Swiss cheese bread makes great sandwiches.

Is there anything better than eating homemade bread? Can you smell the aroma filtering through your kitchen? The aroma of Swiss Cheese Bread baking on a chilly morning will fill your house up with warmth and coziness. Cheese makes everything better; here is a unique recipe that infuses cheese and bread into one. It is can be made with little effort using a stand mixer or bread machine. You don’t need to be an experienced baker to make this yummy bread; it will turn out right every time. Cooking your own preservative-free bread is gratifying and worth the efforts, homemade tastes way better than any bread you buy pre-packaged in plastic. Everyone will enjoy it down to the last scrumptious crumb.

Creating this special bread is a snap with a stand mixer or bread machine; you just add your ingredients and sit back, while the dough gets made. The toughest part about making this mouthwatering bread is waiting for one of these golden beauties to come out of your oven. You will notice the bread has a delicious crust that is slightly crisp with a delicate cheese flavor, and the texture is just right being firm and not dry. Not only is this tasty bread recipe simple to make but it packs extra nutrition providing additional calcium from the Swiss cheese and whole grain nutrients from the white whole wheat flour. White whole wheat flour is ideal for whole grain baking; it is lighter and has more flavorful than regular whole wheat flour and is superior in nutrition to bread or all-purpose flour.

Making Bruschetta 

Swiss Cheese Bread is very versatile and can be used for toast, sandwiches, or appetizers. The delightful flavors of the bread really come out, when it is toasted. Enjoy this classic appetizer, by creating bruschetta. Brush thin slices of bread with olive oil, place under preheated oven broiler until slightly golden. Next, remove from oven and top with, sliced cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, olive oil, and Italian cheeses. Lastly, place the veggie cheese-topped bread back under the oven broiler, until cheese is melted and serve. Be sure to keep your eye on the oven, the cheese will melt fast, about 1-2 minutes.

Bruschetta a delicious appetizer made with a few basic ingredients.

Farmers Market Potential 

Specialty bread loaves like this one do well in farmers markets and bake sales. The lovely thing about this recipe it is easy to make a quantity of these delicious loaves, especially with a stand mixer. The amount of time needed in the mixer is only about 15 minutes, and the baking time is less than an hour, you could easily bake multiple loaves in a days’ time, you would just need to have the extra pans and counter space. The next time you need bread for a bake sale or your pantry, reward yourself and family by baking Swiss Cheese Bread.

Swiss Cheese Bread goes wonderfully with chicken salad.

Ingredients

1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour (or substitute bread or all-purpose flour) *
1 cup bread flour (or substitute all-purpose flour)
2 ½ teaspoons of active dry yeast
¼ cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon sea salt (or substitute regular salt)
1 cup warm water (110 to 115-degree temperature)
2 Tablespoons olive oil or corn oil
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (or substitute other pungent tasting cheeses like muenster or sharp cheddar)
1 egg white
1 Tablespoon water
* Bread or all-purpose flour can be used for all of the flour in this recipe, leaving out the white whole white flour entirely.

Mixing ingredients using a stand mixer vs bread machine.

Stand Mixer 
Using a Stand mixer with paddle attachment, add 1 cup of white whole wheat flour, cornmeal, yeast, and salt into a large bowl. Set mixer to low speed, mixing dry ingredients for 1 minute then add warm water and oil beat for 1 additional minute. Set mixer to medium speed and add cheese and remaining ½ cup of white whole wheat flour and beat for 5 minutes.
Replace paddle with the bread hook. Now, add the rest of the flour, 1/3 cup at a time and mix at low speed for about 6 minutes until dough is smooth and supple.
Remove dough from mixer bowl, coat a large glass bowl with cooking oil, shape dough into a large ball, roll dough over once to get all sides of dough ball slightly oiled. Set in a warm spot and cover with light dish towel. Placing the dough under the overhead light on your stove is an excellent warm location. Let it rise until doubled about one hour and twenty minutes. Next, go to steps 1 and 2 to shape dough and bake.
Bread Machine
Using a bread machine add all of the dry ingredients to bread pan first, and then add warm water and oil. Select dough setting on your bread machine and let that cycle run. Next, go to steps 1 and 2 to shape dough and bake.

Steps 1 and 2 Shape Dough and Bake

1.  Punch down dough and roll out into 14” x 8” rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Start from the widest side and roll into a log shape, tucking in the ends. Place on greased cookie sheet or use parchment paper. Mix egg white and water together and brush lightly over loaf. Cover and put in a warm spot and let rise for about an hour. You can tell when the dough is done rising by using your index finger to slightly press a small dent into the raised dough if the dough is done rising the indentation will remain otherwise the dough will bounce back, if it bounces back then the dough needs a little more time to raise.

2. Once the dough is done rising, using a sharp knife, make 4 to 6 slits in the loaf about ½ inch deep, being careful not to smash the dough down. Place in 350 degrees preheated oven. Bake for 20 minutes, remove from oven and brush with additional egg white-water. Place back in oven and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown. Remove and cool on wire rack.

Swiss Cheese Bread is an easy to make scrumptious bread.