I hope you’re all well and staying safe in these difficult times. I hope this pandemic will soon be in our past and we’ll be able to return to normal life. If you’re self quarantining as I am and looking for something to do to pass the time and relieve some stress, baking is always a good idea. I made this herb and Gruyere cheese artisan bread earlier this week. This bread is perfect for beginners. It requires no kneading and the dough is very forgiving. The only catch is that you’ll need to give the dough 16 hours to rise and form gluten. If you don’t have herbs or Gruyere cheese, you can make a plain version of this bread. I’ve provided instructions for that at the end of the post.
How to Make Herb and Gruyere Cheese Artisan Bread
To make this herb and Gruyere cheese artisan bread, you will need 3 cups of all-purpose flour (plus more for flouring), 1 teaspoon of instant yeast, ¾ cup of Gruyere cheese (grated), 4 stalks of fresh thyme (de-stemmed), 3 stalks of fresh rosemary (chopped), 1¼ teaspoons of salt, ½ teaspoon of garlic powder, and 1⅔ cups of warm water.
Pour 3 cups of flour into a large mixing bowl. Add and mix the yeast to the flour. Add the garlic powder, herbs, cheese, and salt to the flour and mix everything together. Pour the water into the flour mixture and use a spoon to mix the flour into a dough. Put the dough into a clean mixing bowl. Cover the bowl and place it in a warm, draft free area for 16 hours.
Lightly flour a clean surface and pour the dough onto the floured surface (you can flour your hands lightly and use it to push the dough onto the surface). Pull the outer edges of the dough into the center to form a circle (see first picture above). Lightly flour the top of the dough and flip it over so that the folded side is at the bottom. Turn the dough into circles to help seal the bottom. Flour a bowl lightly and put the dough into the bowl. Cover the bowl and place it in a warm, draft free area to let the dough rise for 1 hour.
About 30 minutes before the hour is up, place a large Dutch oven with the lid into an oven and preheat the oven at 400°F for 30 minutes. Carefully take out the Dutch oven with oven mitts and set it on the stove. Place the dough onto a large parchment paper and place the parchment paper with the dough into the Dutch oven. Cover the Dutch oven with the lid and place it in the oven (use oven mitts!). Bake the bread for 30 minutes.
Take out the Dutch oven and remove the lid. Place the Dutch oven with the bread back into the oven without the lid on. Let the bread bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Carefully remove the parchment paper with the bread from the Dutch oven. Place the bread on a cooling rack. Let the bread cool for 30 minutes before serving. This bread can last for up to a week when tightly wrapped and stored in a fridge. Stay safe and enjoy!
Alternatives
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If you don’t have Gruyere cheese, you can substitute it with Parmesan cheese.
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You can use other herbs for this bread if you don’t have thyme or rosemary. I’ve made this bread with dill before and it turned out great. Basil would also work.
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If you don’t have herbs or cheese around the house, you can make a plain version of this bread using the rest of the ingredients in the recipe. Just up the amount of salt to 2 teaspoons of salt so that the bread doesn’t come out bland.
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You can also add ½ teaspoon of onion powder to the flour (do this when you’re adding the garlic powder) for more flavour if you’re making this bread without herbs and cheese.
Other Recipes for Your Baking Project
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Hops Bread
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Brown Butter and Cardamom Plantain Bread
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Low-Fat Banana Nut Bread
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Shuku shuku (Nigerian Coconut Macaroons)
Herb and Gruyere Cheese Artisan Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for flouring)
- 1 tsp instant yeast
- ¾ cup Gruyere cheese (grated)
- 4 stalks fresh thyme (de-stemmed)
- 3 stalks fresh rosemary (finely chopped)
- 1¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1⅔ cups warm water
Instructions
- Add 3 cups of flour and the yeast together in a large mixing bowl.
- Put the garlic powder, herbs, cheese, and salt into the bowl and mix together with the flour.
- Add the water to the flour mixture and use a spoon to mix the flour into a dough.
- Place the dough in a clean mixing bowl. Cover the bowl and place it in a warm, draft free area for at least 16 hours.
- Lightly flour a clean surface and your hands. Use your hands to push the dough onto the floured surface.
- Pull the outer edges of the dough into the center to form a circle. Lightly flour the top of the dough and flip it over so that the folded part is at the bottom. Turn the dough into circles to help seal the bottom.
- Lightly flour a bowl and put the dough into the bowl. Cover the bowl and place it in a warm, draft free area and let the dough rise for 1 hour.
- About 30 minutes before the hour is up, place a large Dutch oven with the on lid into an oven and preheat the oven at 400°F for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, use oven mitts to carefully take out the Dutch oven and set it on the stove.
- Place the dough onto a large parchment paper and place the parchment paper with the dough into the Dutch oven.
- Cover the Dutch oven with the lid (use oven mitts) and place it in the oven. Bake the bread for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, take out the Dutch oven and remove the lid. Place the Dutch oven with the bread back into the oven without the lid on. Let the bread bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
- Carefully remove the parchment paper with the bread from the Dutch oven. Place the bread on a cooling rack. Let the bread cool for 30 minutes until serving.
2 Comments
Jennifer Sheeler
November 17, 2021 at 3:34 pmIs there an alternative if you dont have a Dutch Oven?
Meals by Mavis
November 17, 2021 at 4:45 pmHi Jennifer. There are alternatives to Dutch ovens that you can use to bake no-knead breads like this one. However, I haven’t tried them so I can’t really vouch for them. The Kitchn has an article discussing Dutch oven alternatives for no-knead breads; I think they’ll work for this one. Click on the link here if you want to have a look at the article. It’ll give you a good idea of which alternatives to use. I’m sorry I couldn’t be more helpful. When I have time, I’ll test out some of these alternatives and update the post to give everyone a better idea.