- 1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F.)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 cup cottage cheese (non-fat or low-fat)
- 1 teaspoon lavender flowers (fresh or dried), finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon thyme leaves, fresh and finely chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon basil leaves, fresh and finely chopped
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 cups plus 3 tablespoons bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons instant active dry yeast
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Bread Machine Instructions:
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Add all the ingredients in the bread pan of bread machine. Process according to manufacturer's instructions for a dough setting. Do not be afraid to open the lid and check the dough. It should form a nice elastic ball. If you think the dough is too moist, add additional flour (a tablespoon at a time). The same is true if the dough is looking dry and gnarly. Add warm water (a tablespoon at a time).
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If you can not judge your dough by looking, stick your finger in and feel the dough. It should be slightly tacky to the touch. When the bread machine has completed the dough cycle, remove the dough from the pan to a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough several times and form the dough into an oval; cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
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Stand Up Mixer Instructions:
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In a large bowl or in the bowl of a 5-quart stand mixer, add all the ingredients. Using a dough hook, mix all the ingredients together into a uniform dough. It should form a nice elastic ball. If you think the dough is too moist, add additional flour (a tablespoon at a time). The same is true if the dough is looking dry and gnarly. Add warm water (a tablespoon at a time).
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Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until elastic, about 15 minutes. In an electric mixer, it should take about 9 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
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After resting, turn dough bottom side up and press to flatten. For baguettes (long, slender) or boules (round), divide the dough into 2 pieces and shape. For baguettes, fold dough into an envelope by folding the top 1/3 of the way to the bottom. Then fold the bottom a 1/3 of the way over the top. Then press dough with the palm of your hand to make an indentation down the center of the dough and fold the top completely to the bottom, sealing the seam with the palm of your hand.
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Place on a jelly roll pan dusted with cornmeal. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise until the dough is doubled in bulk, approximately 30 to 50 minutes (depending on how warm your room is).
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Oven Rising: Sometimes I use my oven for the rising. Turn the oven on for a minute or so, then turn it off again . This will warm the oven and make it a great environment for rising bread. If you can not comfortably press your hand against the inside of the oven door, the oven is too hot. Let it stand open to cool a bit.
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Cool or Refrigerator Rise: If I do not have the time to wait for the rise to finish or I know that I will be interrupted before the completed rise, I do a cool rise. A cool rise is when the dough is place in the refrigerator and left to rise slowly over night approximately 8 to 12 hours. I usually do this after the first rise and the dough has been shaped into a loaf.
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees. After rising, slash or score the loaves with a very sharp knife making three 1/2-inch deep diagonal slashes. Bake for 20 minutes or until nicely browned. A good check is to use an instant digital thermometer to test your bread. The internal temperature should be between 200 and 210 degrees F.
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Remove from oven and place the loaves on a wire rack until cooled.
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Makes 1 large round loaf or 2 small baguettes.
I get many readers asking what cooking/meat thermometer that I prefer and use in my cooking and baking. I, personally, use the Thermapen Thermometer. Originally designed for professional use, the Super-Fast Thermapen Thermometer is used by chefs all over the world. I only endorse a few products, on my web site, that I like and use regularly.
You can learn more or buy yours at: Super-Fast Thermapen Thermometer.
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One Response to “Cottage Cheese Herb Bread Recipe”
Helen K
Thank you for What’s Cooking America for this really nice bread! Easy to make b/c everything is tossed together in the mixer bowl. Healthful ingredients! I doubled the recipe and used 2 loaf pans.
A very nice rise and great texture. Very good taste. Instead of using the suggested herbs, I only used 1 tsp dry fennel seeds. One hardly notices the fennel – except for tasting a trace of “something” slightly sweet and elusive.
I didn’t see any salt in the recipe, so I added 1 tsp of kosher. Next time will use 1-1/2 tsp kosher.
I used: 2 cups of whole wheat flour in place of some of the all purpose flour, a fairly dry cottage cheese – a low fat vacuum-packed brand (Western) that’s lightly salted, a good quality EVOO, and large eggs. Left honey the same as listed. Was not too sweet.
For kneading and rising, I simply did it like I traditionally do with almost any bread using a stand mixer and a floured bread board for final kneading.
The 2nd rise took quite a while b/c I wanted loaves instead of a slender baguette. I slashed each loaf with a razor blade before brushing the tops with cream mixed with a yolk.
I used a convection oven with a shallow pan with hot water on the lower shelf. I forgot to reduce the heat b/c of using glass pans. The next time I will start at 375 degrees and then lower the heat after about 20 minutes to 350 degrees.
When done, the loaves were browned all over and their inner temp as 209 degrees.
Helen K, Burlington, Ontario, Canada.