I have to confess, I love sourdough bread almost as much as I love my first born son, but the time involved in baking a loaf can be tough when you’ve got a day full of things to get done. I’m firmly in the “bread is the staff of life” camp; yes I’m a bread loving fool. This easy to make, no-knead yeast bread loaf rises up to the occasion in less time than it takes to bake up a sour dough loaf of bread, making it a great loaf to bake up when you don’t have an entire day to spend in the kitchen. Most of the time spent making this loaf is letting the dough rise, easy peasy. Mixing in shredded sharp cheddar and sliced green onions gives it a lovely flavor profile that really kicks things up several notches.
Sure a plain loaf of freshly baked bread slathered with soft butter is delicious! But sometimes you want to try something a little different. The addition of sharp cheddar cheese and sliced green onions adds another layer of flavor that makes this loaf extra special! Unless you’re a green onion, cheddar cheese hater you are going to love this easy to make, no-knead, tasty loaf of homemade bread!
This is an easy no-knead loaf that comes together with a minimum of effort. Stir the dough together, let it do its thing for a few hours, add the cheese and green onions and bake it. So very easy for a homemade, from scratch loaf of artisanal bread. The hardest part? Waiting for the loaf to cool off before slicing into it!
Start by adding the yeast to warm water and stir to combine. This step is called “blooming” the yeast. I’ve had several instances where the yeast I had was no longer live and I ended up wasting the flour, so now I always “bloom” the yeast to make sure it’s still viable before adding it to the flour. If your yeast doesn’t get foamy and bubbly in the warm water it is no longer good.
Allow yeast to bloom, about 5-10 minutes.
Stir together flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Add the yeast water to the dry ingredients.
Stir together until you have a shaggy dough.
Cover bowl with a towel and allow the dough to rise for 3-5 hours.
Dough will probably more than double, this is after 3 hours in my oven with just the oven light on. In the winter months when it’s cold, your oven creates the perfect warm cozy environment to get yeast going to really do it’s thing!
Place an empty Dutch oven pot in the oven and preheat to 450℉ for at least 30 minutes. You want the pot to be screaming hot when you add the loaf of bread.
Lightly flour your work surface and transfer the dough from the bowl onto the floured surface. It will look like a sticky blob, but that’s ok. Just flour your hands well to keep the dough from sticking to your hands as you form the loaf.
Pat the dough out into a square or rectangular shape.
Place ½ the shedded cheese onto the dough in an even layer.
Top with ½ the sliced green onions.
Fold the corners of the dough into the center.
Use the palms of your hands to flatten dough out into another square.
Top with the remaining shredded cheese and green onions.
Fold the corners into the center stretching the dough a little as you do this.
Cup the dough with your hands and gently form the dough into a ball. Transfer dough ball onto a sheet of parchment paper. Using a dough scraper makes it easier to transfer the dough from your work surface onto the parchment paper.
Let formed loaf rest for about 30 minutes while the Dutch oven pot is preheating in the oven. You want the pot to be screaming hot.
Remove preheated Dutch oven from the oven. Be careful not to burn yourself, the pot will be very hot. Cut an “X” into the top of the loaf, about a quarter inch deep with a sharp knife.
Grab the four corners of the parchment paper and carefully lower the dough into the Dutch oven pot.
Cover the pot with the lid.
Bake loaf covered for 30 minutes.
Removed lid and bake for an additional 15-30 minutes.
Loaf is done when it sounds hollow when tapped and the crust is a rich golden brown.
Carefully remove loaf from the Dutch oven pot and place it on a rack to cool.
Cool completely before slicing the loaf.
IMPORTANT: Please, please, please be patient and wait for the loaf to cool completely before cutting into it; at least 45 minutes, an hour is better.
If you cut the loaf while it’s still hot, the bread will have a gummy and sticky texture because of the steam that’s still trapped in the hot loaf of bread. Allow it to cool to room temperature for the best fluffy inside with a crunchy crust. Trust me on this, resist the urge, I speak from personal experience. Serve this bread slathered with soft butter. You are in for a real treat with this loaf of bread! It’s DELICIOUS!
If you end up with any leftover bread, slice it and slather it with the World’s Best Garlic Butter. Stick it in your oven and broil until light golden brown. It’s a delightful accompaniment to any of your favorite Italian dishes! Or dipped in a bowl of your favorite soups or a savory stew or use it as a mop to scoop up chili! Oh so good!!!!
This garlic butter is great added to mashed potatoes, tossed with noodles, or brushed onto grilled vegetables. Heck, it would even make your sneakers taste delicious…LOL! it’s the most addictive condiment you will ever try!
No-Knead Cheddar Scallion Bread
Equipment
- large dutch oven
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 1½ cups warm water
- 1½ tsp yeast
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- ½ cup green onions, sliced
Instructions
- Add yeast to warm water and stir to combine.
- Allow yeast to bloom, about 5 minutes.
- Stir together flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the yeast water to the dry ingredients.
- Stir together until you have a shaggy dough.
- Cover bowl with a towel and allow dough to rise for 3-5 hours.
- Place an empty Dutch oven pot in the oven and preheat to 450℉.
- Lightly flour your work surface and transfer the dough from the bowl onto the floured surface.
- Pat dough out into a square.
- Place ½ the shedded cheese onto the dough in an even layer.
- Top with ½ the sliced green onions.
- Fold corners of the dough into the center.
- Flatten dough out into a square.
- Top with the remaining shredded cheese and green onions.
- Fold corners into the center.
- Cup dough with your hands and gently form dough into a ball.
- Transfer dough ball onto a sheet of parchment paper.
- Remove Dutch oven from the oven.
- Grab the four corners of the parchment paper and carefully lower the dough into the Dutch oven pot. Cover with the lid.
- Bake covered for 30 minutes.
- Removed lid and bake for an additional 15-30 minutes.
- Loaf is done when it sounds hollow when tapped and crust is golden brown.
- Carefully remove loaf from the Dutch oven pot and place it on a rack to cool.
- Cool completely before slicing the loaf.
Did You Make This?
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Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
John 6:35
Remember…Jesus ❤️’s you!
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