Tasty Asiago Cheese Bread!

Mmmmmmmmm.... asiago cheese!!  I bought a chunk a couple of weeks ago, thinking I really wanted to try another asiago bread sometime soon. Well, it disappeared in my refrigerator under bags of regularly-used cheeses - forgotten -  until Tuesday. I was pondering what bread to create for my expectant fellow-workers on Wednesday when I recalled that lonely piece buried under less-praiseworthy cheeses. I pulled it out and began the shredding process. If you've worked with asiago before, you know that it is pretty "stinky" in its unbaked state, so you can surmise what my hands smelled like by the time I was done! I gave them a quick wash, then proceeded out to the living room and plopped down on the couch by my hubby to catch a little evening television. After only a few moments, Dave jumped up and began lifting the couch cushions, as though searching for something.....but he was sniffing. "Do you smell that???!!! Do you smell that?!!  Oh that cat! Did he throw up somewhere?!!" I started to laugh.....I obviously had NOT done a good job of washing my hands after the shredding process - they still smelled of asiago cheese. 

The bread is another story......once baked, the cheese lends a wonderful fragrance to the already-amazing aroma of freshly-baked bread. And, simply put,  the bread is absolutely delicious. The hubby was a little tenuous about tasting it after his smelly experience the night before, but once he slathered a piece with soft butter, he was hooked. There wasn't enough left at the office to take home and serve with dinner, but it would make a wonderful addition to an Italian meal.....or any meal! ENJOY!! 

Asiago Cheese Bread

Dough

1 pkg. Red Star Platinum yeast

¼ Cup warm water

1 Cup warm milk

3 ¼- ½ Cup unbleached, all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. coarse ground pepper

2 Tbsp. butter, softened

1 ¼ Cup finely shredded Asiago cheese

Topping

1 egg, well-beaten

¼ Cup finely shredded Asiago cheese

Place warm water and yeast in EZ DOH bucket and stir to dissolve yeast. Let rest 1 minute. Add one cup of flour, then additional dough ingredients. EZ DOH-it for 2-3 minutes, or until dough is smooth and soft and all ingredients are incorporated, adding additional flour, as necessary, if the dough is too sticky.  Remove dough from bucket, spray bucket with cooking spray, “smooth” dough and replace in bucket. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Punch down the dough and remove it from the bucket. Form into one large French-style loaf, or two smaller loaves. Place on a lightly-greased baking sheet or in two smaller lightly-greased loaf pans. Cover with a clean dishtowel and let rise until doubled, usually 30-45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375. Lightly “slash” the tops of the loaves with a sharp serrated knife. Brush the tops with the beaten egg, then sprinkle with the cheese. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack. ENJOY!!!

Visit http://www.wildyeastblog.com/yeastspotting/ for more delicious breads 

Adapted from a recipe at “Tastes of Lizzy T’s”

Tasty Asiago Cheese Bread!