Perfect cheese bread

Many years ago, I started doing my own bread at home. I always looked for the perfect recipe for cheese bread. I looooooooove cheese bread, but when you put the cheese directly in the dough, you don't "feel" it really when you eat the bread. And then I took a bread cooking class at the community center, and the guy that gave the class was previously working at "La mie de la couronne" (sorry for non-french speakers, this is an inexplicable word game), a very nice bakery in downtown Sherbrooke. This place, for me, is know for it's fabulous bread, in particular the cheese bread (and chocolate bread, more on that later...). I was thrilled! There was no other word: I was going to know the secrets to the perfect cheese bread!

It starts easy enough. You need to prepare a ball of your favorite bread. There is a simple recipe on our blog here, but you can do whatever recipe you want. I sometimes like to put bacon bits in the dough, or sun dried tomatoes... etc. The magic happens between the first and second rise of the dough. Make the dough and let it rise. After 1h, the dough should have doubled: this is time to act! Use a rolling pin or your hands to make a big square-ish area with the dough. The thickness should be between 5mm and a centimeter. Spread cheese. For the dough I put in the recipe on the blog, I use 1 cup of emmental-like cheese. Pour a couple of tablespoons (3) of milk and roll the dough, like you would to if making cinnamon buns. Then, cut the roll in small pieces. On the picture, it shows how I cut in diagonal in both direction to have small pieces. This is the key: the cheese will make those bread cells stick together. The bigger the pieces of dough, the more space between the delicious cheese, so you want them small! Yes, it will be messy: milk will go everywhere and it should be wet. Once the dough is cut, but in the bread form and let it rise for another 45min-an hour. Warm up the oven to 190C (350F) and bake for 35-45minutes or until golden. Wait a little, cut and eat. This is the real thing: the perfect cheese bread. It will be even better if you toast it and put a little butter on it. The toasting will melt and grill the cheese, it will be amazing!