What kind of cheese is best for this bread?

This bread is really meant for cheddar. Use what you have, but the cheddar will give your bread lovely orange flecks in the final loaf. I used a double gloucester/stilton cheese I found--you don't need anything this fancy, but I saw it and it jumped in my cart as nice cheese sometimes does.

No-knead Beer Cheese Bread: easy savory and made for soup

Description

A one-bowl yeast bread made with the richness of buttermilk and butter, the savory edge of cheddar, and the complexity of dark beer to create easy to make country loaves that are perfect for dunking in soup or making the world’s best grilled cheese sandwich.

Ingredients

Scale

1/4 cup warm water (59 mL)
2 Tablespoons honey (42 g)
2 teaspoons instant yeast
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or active dry
2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (325 g)
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature (57 g)
12 ounces beer, preferably a flavorful dark beer like Guinness (354 mL)
1/2 cup buttermilk (118 mL)
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole wheat flour (260 g)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (113 g)

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Instructions

Make the dough

Pour the water into the bottom of a large mixing bowl. Add in the honey and yeast, whisking to dissolve the yeast.
Measure in the all-purpose flour and butter. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour, breaking up the butter into small pieces. It should look crumbly when you’re done.
Zap the beer and buttermilk in the microwave for about 15 seconds just to take off the chill of the fridge.
Pour over the beer and buttermilk, and then add the salt and whole wheat flour.
Stir to combine everything with a wooden spoon about 50 times in one direction. This will help develop the gluten in this sticky dough.
Use a spatula or a dough scraper
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to fold the cheese into the dough. Scrape under the dough to fold it over on itself a few times, making sure that the cheese can be seen throughout the dough easily.
Cover the dough to rise for 1 hour.

Shaping the loaves and second rising

Line 1 sheet tray with parchment
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. Scrape the dough onto a well-floured counter. Divide the dough into 2 pieces.
Quickly shape the dough into 2 round loaves, folding the sides under the loaf to create the shape and then rotating your hands around the dough against the counter to smooth the sides into a round loaf.
Use a bench scraper
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or a sharp knife to create a cross in the center of each loaf about 1/4” deep. This will help the dough keep its shape and get a better rise in the oven.
Cover the loaves with a clean towel or oiled plastic wrap to rise for one more hour.

Bake the bread

Towards the end of the second rising time, preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C).
Bake the loaves for 35-40 minutes until the loaves are well-browned and they sound hollow when you wrap on the tops.
Let the bread cool completely before serving.