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! If you want a herb bread version, try Garlic Herb Bread. Also check out Cheddar Cheese Buns- slightly similar but in buns form.
(This recipe is originally posted on August 2019, and updated on October 31, 2022 to address the raw middle dough issue)
I originally intended to make a different bread than the 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, loosely cover it with a clean kitchen towel and allow it to rise for 1 ½ to 2 hours or until it doubles in bulk.
Bake time! Position a rack one level below the middle position in the oven. Preheat oven to 350 F. Once the oven reaches 350 F, place the loaf pan on the prepared rack.
Bake the loaf for 43-46 minutes or until the top is deeply golden. Loosely cover the loaf with foil at the 25-minute mark. 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
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
- 1 cup 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 14×10 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 9×5 inch loaf pan.
- Let the shaped dough rise for 1 ½ hours, covered with a clean towel. The braided dough should be soft and puffy.
- Position a rack one level lower than the middle position in the oven. Preheat oven to 350 F. Once the oven reaches 350 F, place the loaf pan in the prepared rack. Bake the loaf for 43-46 minutes, lossely covering the loaf with foil at the 25 minute mark. The top is nicely golden and a thermometer inserted at the center of teh loaf should read 200 F. Let the loaf cool on a wire rack completely.
Video
Notes
- Store leftovers in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- To serve, re-heat for a few seconds n the microwave. Dough recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction.
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❤️