Cottage Cheese Dill Bread
This bread tastes so fresh and delicious and light and airy and reminds me of all the happiness of growing up working at Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm and having fresh baked bread from our Bake Oven.
This bread is not one of Quiet Valley’s typical Historical Heritage-Type Loaves but instead one of the Speciality Loaves our amazing volunteer bakers would make. As a teenager growing up working as a Historical Interpreter for my summer job on the farm; the days that our Volunteers would make (and share!!) some of their baked specialties were some of the best days. IF you are lucky enough to have an Ourdoor Brick Oven to cook in, everything tastes better cooked in a Wood Oven (I have yet to try cooking bread in our own outdoor Pizza Oven!!).
This recipe for this bread (and so many other recipes that made me fall in love with Quiet Valley and everything about the farm) can be found in the darling Quiet Valley Cookbook, available in their Gift Shop – which also has amazing handcrafted items by the most talented individuals and groups of people I know.
Cottage Cheese AND Dill may initially seem like strange ingredients to have in bread, but I tell you that the Cottage Cheese really just adds a delicious moisture and depth of flavor that you wouldn’t otherwise get. This bread is amazing as is, but taken to the next level by toasting and slathering on some butter which gets all melty and delicious into the texture of this bread.
Cottage Cheese Dill Bread
- 4 1/2 tsp yeast (2 packages)
- 1/2 cup warm Water
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 cups (creamed) cottage cheese
- 2 Tbsp minced fresh Dill Weed
- 2 Tbsp finely chopped Onion
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 2 tsp Salt
- 2 Tbsp Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 4 1/2 – 5 1/2 cups Flour
In the bowl of your stand mixer (if using) sprinkle the yeast and 2 tsp sugar on top of the water. Allow it to get bubbly (that is how you know your yeast is good and active)
Combine the cottage cheese, dill, onion, baking powder, eggs, 2 Tbsp sugar, & salt in another bowl
Using the paddle attachement of your stand mixer, combine the cottage cheese mixture into the yeast
Once combined, switch to your dough hook and add in about 3 cups of your flour and let your mixer run for about 2 minutes. Then continue adding flour about half a cup at a time until all flour is incorperated and you have a stiff dough (when the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl) Turn off the mixer to test if your dough is good by poking at it with your finger & it should not be overly sticky to your finger – add flour as needed to get the right consistency.
Continue to kneed for about 5 minutes (this is where you really need to get cracking if doing this by hand) to get it to form a nice ball
Turn into a well-greased bowl covered with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 – 2 hours
Punch down your dough and divide into two even loafs. Kneed and divide into two loaf pans. Allow to rise until your dough is at the top of your loaf pan.
Bake in preheated 350° oven for 30 – 35 minutes (it should be lightly browned on top, sound hollow when tapped, and be about 200° when tested with an instant read kitchen thermometer
The CreekSide Cook has a very simular recipe to what I grew up with & hers looks absolutely stunning as well!
AND, I leave you with this; today’s Question of the Day… What foods bring you instantly to a happy time/place in your past?