and salt. Stir until the cheese has melted and allow to cool to a warm temperature.

2. Pour the warm milk mixture into mixer bowl of a stand mixer, together with all of the plain (all-purpose) flour. Using a dough hook, on low-medium speed, blend the mixture until you get a thick batter. Gradually add enough of the remaining flour to form a dough ball. Knead for an additional 8-10 minutes. The dough should be elastic, but not sticky (tacky).

3. Cover with cling-film (plastic wrap) and allow to prove until double its size, around 1 hour. Alternatively place the bowl into the refrigerator for an overnight cold prove. If doing a cold prove, remember to take the dough out of the refrigerator 1-2 hours before proceeding to the next step.

4. Punch the dough down and shape it to the length of a 11 ½ x 21 ½ cm (4 ½ x 8 ½ inch) loaf tin (pan). Place the dough into a greased/parchment-lined loaf tin (pan) and push down in the corners if necessary.

5. Spray lightly with water, cover with cling-film (plastic-wrap) and allow to prove in a warm spot for 40-45 minutes, or until the highest point of the dough is 1 ¼ cm (½ inch) above the top edge of the loaf tin (pan).

6. Preheat the oven to 185°C/365°F for 15 minutes.

7. Using a very sharp knife, slash a 1 ¼ cm (½ inch) deep slit down the length of the loaf, then place into the middle of the oven for 10 minutes.

8. Cover with foil (to prevent the bread from burning) and allow another 20 minutes baking time, turning halfway through the cooking time to allow for even browning/cooking.

9. Remove the loaf from the pan, tap the bottom, if it sounds hollow it’s done. Allow to cool on a wire rack before slicing. Enjoy!