Red Wine Cheese Bread with Spelt

This Red Wine Cheese Bread with Spelt has all of the components for a picnic.  With the wine and cheese built into the loaf, all you need is the picnic basket and some fruit.

The theme for the monthly Bread Baking Day is picnic breads.

There are so many breads that would be good for a picnic. A crusty baguette goes well with wine, cheese, and fruit, or you can make a satisfying and healthy sandwich from a loaf of whole wheat or sourdough.   Or, you might enjoy a tuna sandwich made with these Light Wheat Bread Buns.

With all of the possibilities, I was having trouble deciding which bread to make until I learned that one of the breads on the list for the HBinFive Bakers this month was Red Wine and Cheese Bread.

Several of the components of a picnic are already integrated into this bread, so I decided this would be the perfect picnic bread. I substituted spelt flour for the whole wheat and part of the all-purpose flour to give the bread more protein and a little flair.

Enjoy this red wine cheese bread with fruit and chunks of cheese for a delicious and satisfying meal.  If it’s too hot, or cold, to have a picnic outside, have an indoor picnic with candlelight instead.

Red Wine Cheese Bread with Spelt

Makes: 4 small loaves or 2 large loaves

Adapted from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup rye flour
• 2 cups whole wheat spelt flour
• 3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast, or 2 packets
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
• 1 1/2 cups red wine
• 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese, or your favorite hard cheese

Directions:

Mix together the flours, yeast, and salt in a large bowl using a whisk or a wooden spoon.

Add the liquid ingredients and cheese to the dry ingredients and incorporate them completely using a Danish dough whisk or a wooden spoon.

Cover the bowl (or container) and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until it rises and collapses, about 2 hours. Refrigerate the dough for at least 24 hours and up to 7 days.

When you’re ready to bake, remove the dough from the refrigerator and pull off a 1-pound piece if you want to bake a small loaf or a 2-pound piece if you want to make a large loaf.  Shape the dough into ball(s) and let the balls rest for about 5 minutes before further shaping.

Instead of shaping the dough into a round or oval shape, I shaped it into a batard, one of my favorite shapes.  My camera decided to misbehave during this part so I didn’t get photos of the whole process, however, I was able to get a photo of the batard shape.

Place the shaped loaves on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  You can sprinkle the parchment with cornmeal if you like.  I sprayed it with spray oil because the dough was a bit sticky. As you can see from this photo, the color of the dough is pink…interesting.

Allow the dough to rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap for 90 minutes.

Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F, with a baking stone placed on the middle rack and a steam pan underneath.  Paint the top of the crust with water using a pastry brush and slash the dough diagonally with 1/4-inch-deep cuts, using a serrated knife.

Slide the loaves (with the parchment) onto the baking stone.  Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the steam pan, and quickly close the door.  I also misted the inside of the oven a few times during the first minute or so of baking to produce more steam.

Bake the loaf for about 30 minutes, until it is brown and firm. Remove the parchment paper towards the end of the baking cycle to allow the bottom of the loaf to firm up. Remove the loaf from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack completely before slicing or eating.

 

This bread has been YeastSpotted. Please visit Wild Yeast to view all of the lovely breads in the roundup.

 

It’s time for a picnic! Bread Baking Day #42 is being hosted by Palmira and she invited us to bake breads for a picnic.  I’m getting my post up just under the wire because I was having trouble deciding which bread to make.

Thank you Palmira for hosting BBD #42 and Zorra for creating this wonderful bread-baking event.  Be sure to check out all of the wonderful breads in the roundup to be posted on August 5th.

 

Happy Baking!

Cathy