Cheese and Onion Sourdough Bread

It seems ages since I had my hand in sourdough, and having refreshed the starter last night, I set about one of the baking challenges set this month.

At the same time I made up something that approximates to Do-good Bread, divided  into a loaf, and some mixed up with soaked up bottom of the bag fruit and fibre cereal with added fruit.  Its one of the ways I use up all the fine stuff left at the bottom of the cereal bag!  We end up with breakfast bread that uses up what would have been wasted.  Our wild birds prefer sunflower hearts to left over cereal!

As I write this up, the smell of the cheese and onion loaves, slowly cooling on the rack, is wafting upstairs. Supper this evening will be this bread together with a warming and spicy soup.  We had a altogether delicious and filling lunch, and this will do very nicely indeed.

The recipe gives a 1.4 Kg loaf, which would be great for a gathering.   I therefore chose to make two smaller loaves, and feeling that my dough would slide across the baking sheets during its two to three hours final proof, used two deep pan  baking tins. 

As for the 200g mature Cheddar Cheese, this was not on the cards for us.  Such a shame as Cheddar is just down the road...Instead I thought some goat's cheese from a farm even closer at Wookey, bought straight from the farmer at the Wells's farmers' market on Wednesday would do very nicely.  It came wrapped in grease proof paper..so absolutely no plastic in this instance!

Once the dough was ready for its final rise, it was popped into tins...

and after about two hours I brushed them with egg wash and added just a small sprinkling of cheese.

Then after another hour...I felt they were ready for the oven.  After the first blast I decided to sit out in the kitchen and watch the loaves carefully through the oven window and was happy that the cheese did not burn.

Here they are turned out and cooling....

When I popped into the library this week...out on the New Books stand I found this one.  Of course, I was drawn by the title...and I have found it entertaining and amusing and read about Lois being shortlisted, or not for a market stall in San Francisco.  Nice to have a novel with a character who is beguiled by sourdough!

Off to heat up the soup now.....