I made a bread that has Blue Cheese and 45% Rye in it. The bread got very good reviews on my test subjects at work. One test subject said it was the best bread that she has ever had.
The first night I made the first build of my preferment. The flour was fresh ground whole wheat.
| 1st Build | Grams | Percent |
| Starter | 7.5 | 50% |
| Flour | 15 | 100% |
| Water | 7.5 | 50% |
The next morning about 12 hours later I made the next build. The flour was fresh ground whole wheat and 20 grams of fresh ground whole rye.
| 2nd Build | Grams | Percent |
| 1st Build | 30 | 47.37% |
| Flour | 63.33 | 100% |
| Water | 31.67 | 50% |
When I get home from work the next afternoon I mix the dough up, about 10 hours after making the 2nd build.
| Dough Formula | Grams | Percent |
| Flour* | 500 | 350 |
| Water | 350 | 70% |
| Salt | 10 | 2% |
| 2nd Build | 125 | 25% |
| Blue Cheese | 150 | 30% |
| Total | 1135 | 227% |
The flour for the bread is bread flour and 45% fresh ground whole rye.
| *Flours | Grams | Percent |
| Bread Flour | 275 | 55% |
| Rye | 225 | 45% |
| Total | 500 | 100% |
I put the preferment into the mixing bowl with the water and broke it all up. Next I added the flour and mixed the dough up into a shaggy mass. Then I let it set for 30 minutes before I added the salt. I mixed the dough up until the gluten was developed. I turned the dough out onto the counter and flattened it out. I then put a layer of cubed Blue Cheese on the dough and folded it up. I did this three times to get all of the Blue Cheese into the dough. The dough was very firm so I figured I would do a free form loaf instead of bread pans. I let the dough ferment for four hours and I could feel it was just starting to lose it firmness and was starting to puff up. The dough is put into the fridge until I can get back to it. The next morning the dough has risen inside the the fridge. When I get home the next day I take the dough out and let it warm up for 20 minutes then I form my loaf. The loaf is ready to cook 1.5 hours later so I slash it and put it inside of my cast iron roasting pan. The pan has been in the oven that is preheated to 460°F. I cook the loaf for the first 25 minutes with the lid on and the last 15 minutes without the lid. When I pulled the loaf out of the pan cheese ran out of the loaf. The loaf is so soft and the crumb is very delicate. Blue Cheese permeates the whole loaf every part of the loaf tastes of Blue Cheese. This is a very wonderful bread for anyone who likes Blue Cheese.
Replies
Blue cheese, pepper jelly (whazzat?)... Only blue cheese I've tried is gorgonzola, but the heavily blue ones look pretty (in a creepy way) intimidating. What do you suggest for a cheese noob?
Looking forward to your next bread discovery...
Next bread discovery is Lemon Zest and Rosemary. It will come out of the oven in five minutes.
The blue vein cheese I bought was a King Island gorgonzola style called Endeavour Blue. Described as "traditional gorgonzola style cheese with a soft creamy texture and a feisty blue flavour with fruity overtones". Sounds impressive I pickedit because I wanted that full flavour and the Endeavour was the name of Captain Cook's ship and he is a bit of a hero of mine.
It certainly has a strong flavour but that's what I love about blue vein cheese. I remember as a kid watching my dad eat Danish blue vein on crackers with honey. I thought he was completely mad and could not even stay in the same room with that smelly cheese. It's funny how your tastes mature with age. Now I love the stuff - the stinkier the better!
By the way I think I said King Island was a New Zealand cheese. Actually I discovered it is a remote island discovered in 1791 in Bass Strait and located between Tasmania and the Australian mainland. Their dairy products are expensive but always excellent. I think it's because King Island to this day retains its pristine environment.
My Results:LD is correct in saying that the blue cheese leaks out of the loaf during cooking. I had a bit of a blow out on one side where a cube of cheese must have been close to the surface and had cheese leaking all over my baking stone. The smell of the cheese cooking was right throughout the house and after waiting for it to cool the crumb was soft and airy. The blue cheese taste does permeate all the bread and makes for some wonderful combinations with other foods...I might even try some with honey and make my old Dad proud.
Thanks for posting this LD... and now for the lemon and rosemary bread :)
Johnny
I think I can smell it from here! Hubby ain't very keen....unless, unless, I bake it on a day when he has flu.
Happy weekend!
TP make the bread and put some like hot pepper jelly on it, Hubby might change his mind.
Erm...we've been gingerly exploring more cheese. We've gone past Lancashire, now on Wensleydale...crumbly stuff but flavourful. Working our way to blue..., it's not the colour nor the smell (hey, we eat durian) that's bothering us, it's more of the smurfy beasties potentially playing havoc with our system.
Up to no good, eh? Sounds like something we want to do in future.
The advantage of being an Asian growing up in Oz is that I have lots of access to and absolutely adore blue cheese. Even the really bad stinky ones made from unpasteurized milk in France. I've never gotten sick from blue cheese. I'm actually far more concerned about the tung chai that sits in an unrefrigerated terracotta pot for a decade, or the chemicals in the salted dace with black bean that comes in a tin and tastes like pure delicious wickedness. :)
But my mother won't touch cheese, and she would shoot me if she knew how often I ate blue (ie. to her, "off") cheese...
Celia
All of them have no problem eating gorgonzola or Brie... So what is the fuss really?
My hubby is the picky one by the way and I am the one who is not allergic.
Johnny and Duane your breads both look pretty darn delicious if you ask me. i will have to get some blue
cheese and give it a try... I just made some Chocolate, Cherry & walnut sourdough bagels that were so good ... all the evidence was destroyed at once:) Maybe I'll get pictures next time.
TP you could try the Wensleydale in this bread or if you want to work towards blue try some gorgonzola
a mild italian Blue.
And Celia I agree about the Asian Cuisine lots of scary stuff there... As well as great food too! Sorry I still haven't had time or the right ingredients for your gluten free yet... But I will eventually try it.
Cheers
Terri
Here is a picture of the next experiment, walnut and blue cheese.
I'm taking it to work with some homemade hot pepper jelly. I guess I'll have to take my camera and get a picture of the crumb.
Nah I didn't think you were speaking to me, I brought out my blue qualms to help distract and wrench some poor folks off da monitor...from their fixation on these gorgeous breads. BTW, how do you make your hot pepper jelly?
I get the safe2consume and u-won't-b-sorry message, guys...thanks!...going for it SOON.
Here is the crumb shot of the bread. The volunteers ate it up in a hurry once they started on it. I think the Blue Cheese this time was a little bit to strong. I couldn't even tell there were walnuts in the bread but I have an idea for my next experiment. The cheese shops here should have some milder cheese so I'm going to check them out.
Thanks, first, for the walk in your neighbourhood....the butterfly's real pretty....and, 2nd, for the crumb shot which looks as inviting as ever.
TP
This is Pumpkin Seeds and Blue Cheese. I really like pumpkin seeds in my bread.
Hydration was 70%
Preferment was 20%
Salt 1.75%
Blue Cheese 9%
Pumpkin seeds 9%
Flour was Whole Wheat 12%, Bread Flour 78%, and Rye 10%.
There wasn't enough Blue Cheese in this loaf so next batch is going to have double the amount. For me it seems the the formula will have to be adjusted to the type of Blue Cheese that is used. This is going to be a great bread when it gets dialed in.
Yea it was a nice open crumb with a crisp crust. There wasn't any Blue Cheese running out of the loaf when it was done so I know I need more of it. My co-workers made short work of it and people from other parts of the building were getting slices of it too.
Both your breads look like very delicious meals in themselves. Johnny, I expect you know that loosely covering the top with foil while you bake the bread to doneness will prevent burning, but, sometimes, we forget.
I love the way you play with your breads.
I had 47 grams of Blue Cheese crumbs left over last week so I put them into my weekly lunch bread, 2200 grams of dough. Monday when I tried it you could barely tell there was any Blue Cheese in it. A week later and the bread tastes noticeable of Blue Cheese. That is an interesting development that might become useful in making Blue Cheese breads.