James Beard’s Cheese Bread

Dissolve the yeast with the sugar in 1/4 cup of the warm water and allow
to proof. In a large bowl, mix 5 cups of flour and the salt. Make a well in
the center and add the remaining 1 1/2 cups warm water, the butter, the
Tabasco, and the yeast mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula or with
your floured hands until the dough is well amalgamated. Turn out on a
heavily floured board (use 1/2 cup flour) and knead for 10 to 12 minutes or
until the dough is smooth, elastic, and rather satiny in texture and all
the flour on the board is absorbed; add flour if you need it. Place the
dough in a buttered or oiled bowl and turn to coat on all sides. Cover with
a towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk,
1-1/2 to 2 hours or slightly more.
Punch down the dough, turn it out on a lightly floured board, and knead
in the cheeses. When thouroughly blended, cut the dough in half and let
rest for 10 minutes, then roll out each half into a rectangle about 11 X 6
inches and let rest for 2 or 3 minutes more. Roll each triangle up,
pinching the edges as you do so, and tucking in the ends so that the loaf
measures about 4-1/2 X 7-1/2 inches. Place the dough in two well buttered
tins, cover, and let rise in a warm spot until the bread has reached the
top of the tin, or slightly higher, or has more or less doubled in size.
Bake on the center of the middle rack of a preheated 375F deg oven for
approximately 30 minutes, or until the loaves sound hollow when removed
from the tins and rapped with the knuckles on both top and bottom. Bake
directly on the oven rack, without the tins, for a few minutes to firm the
crust. Cool the bread on racks before slicing. VARIATIONS:
* Instead of the butter, use 1/3 cup peanut oil or olive oil. Also use
oil on the baking tins.
* Use fresh Parmesan orRomano only – a little over a cup – or use a
mixture of the two.
* Use sharp shredded Chedder instead of the Gruyere cheese.
* Bake as one loaf in a 10 X 4-1/2 X 3-inch pan, which will make a
thicker , more concentrated loaf and will take slightly longer to bake.
SOURCE: Beard on Bread by James A. Beard Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. New York
ISBN 0-394-47345-0