Cheese and Pickle Bread

I wanted to make this Cheese and Pickle Bread after I bought some a while back in ASDA – fact did you know ASDA came from the name Associated Dairies?

Anyway, I digress! I loved the cheesy bread with the pickle built right into the bread. The taste combination was quite a revelation to me and I knew I would have to try making it soon. Cheesy bread on it’s own is good but with this addition of the tangy fruity pickle it took it to a whole new level.

I looked for a few cheese bread recipes, but tweaked one recipe I found that wasn’t so much bread (no yeast involved), but to me looked more like a scone recipe baked in a loaf tin.

I experimented and came up with this delicious loaf, which is very cheesy and had chunks of pickle running through out. Plus the tangy pickle taste is all the way through the bread. Delicious.

It’s quite simple to make too. The recipe I used makes two loaves so you can keep one and freeze the other to have at a later date. The bread is great on it’s own or with a wee spread of butter. I even tried it toasted. It held together well and accentuated the cheesiness. If you love cheese and pickle with your bread, you must try this!!

Note: Go for the strongest, tangiest cheddar you can find! (I used Orkney mature cheddar)

Ingredients:

350 grams plain flour

1 ¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

45 grams butter, chilled, cubed

150 grams mature cheddar, grated

150 grams pickle (I used Branstons)

440 ml buttermilk

Adapted from Shutterbean adapted from Rachael Ray

Method:

Grease and lightly flour two loaf tins, set aside and pre-heat the oven to 200C

Sift together the flour, salt and bicarb in a bowl. Rub 30 grams of the chilled butter into the flour until the mix resembles breadcrumbs. Add the grated cheese and stir through. Add the buttermilk and with a spoon stir just until the liquid has absorbed the flour. Lastly, add the pickle and mix this through the ‘dough’.

Divide the dough (it is quite wet) in two and place each half into the loaf tins, smoothing the tops. Lastly, top each loaf with bits of the remaining butter. Place into the oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the middle.

Leave to cool in the tins for about half an hour before running a knife around the edges and turning out. The bread won’t sound hollow on the bottom like regular bread.

The loaf slices well and tasted even better the next day. Enjoy…