Cheesy Twisted Heart Bread - #BreadBakers

I have really missed the smell of freshly baked bread. It's a smell associated with many fond childhood memories, since I grew up near two bakeries. Both of them would bake at the same and the neighbourhood would be filled with those delicious smells. They no longer bake at the locations near me, so I only get that smell when I bake my own bread.

Since gluten betrayed me, I haven't made any yeast bread, so pulling this out of the oven made me so happy. Yes, it is chock full of gluten. No, I didn't eat any. I just stared grudgingly at my family eating it. HAHA. I started out with a gluten-free plan using coconut flour and almond flour. But that combination just wasn't hitting the spot. I found a site with amazing gluten-free yeast breads. But it requires a million ingredients that aren't easily accessible. I need to order most of the items from Amazon - psyllium husk, anyone? Until I figure it all out, I'll just whip up something gluten-filled for my friends and family to scratch my baking itch. I'm holding out hope that one day, I'll be able to eat gluten again without getting sick. One day.

So the theme for this month's Bread Bakers is "Loaves of Love" - a beautiful theme for the month of February. I'm excited to see how my fellow Bread Bakers interpreted this one. Scroll down to see a list of their recipes and be sure to visit them. Thanks for hosting, Wendy!

Cheesy Twisted Heart Bread 

Ingredients 

Dough

3 cups of flour 

1 teaspoon of instant yeast

1 teaspoon sugar 

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg, whisked

3/4 cup milk 

1/4 cup oil

Filling

2 tablespoons melted butter 

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup shredded cheese (or more, based on your preferences)

Directions

Whisk flour, yeast, sugar, and salt together. Add the egg, milk, and oil. Mix together, then knead well. until it forms a tacky dough. Place the kneaded dough in an oiled bowl, cover it, and let it bulk ferment at room temperature until doubled in size. You can also leave it in the refrigerator overnight.  I prefer to bulk ferment in the fridge. 

Prepare a parchment-lined baking sheet. 

Divide the bulk fermented dough into two equal halves. Now, you have choices here when it comes to shaping. You can create a stencil to cut out your hearts, but doing that will waste dough. It's also hard to plan the perfect size based on the amount of dough you have. I decided to shape half my dough into a heart and use it as a stencil for the second half. It doesn't have to be perfect - have fun with it.  My heart ended up being a bit more than 11 inches across at its widest. 

Place your first heart on your baking sheet. Brush the dough with the melted butter, then sprinkle on the garlic and shredded cheese. Top with your second heart. 

Place a cookie cutter or similar in the centre of your heart. Then cut half-inch strips all around your heart up to the cookie cutter. Don't cut the very centre. Twist the strips on the right side to the right and the ones on the left side to the left.

Preheat the oven to 350 F while your heart rests at room temperature for about 20 minutes. It's not going to rise much at this point butit may look a little puffy.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. 

Enjoy

• Magical Ingredients: Beet Feta Twisted Heart Bread
• Food Lust People Love: Cheddar Marmite Rolls 
• Passion Kneaded: Cheesy Twisted Heart Bread 
• A Messy Kitchen: Cranberry Cinnamon Swirl Bread 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Double Chocolate Muffins 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Extra Gooey Sticky Buns 
• Sneha's Recipe: Heart Shaped Rolls 
• Zesty South Indian Kitchen: Rose Petal Pistachio Cardamom Sourdough Bread

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Brazilian Cheese Bread #BreadBakers

Happy New Year!

The Bread Bakers are starting off the new year with the best bread to pair with your winter soup. Or if you're in Jamaica, it's your Saturday soup. Fun fact: When I was a child, soup was the standard meal in most households every Saturday. It's also a popular street food on weekends. It's always hot in Jamaica, so we can't wait for cool weather to drink soup. Even Google's AI knows the deal.

I initially planned on some breadsticks, but then I discovered some long-forgotten tapioca flour in my cupboard. On the back was a recipe for Brazilian Cheese Bread. Sounded perfect for soup, so that won out. I didn't use the recipe on the back of the bag and went instead with one from The Kitchn. 

It was my first time having Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo). It's a chewy, tasty little morsel. I would love to add a million flavours to it. But it's also perfect as is, paired with a stew or soup.  I also enjoyed them with my breakfast with a little garlic butter. 

Scroll down to see what other breads you need to make to go with your soup.

Brazilian Cheese Bread 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup milk 

1/4 cup oil 

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 oz tapioca flour

1 egg

1/2 cup cheese (I used a Mozarella mix, but I think a sharp cheddar would have been even better.)

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 F. Grease the wells of a mini muffin tin. You can also use a lined parchment sheet, but I wanted a little shape insurance.

Bring the milk, oil, and salt to a gentle boil. Remove from the heat and pour into the bowl of a mixer. Add the tapioca flour and stir with a wooden spoon until there are no more streaks of dry tapioca flour. 

Beat with a paddle attachment until the dough has cooled. Add the egg and mix until full incporated. Next, beat in the cheese. 

Use a 1 oz scoop to scoop the dough into the wells of the muffin tin. 

Lower the oven's heat to 350 F.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pan, halfway through. The bread should have puffed, the outside should be dry, and it should be lightly browned. 

Enjoy!

 

• Artisan Bread Bowls from Food Lust People Love
• Brazilian Cheese Bread from Passion Kneaded
• How to Make a Crusty French Baguette from The Wimpy Vegetarian
• No Knead Bread from Making Miracles
• Pao de Milho from A Messy Kitchen
• Skillet Corn Bread from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Soft Bread Rolls for Soup from Sneha's Recipe
• Sourdough Breadsticks from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Whole Wheat Rolls for Soups and Sandwiches from Karen's Kitchen Stories

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.