Simple Italian Cheese Bread – Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
This straightforward Italian cheese bread is unbelievable! The easy dough is combined by hand, and the baked bread is tacky and stuffed with aptitude and taste!
Okay, you guys, cease what you’re doing proper this minute, and make this bread! Severely. It is going to be one of the best choice you’ve made all week.
It’s by far among the most scrumptious bread I’ve ever eaten!
Bread Dough Combined by Hand
The dough for this award-winning Italian cheese bread is combined collectively by hand. No stand mixer wanted!
Dough substances:
- flour
- sugar
- yeast
- olive oil
- salt
As you combine, the dough will come collectively in a shaggy mess. That is after I ditch the blending utensil, flippantly grease my fingers, and dive in to combine and flippantly knead the dough for a couple of minutes till it types a tough ball form.
Attempt to not add extra flour until completely vital. The delicate dough is what ensures the bread will bake up completely fluffy (you might even get a few of these cute little artisanal air pockets for those who’re fortunate!).
Assembling the Cheese Bread:
As soon as the dough has risen, it’s time to make the deliciousness occur.
- press the dough onto a flippantly greased half sheet pan about 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick (it gained’t cowl the complete backside of the pan – simply get it right into a tough oval form)
- brush the highest with Italian salad dressing (a number of notes within the recipe about retailer purchased vs home made; spoiler alert: both will work!)
- sprinkle with a easy combination of pantry-ready dried herbs
- cowl with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese
You already understand how mentally allergic I’m to something associated to soggy bread dough – I promise the salad dressing doesn’t make the dough soggy! As a substitute it provides essentially the most unbelievable layer of taste and helps the cheese adhere to the highest of the dough.
Superb Italian Cheese Bread
Bake the bread till the crust is golden and that cheese is a’sizzlin.
The aroma emanating out of your oven is probably going nothing you’ve ever skilled. All of my youngsters talked about how wonderful it smelled once they walked in the home the primary time I made this bread. (And that’s saying rather a lot, as a result of my household is used to the home smelling like meals, for higher or for worse. 😉)
I’ve made this bread again and again since then. It’s truthfully among the most beautiful home made bread ever. And it’s so straightforward!
I’m so grateful that Sarah M (a loyal MKC reader for nearly 20 years!) despatched me this recipe. She’s been making this bread for over a decade and even gained Grand Champion for it at her native honest!
I can by no means depart nicely sufficient alone, so I tailored the recipe to work a bit higher for house cooks who might not personal a pizza pan, and adjusted the portions of the bread and toppings to raised go well with my carb-loving coronary heart.
Final week, I packed up slices of this bread and took it to my son’s highschool tennis match considering it will make a easy dinner for me and Brian whereas we watched (sure, the entire loaf 👀😜). We by no means even bought a single slice after my son, adopted by a hoard of his ravenous teammates, spied it, devoured it, and begged me to carry it once more.
I can’t wait so that you can make this bread! It might be good for thus many alternative events and meals. Or, simply since you want Italian cheese bread in your life.
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Simple Italian Cheese Bread
Dough:
- 3 cups (426 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon on the spot yeast
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 ¼ cups heat water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for the pan
Toppings:
- ⅓ cup bottled Italian salad dressing (see notice)
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Pinch dried thyme
- 1 cup (113 g) shredded mozzarella cheese (see notice)
- ¼ cup (28 g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese (see notice)
Stop your display from going darkish
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In a big bowl, stir collectively the flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Add the water and the two tablespoons olive oil and blend till the dough begins to return collectively in a shaggy ball.
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Evenly grease your fingers and proceed mixing the dough, folding it over on itself and kneading it flippantly (urgent it with the heel of your hand) 5 to six occasions, till the dough has shaped a tough ball form.
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Cowl the bowl and let the dough rise till noticeably puffy, 30 to 60 minutes.
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Preheat the oven to 450 levels F. Brush two tablespoons oil evenly throughout a half sheet pan.
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Evenly punch down the dough and switch it out onto the ready pan. Press the dough flippantly right into a tough oval form, about 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick. It will not cowl the complete backside of the pan. It is alright to flip the dough a few times whereas shaping; add extra oil to the pan, if wanted.
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Brush the highest of the dough evenly with the Italian salad dressing. In a small bowl, mix the basil, oregano, garlic, salt and thyme. Evenly sprinkle this combination over the dressing.
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Sprinkle the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses throughout the highest of the dough.
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In case you have the time or desire a barely fluffier bread, let the bread relaxation for 10-20 minutes earlier than baking. In any other case, you possibly can bake immediately.
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Bake for quarter-hour till the crust is golden brown and the cheese is scorching. Let relaxation for about 5 minutes earlier than chopping into squares and serving. The bread is scrumptious heat or at room temperature.
Cheese: if in case you have the time, freshly grated mozzarella cheese from a block is greatest (it melts significantly better than pre-shredded cheese from the shop). It isn’t a deal breaker if it is advisable to use pre-shredded mozzarella cheese; nonetheless, I extremely advocate utilizing freshly grated Parmesan cheese for the proper tacky crust (pre-shredded Parmesan is usually dried out and gained’t soften in addition to freshly grated Parm).
Serving: 1 serving, Energy: 144kcal, Carbohydrates: 20g, Protein: 5g, Fats: 5g, Saturated Fats: 2g, Ldl cholesterol: 7mg, Sodium: 374mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g
Recipe Supply: tailored from this recipe by means of a reader, Sarah M., who has been making this bread for 20 years (and gained Grand Champion at a neighborhood honest for it!) – I elevated and tailored portions so the bread is ideal for a half sheet pan
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