go away winter

Gruyère-Stuffed Crusty Loaves

1 1/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1/2 cup cool water

Dough

all of the starter
1 cup + 2 tablespoons to 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water*
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Pizza Dough Flavor (optional)
3 1/2 cups Unbleached Bread Flour
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
Use the greater amount of water in winter, when conditions are dry; and the lesser amount in summer, when the weather is humid.

Filling

2 1/2 cups grated Gruyère cheese, or the grated/shredded cheese of your choice (a mixture of provolone and mozzarella is tasty)
1 tablespoon garlic oil (optional)
1 tablespoon pizza seasoning (optional)

Directions

1. To make the starter: Mix the 1 1/4 cups flour, salt, yeast, and 1/2 cup water in a medium-sized bowl. Mix till well combined; the starter will be very dry. Cover and let rest overnight at room temperature; it’ll become bubbly.

2. To make the dough: Combine the risen starter with the water, salt, flour, and yeast. Knead—by hand, mixer, or bread machine set on the dough cycle—to make a smooth dough.

3) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, till it’s nearly doubled in bulk.

4. Gently deflate the dough, and pat and stretch it into a 3/4″-thick rectangle, about 9″ x 12″. Spritz with water, and sprinkle with the grated cheese.

5. Starting with a long side, roll it into a log, pinching the seam to seal. Place the log, seam-side down, on a lightly floured or lightly oiled surface.

6. Cover it and let it rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, till it’s puffy though not doubled in bulk. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 425°F.

7. Gently cut the log into four crosswise slices, for mini-breads; or simply cut the dough in half, for two normal-sized loaves. Place them on one (for two loaves) or two (for four mini-loaves) lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheets, cut side up. Spread them open a bit, if necessary, to more fully expose the cheese. Spritz with warm water, and immediately place them in the preheated oven.

8. Bake for 20 minutes (for the mini-loaves), or 35 minutes (for the full-sized loaves), or until the cheese is melted and the loaves are a very deep golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.

Notes: I got this from the King Arthur’s flour blog, Bakers Banter. Unfortunately I didn’t have King Arthur’s flour so I stuck with my high altitude flour. I’m not really sure what makes it suitable for baking at high altitudes but I always use it and now I am scared to stop. Anyhow, this bread was perfect with a big bowl of soup. It was super crusty on the outside and fluffy inside. The only minor things I did different from the recipe were eliminating the pizza dough flavor from the dough and not using the garlic oil in the filling.

This is another loaf of No Knead (same as number 1).
All I did was add about a half a cup of whole wheat flour.

This is pretty much the same recipe as #2 except at over 8,000 ft. It turned out a little dry. I will have to figure out adjustments for altitude.