Cottage Cheese Bread (on the grill or the oven)
MAKES
one large loaf, or two smaller loaves
TAKES
Prep time: 4 hours 30 minutes (includes rise time)
Cook time: 25-45 minutes
Total: 5 hours - 5 hours 30 minutes.
✻ ABOUT THIS RECIPE
I originally made this bread as a summer recipe - using the grill so I didn’t have to turn on the oven. The soft dough is enriched with cottage cheese - it gets beautifully browned on the exterior but stays pillowy inside. I like to serve fresh bread with the veggie-heavy meals of summer, thus the grilling - but this bread can also be baked in the oven - and it’s just as delicious. It also makes wonderful sandwich bread for veggie sandwiches, BLTs, or patty melts. This recipe can be baked as two smaller loaves or one big one (enjoy one now, freeze one for later).
INGREDIENTS
720 g / 6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the loaf
10 g / 1 tablespoon instant dry yeast
5 g / 1 ¼ teaspoons fine sea salt
285 g / 1 ¼ cups warm water about 110°F/45°C)
226 g / 8 ounces whole-milk cottage cheese, at room temperature
56 g / 1 large egg, at room temperature
64 g / 3 tablespoons honey
42 g / 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
semolina flour or cornmeal for dusting
More Bread This Way:
METHOD
1. Make the dough: in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix the flour, yeast, and salt together on low speed. Add the water, cottage cheese, egg, honey, and butter and mix until the dough comes together, about 3 minutes. Raise the speed to medium and mix until the dough is fairly smooth, about 3 minutes more—it will be fairly sticky.
2. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased large bowl. Gently turn the dough over onto itself a few times to round it and lightly coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 30 minutes.
3. Use a bowl scraper to fold the dough: scoop underneath the dough, and gently lift it up and on top of the surface of the dough. Repeat this process 5 times, working your way in a circular motion around the bowl. Let the dough rise again until visibly puffy, 30-45 minutes.
4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface:
To make two smaller loaves: divide into 2 equal pieces (about 675 g each). Use your hands to round each piece into a round loaf.
To make one large loaf, gently round the dough into a round loaf.
5. Prepare your equipment:
First, ready your rising tools. This soft, highly hydrated dough holds it’s shape better during rising if you use a banneton or rising basket. Preferably use a fabric liner, and dust it (or the surface of the basket) generously with all purpose flour.
If you don’t have a basket, lightly grease a bowl about double the size of the shaped loaf, and then dust it generously with all purpose flour.
Prepare your cast iron pan(s). There’s some wiggle room with pan size - it just may impact the ultimate shape of the loaf and the bake time slightly.
If you’re making one loaf, you’ll need a larger Dutch oven (5-7 quarts) or cast iron skillet (10-12 inch / 25-30 cm) wide. Sprinkle semolina or cornmeal evenly over the base.
If you’re make two loaves you’ll need two pans - either a medium Dutch oven (4-6 quarts), or cast iron skillets (8-9 inch / 20-23 cm). Or, if you have a cast iron griddle, you can use it for both loaves.
6. Dust the loaf or loaves with flour, cover, place floured side down into the prepared basket or bowl, and let rise until visibly puffy, 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 45 minutes.
7. About 30 minutes before the end of rise time, preheat your grill to at least 450°F/230°C or hotter. Or, if you want to bake in the oven, preheat it to 450°F/230°C.
8. Heat the pans:
If using the grill: place the skillet(s), Dutch oven(s) or griddle onto the grill and close the lid; aim to maintain a grill temperature of around 450°F / 230°C. Heat for at least 15 minutes.
If using the oven: with the oven rack placed in the center. Place the skillet(s), Dutch oven(s) or griddle onto the grill and close the lid; aim to maintain a grill temperature of around 450°F / 230°C. Heat for at least 15 minutes.
9. When the loave(s) have risen, turn it out onto a sheet of parchment paper. Use a lame to score the loaf as desired (or, use scissors to cut a large X in the center of the loaf). Remove the heated pans from the grill or oven, and use the excess paper to gently pick up the loaf and place into the hot pan(s). If using a Dutch oven, cover the loaf with the lid.
10. Bake the bread:
To grill-bake the bread: Place the hot pans back onto the grill. Note - using indirect heat is best if you can maintain a high-enough temperature. On a gas grill, you may not need to light all of the burners to maintain the heat, so you can put the skillets on the cooler side, which will prevent the bottoms of the loaves from getting too dark or burning.
Grill-bake until the crust is deeply browned and the internal temperature of the thickest part of the bread is at least 200°F/95°C, for the large loaf, 40-45 minutes. For the two smaller loaves, 20 to 25 minutes. If using a Dutch oven, take the lid off halfway through baking.
To bake in the oven: bake until the crust is deeply browned and the internal temperature of the thickest part of the bread is at least 200°F/95°C, for the large loaf, 40-45 minutes. For the two smaller loaves, 20 to 25 minutes. If using a Dutch oven, take the lid off halfway through baking.
11. Remove the loaves from the pans and slide onto a cooling rack. Cool at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving, or cool completely.
✻ HAVE YOU BAKED IT?
Tag @emcdowell on Instagram or use #happybaking. I’d love to see your bakes!
