Cheddar and parmesan cheeses with bits of scallions, this savory cheese loaf bread will have you wanting slices after slices. It is ultimately cheesy!
I originally intended to make a different bread than this Cheese Loaf Bread that you are looking at now. I was planning on making a keso loaf which I saw on an Asian supermarket. It looked like a regular a sandwich loaf, maybe with bits of cheese in the dough, but definitely no cheese on top.
When I started to develop the recipe I thought, why make a sandwich loaf with bits of non-visible cheese when I can actually make a braided loaf that is filled with loads of cheese?
Parmesan and cheddar cheese plus some scallions mixed in proved to be a winner-combo in a braided loaf. Once baked, the cheeses crisp up beautifully on top. The garlic powder gives the bread a tasty savory edge.
And the bread of course! The dough recipe is from Sally’s Baking Addiction and it is fantastic. It requires one rise only (great for yeast beginners) and yields a soft bread that is versatile for anything that you want to make.
It turns into this delicious cheese loaf. The flavor, the texture and the looks of it make my heart swell with joy.
How to Make Cheese Loaf Bread?
In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, sugar, salt and active dry yeast. Whisk well.
In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave butter, milk and water until the butter melts. The temperature of the mixture should be between 110-115 F. Reheat in the microwave to achieve that temperature if needed.
Add the butter mixture to the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl. Stir it using a wooden spoon until incorporated. Add the egg and stir.
Add some of the reserved flour gradually while stirring until the mixture turns into a soft dough that gathers in the center of the bowl. After that, stop adding the flour. You may not need all of it.
Turn the dough onto a floured board and knead it until it is smooth and elastic. If you would like to test, pull out a piece of dough and stretch it out using your fingers. You should be able to form a translucent film in the center. Let the dough rest for ten minutes in a bowl, covered.
Are you a yeast beginner? Check out my How to Knead Bread Dough with Video post.
Starting on the long edge, roll the dough into a tight log. Using a sharp knife, slice the log in half vertically, starting about an inch below the upper edge, leaving the top edge uncut. Gently rotate the divided logs so that the cut side is facing up.
Begin braiding the dough by placing one side over the other, repeating the braiding pattern until you reach the end of the log. Gently lift the braided dough and place it inside a greased 9×5 inch loaf pan.
To let the dough rise, turn the oven to 200 F. Once the temperature is reached, turn the oven off. Place the pan inside and let the dough rise for 60-90 minutes or until doubled in bulk. Remove pan from the oven.
Bake time! Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake the loaf for 18-22 minutes or until the top is golden. Serve this warm and enjoy every cheesy slice!
More Recipes to Love:
- Cheese Scones with Scallions
- Garlic Herb Bread
- Sweet Cheese Bread
- Tuna Buns
- Braided Hotdog Buns
- White Chocolate Almond Buns
- Hawaiian Rolls
- Double Chocolate Mini Buns
- Chocolate Chip Bread
- Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls with Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze
Cheese Loaf Bread
Cheddar and parmesan cheeses with bits of scallions, this savory cheese loaf bread will have you wanting slices after slices. It is ultimately cheesy!
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour plus 1/4 cup reserved
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 and 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 3 tbsp butter or 43 grams
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 large egg
For the Filling
- 4 stalks scallions/ green onion chopped
- 2 cups cheddar cheese grated/shredded
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, sugar, salt and active dry yeast. Whisk well.
In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave butter, milk and water until the butter melts. The temperature of the mixture should be between 110-115 F. Re-heat in the microwave when necessary.
Add the butter mixture to the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl. Stir the mixture using a wooden spoon until incorporated. Add the egg and stir. Add some of the reserved flour gradually while stirring until the mixture turns into a soft dough that gathers in the center of the bowl. You may not need all the flour.
Turn the dough onto a floured board and knead for 6-12 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic. Let the dough rest for ten minutes in a bowl, covered.
Roll the dough using a rolling pin into a 14x10 inch rectangle. Sprinkle garlic powder all over the dough. Sprinkle the cheeses and the scallions. Starting on the long edge, roll the dough into a tight log. Using a sharp knife, slice the log in half vertically, starting about an inch below the upper edge, leaving the top edge uncut. Gently rotate the divided logs so that the cut side is facing up.
Begin braiding the dough by placing one side over the other, repeating the braiding pattern until you reach the end of the log. Gently lift the braided dough and place it inside a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan.
To let the dough rise, turn the oven to 200 F. Once the temperature is reached, turn the oven off. Place the pan inside and let the dough rise for 60-90 minutes or until doubled in bulk. Remove pan from the oven.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake the loaf for 18-22 minutes or until the top is golden. Serve warm.
Recipe Notes
Dough recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction.
Can I make this without braiding it? So its more of a swirl in the middle.
Hi Paris! You can do it like that too 🙂
Awesome easy recipe, first time really making bread from scratch without a machine and it turned out like the photo and is super soft and taste great
Hi Laura! I am so happy you enjoyed this!
First time making braided cheese bread. I should have pressed the cheese onto the dough and rolled it tighter because it fell apart as soon as I cut down the middle. Rolling it with parchment paper would have helped and to keep the rolled portion from being unrolled during braiding. I used grated parmesan so it is crispy on top. Twenty minutes is just right at 350. Letting the dough rise after warming the oven to 200 is a smart trick. Thank you for a great and easy recipe.
Hi Steve! I am so glad you liked this. Thanks for the tips as well!
This cheese loaf bread is delish!!! Very soft.. Can I use the same method of rising for any of your bread recipes, i.e., pandesal and hawaiian bread?
I am glad you liked it, Joe! Yes, you can do the same rising trick for the other bread recipes here!
Hi, Sanna.
Thank you for confirming. I just finished baking pandesal following the procedure of the cheese loaf, i.e., mixing the dry ingredients together, butter (not oil) and milk heated up to 110° and 10 min rest.. proofing in 200° oven for 90 mins… then baking at 350° for 20 mins.. The best pandesal I have ever done.. Very fluffy, airy, soft, delicious.. thank you for the proofing tip!!!!
I am not a very experienced bread maker yet…but followed the recipe and had no problems except the braiding…I just took all the filling that fell out while rolling and put it on top of the loaf before baking.
It turned out amazing, and I will definitely be making this many more times. Thank you for the recipe.
I am really glad you loved it, Vern!
How long does bread last after baking? How should leftovers be stored?
Hi Lori! The bread will keep fresh for up to 2 days at room temperature, well wrapped. For longer storage, refrigerate the bread and microwave a slice for 15-20 seconds to re-heat.
Hi! The bread is best for up to three days at room temperature, kept in a container with lid.
This was DIVINE! I used a Hokkaido milk dough ball I had in the freezer, but picked up from there with your recipe. It was insanely good and reminded me of cheese rolls I would get while studying in Japan. Thank you! The braiding technique was so cool, this is a keeper!
Thank you so much, Heather. I am so glad you loved it!
Thanks a lot, Heather!
Really liked the recipe. But I wanted to ask is there any replacement for egg in the recipe ?
Thank you, Ashima! Unfortunately, I have no tested substitute for the egg in this recipe.
So tasty. I am challenging myself with bread. My only thing I struggle with. I did do a sharp white cheddar too! Rose perfectly and is so good!! Easy and will make again for sure. I did use bread flour and only baked for 20 minutes and bread was fully cooked. I would put egg wash or butter on top. Just to give it that shine otherwise perfecto!!
Thanks, Jennifer! I am so glad you like it!
I made this and it turned out beautifully! My family was very impressed. The taste and texture were excellent. I chose not to put in the garlic nor green onions.
I am glad you liked it Joan!
I just made this bread and although it’s very tasty it was a total flop. I rolled out the dough to about 15 by 12. I could not get more than 2 twists made because it was too short. I baked it for 22 minutes but it didn’t seem done so I baked it another five minutes at 340 because the top was getting too brown. Took it out and it’s still raw in the middle.
Hi
I made this yesterday and it was delicious!
Just want to clarify if you cover it before putting it in the warm oven for the hour long rising. I did put a plastic wrap and let it rise for 90 minutes instead. I guess the film was too tight and the top ended up flat. Nonetheless it was a big hit and my family love it! Also have you tried using pesto instead of cheese?
Thank you for a great recipe!
I am glad you loved it, Connie! I do not cover the pan during the rising.
And oh, I have not tried pesto but that sounds delicious!
This was by far the best bread I’ve made! Love, love, love it!! Also, I substituted jalapeno for the green onion as I had none in the fridge. Thank you for the awesome recipe.
Thanks Lisa! Jalapeno sounds delish!
This was by far the best bread I’ve made! Love, love, love it!! Thank you for the awesome recipe.
So happy you loved it!
Hi! I’m new to making breads and I’m still learning. I always get so confused about the yeast. Do I need to proof the yeast before adding it to all the other ingredients or do I just toss them in as indicated. I ask this because the last time I followed a recipe that didnt mention about proofing, there was still little dry yeast balls in the dough after it was cooked. Thanks!
Hello Krystle. In my experience, balls of yeast remain visible after baking if the dough does not have enough warm liquid in it to dissolve the yeast. In this case, the combination of the warm milk, butter and water is enough to dissolve the yeast, even more as it thw dough bakes, leaving no trace of yeast behind. I hope that helps 🙂
Followed recipe exactly and it was perfect.
Thank you so much!!!
Enjoyed making this…the reciepe is straight forward and very easy to follow. .i have to admit, I consider myself a “baker” but have never really got the knack of making bread. My only problem (which may be me, not the reciepe) was my bread turned out very gummy and heavy….and not light and airy…,at every too much cheese? Or under baked it? Would like to try it again…..
Hello! It could be underbaked. I hope you try it again. 🙂
Hi, can I use bread flour for this loaf? I’m running out of AP flour soon so I wanted to use my bread flour first
Hi Ann ! You can use bread flour:)
Hey!
I made bread for the first time and it turned out great! I had a question about the nutrition info- the nutritional information is given for 1 serving. How many servings are there in the recipe?
Thanks,
Diya
This bread approximately has 8 servings.Enjoy!
Hi there,
Thx for this recipe.. Quick question tho’, can I use pre-grated parmesan? It looked like you have freshly shredded/grated parmesan in the pics, which I don’t have at the moment..
Hello there, Vee! Yes you can use grated parmesan for this.
can Instant dry yeast be used instead of Active dry yeast?
Yes, you can 🙂 Just follow the same instructions 🙂
Hi! I’m so glad I found your recipe. Question for you – the pictures of the bread after it was baked look like the crust was brushed with butter or an egg wash. Is that necessary to give the golden brown look of the crust? Thank you!
Hello there! Yes you can brush it with egg wash or milk before baking for gloss amd a deeper golden color 🙂
Can you use bread flour in this recipe? It’s all I have and the stores are sold out of all flour at the moment..
Hi Patsy! Bread flour should also work here 🙂
Maybe line pan with parchment paper? My loaf stuck to the sides. Delicious though.
Hello there MB. Thank you for the tip 🙂
More of a question for all the pro bread makers…this was our FIRST attempt ever to make a bread….We thought we did everything “right” however, the bread just did not bake thoroughly…Not sure where and what to change with our next attempt. Maybe it was the kneading portion…maybe we just did not do it long enough? Did we not allow it to rise enough in the oven? And we did put a towel over the top of it (because that is what mom used to do)? Did we actually have too much cheese? Even though we used the measured amounts? Anyway, it baked for close to 28-30 minutes and it was still “doughy” in the middle….crust was delicious however! Any guidance for our next attempt would be much appreciated!!
Hi Lynn! It can be under kneaded or it must be that it needs more time in the oven. Did the top brown too quickly?
I had something very similar. There was a couple of spots where it was still a little “doughy” but still very good. It did brown nicely on top. I was wondering about lower the temperature by 25 deg. and leaving it in longer. Next time I will try needing longer and the window pane method to check to see if it has been kneaded enough.
Thank you Joe! The lowering of temperature should work for the doughy spots. Thanks for the tip.
A loaf this size should take about 50 minutes to bake no matter how much you knead it. I was pretty surprised by the 18 minute cook time. Mine is baking now for about 50 minutes and is just about done.
the recipe is spot on! thank u for sharing! love how the bread turned out.
Hello there Mari Toni! I am so glad you loved it!
I have never in my life baked any kind of bread from scratch before and I chose this for my 1st. I just took it out of the oven and it looks AMAZING! I can’t wait for it to cool so I can have some!!!
Hello Angie! I hope you love this 🙂 Thank you very much!
I made this bread and it was very yummy. Easy to follow. Especially if your new to making bread.
Hi Bona! I am so happy you love this!
Can you freeze baked bread?
Hi Sarah! Wrap this well in plastic and foil. Freeze up to two weeks.
As soon as I saw this recipe I knew that I have to make it and I’m glad I did! It was amazing! I added smoked paprika and some dried herbs and it turned out amazing! I can’t wait to have the leftovers for breakfast tomorrow and I agree it was difficult to braid but i Loved that crispy cheese on the sides
Thank you so much
It was my first time visiting your blog and I felt in love with it
Hello there, Isra! Thank you so much. I am so glad that you liked the recipe:) Happy Baking!
Its so yummy. Adding Garlic to any food is good for health.
Thank you, Sandhya!
I’ve made a sweet bread with this same technique, so I was excited to try this. I was skeptical not using bread flour, but it came together and rose beautifully. Only down side was the braiding! Even though I pressed the cheeses down before cutting for braiding, I felt this was tricky to keep ingredients inside to braid. But once braided, it went into the pan and rose without fail. It’ in the oven as I type this and smells amazing! Can’t wait to dig into this!
I agree that the filling tend to fall out, some will and that is okay 🙂 I hope you enjoyed this, Victoria!
I was able to keep most the filling in but my problem was the dough didn’t rise enough. I’m new at making bread. Can I try a fast active yeast and just have it rise in the bowl? After cooking it the crust was hard and the fought didn’t cook so I must be doing something wrong.
Hello, Jackie! I am sorry you had trouble. If the crust was hard, it could be that the dough is under kneaded. And the problem of not rising could be attributed to the yeast not being active. It is hard to say what might went wrong and these are just my assumptions 🙂 I hope you get to try it again 🙂
If i could dive face first from my computer screen into that loaf of bread i would be a happy woman. But, I suppose I’ll be making cheese bread very soon. Thanks for another of your wonderful recipes. Happy weekend.
Hey JoAnn! Diving first face would be nice. All the cheese ❤️ Happy Baking girl and happy weekend to you❤️