Asiago Cheese Dutch Oven Sourdough Bread
By: Amber Grangroth
Asiago Cheese Sourdough Bread is another delicious version of the traditional dutch oven sourdough bread. I love a good strong cheese like Asiago and in this sourdough bread, it is perfection!
Sourdough is a traditional way of making bread using a sourdough starter, which has living enzymes and letting it ferment to break down the grains, making the bread easier to digest.
It has a beautiful open crumb that is perfectly chewy and a crusty, delicious outside, which is created by the steam when baking it in a dutch oven.
This loaf is made with freshly grated asiago cheese. It smells and tastes amazing!
I love it toasted, spread with butter alongside eggs, or make avocado toast for a killer breakfast sandwich! Also, it can be toasted, layered with goat cheese and tomato slices and drizzled with balsamic glaze. It’s delicious made into a grilled cheese and dunked into tomato soup or made into any other savory hot sandwich.
The dough consists of active sourdough starter, water, unbleached bread flour, asiago cheese, and salt. Active sourdough starter is started that has been fed a combination of flour and water and left to ferment for several hours until it has doubled in size and is bubbly. The time it takes for the starter to be ready to use varies depending on how much starter you began with and the ratio in which you fed it. If you feed it equal 1:1:1 ratio of one part starter with one part flour and one part water it will rise much faster than if you feed it a 1:2:2 or 1:4:4 ratio. It also varies depending on the temperature in your home and the temperature of the water you use when feeding it.
I don’t ever weigh or measure my starter, water, and flour when i feed my starter. I simply eyeball how much i want for whatever i am going to make and go for a thick pancake batter like consistency. Then cover it and let it sit on the counter until it is doubled and ready to use.
Lets get to making some bread!
Asiago Cheese Dutch Oven Sourdough Bread Recipe
Ingredients:
1/2 cup active sourdough starter
1 1/2 cups warm water
3/4 cup freshly grated asiago cheese
3 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 t salt
Instructions:
1. in a large bowl, add sourdough starter that has been stirred down before measuring, water, and freshly grated asiago cheese, and mix gently
2. add bread flour and mix to form a shaggy dough.
3. cover and let rest for 30 min
4. sprinkle salt over the top of the dough and pinch it in with your fingers
5. with a wet hand, gently pull up one section of the dough, gently stretch and fold over the top of the dough, rotate 90 degrees, and repeat for a total of four stretches and folds.
6. flip the dough over, cover, and let rest for 30 min.
7. repeat steps 5 and 6 every 30 minutes for 2.5 hrs for a total of 5 times.
8. cover dough and let sit for 1-2 hrs. It should be rising and getting air pockets.
9. dump out dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently fold in the sides to form a round, flip over, and twist while tucking the edges under to create tension in your loaf.
10. flour a bowl or banneton and the top of your loaf and gently place upside down into the banneton. cover and place in the fridge overnight.
11. the next morning, preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit with your dutch oven inside
12. flip the dough out onto a lightly floured piece of parchment paper and score the top using a sharp knife or scoring blade
13. place the loaf on the parchment into the preheated dutch oven, cover and bake for 30 minutes
14. remove cover and bake an additional 15 minutes
15. cool on a wire rack for 1 hr before slicing.
Tip: Place a baking sheet on the rack below the rack the dutch oven is on. This will help to prevent the bottom of the loaf from getting too dark.
Asiago Cheese Dutch Oven Sourdough Bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup active sourdough starter stirred down before measuring
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 3/4 cup freshly grated asiago cheese
- 3 1/2 cups bread flour
- 1 1/2 t salt
Instructions
- in a large bowl, add sourdough starter that has been stirred down before measuring, water, and freshly grated asiago cheese, and mix gently
- add bread flour and mix to form a shaggy dough.
- cover and let rest for 30 min
- sprinkle salt over the top of the dough and pinch it in with your fingers
- with a wet hand, gently pull up one section of the dough, gently stretch and fold over the top of the dough, rotate 90 degrees, and repeat for a total of four stretches and folds.
- flip the dough over, cover, and let rest for 30 min.
- repeat steps 5 and 6 every 30 minutes for 2.5 hrs for a total of 5 times.
- cover dough and let sit for 1-2 hrs. It should be rising and getting air pockets.
- dump out dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently fold in the sides to form a round, flip over, and twist while tucking the edges under to create tension in your loaf.
- flour a bowl or banneton and the top of your loaf and gently place upside down into the banneton. cover and place in the fridge overnight.
- the next morning, preheat your oven to 450℉ with your dutch oven inside
- flip the dough out onto a lightly floured piece of parchment paper and score the top using a sharp knife or scoring blade
- place the loaf on the parchment into the preheated dutch oven, cover and bake for 30 minutes
- remove cover and bake an additional 15 minutes
- cool on a wire rack for 1 hr before slicing.