Sometimes instead of running out to the shops for a new loaf of bread, I find that if I have the time, I prefer to make it. I would never have ordinarily done this a few years ago, pre-KitchenAid and its wonderful dough hook attachment. My arms simply don’t have the stamina for kneading (although carrying shopping bags seems to be an exception to this rule), nor does my mind have the patience so I always bought bread thinking that the rising yeast and kneading was too much of a production. Indeed the feeble attempts that I had made warned me off baking it myself as I’d often give up mid-knead resulting in a cake more than a bread. But now since I have the Dough Hook, bread is no longer my bête noire. I adapted this recipe from Nigella’s How to be a Domestic Goddess, which has to be my favourite ever cookbook, and heeded her comment about how this bread really came into its own with cheese so I thought why not add some cheese throughout the bread?
I’ve often heard real estate agents purport that the smell of baking bread or freshly brewing coffee is a good way to sell a house and whilst I’ve never needed to sell a house, I have been lured by the smell of freshly baking bread. It’s something that even a hardened carb phobic like me finds hard to resist. When this came out of the oven, I took to it with a bread knife and cut myself a couple of slices and slathered them with butter. It was perfection. I then proceeded to cut off some more pieces before I realised that a good third of the loaf was gone. And I enjoyed every minute of being part of its disappearance.
Maple, Walnut and Cheese Bread
- 500 grams/1/2 pound wholemeal bread flour
- 150 grams/5ozs strong white flour
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 7 grams (1 sachet) easy-blend yeast or 15 gr. fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon dried instant yeast
- 300-400 mls/10-13.3 fl ozs. warm water
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup
- 75 grams/2.5 oz walnuts chopped
- 1/2 cup grated cheese
- oil for greasing
1. Combine flours, salt and yeast in a large bowl or the bowl of mixer with a dough hook.
2. Mix water and maple syrup together in a jug and add to the flour mixture and knead until elastic (about 6 minutes with a mixer, a bit longer if doing by hand (although as there is so much wholemeal flour, it won’t become as elastic as a white bread). Rest for 20 minutes.
3. Knead the walnuts into the dough and form into a ball. Place in an oiled bowl and turn the ball in the bowl so that it is covered lightly in oil on all sides. Cover with a teatowel and leave in a warm area for 1-hours until risen.
4. Punch the dough down (although it isn’t nearly as satisfying with wholemeal bread like this) and knead for 1 minute. Make it into a rectangular shape and then sprinkle the 1/2 cup of cheese on the rectangle and then roll up into a loaf shape. Make three diagonal slashes on the top. Rest in a warm place for 30 minutes to rise.
5. Preheat oven to 210c/190C Fan forced and bake bread for 15 minutes. Then turn down the heat to 190c/170c fan forced and bake for another 30-40 minutes until cooked. Check that it is cooked by rapping on the base of the bread, if it sounds hollow it is done.
This is also my entry for Temperance’s High on the Hog’s bread with cheese challenge!
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25 Comments | Add your own
you gave me courage to try bread again, since I m hopeless at it. THis loaf looks so so good ! well done
Looks great, nice and rustic. I like the idea of being able to break a chunk of bread off if I feel like more than a slice
If only I had a kitchenaid!
Do you think that I will use more energy kneading than I would gain from eating the loaf?
Bread does come out so much nicer by hand than in the bread machine doesn’t it. I like the idea of maple syrup rather than sugar, can you taste it?
This recipe looks lovely – I like the addition of maple syrup instead of sugar. I too love the smell of bread baking. While I was at Uni my friend and I lived near the Buttercup bakery in Melbourne and we could smell fresh bread baking every morning!
GAHHH!! looks amazing. i want bread now realllly bad!
L, impressive. ‘Hut ab’ as we Austrians say…
Alton Brown did a show about cinnamon buns and his premise was the real estate thing. I could eat that whole loaf.
Where have I heard that real estate agent trick before? It specifically called for baking cinnamon buns when selling a house or something.
freshly baked bread is a hard thing to resist – I am sure I would help myself to more slices of this bread than I should because it looks and sounds so good – I just wish I could smell and taste it too!
Unfortunately I don’t have a dough hook – maybe that would get me back my bread baking mojo – I think it comes in winter and goes in summer!
Carb-free diet be damned! Heaven is being let loose in a bakery with a pound of butter!
I can’t wait to get a Kitchenaid! Ooh you have pink! Me wanty!
Gorgeous looking and sounding bread Lorraine. I have this cookbook, and it is a gem that I often forget – must go back to it.
Hi snookydoodle-Thankyou so much! It’s so rewarding making bread, I don’t know why but it is for me
Hi Cappucino-If you have more stamina than me, you could do it by hand
Haha probably not from the whole loaf! 
Hi Arwen-Do you know I’ve never tasted bread machine bread? But I could believe that
It’s a light flavour and smell although it’s not a knock you out strong quantity.
Hi Renee-Yes it give it a bit more flavour and aroma. Oh what a lovely smell to wake up to!
Hi Madison-Thankyou, so glad that you like it
Hi Big M-Haha excellent, I’m learning more Austrian every day!
Hi Blond Duck-Ahh interesting indeed, that would be great to see. I’ll look for it on youtube!
Hi Jude-I think it’s a legendary trick (possibly an Urban Legend) that they use!
Hi Johanna-I was shocked and embarrassed when I saw how much I had polished off
Oh yes a Dough Hook is an amazing catalyst for bread making!
Hi Karen-Just bread and butter is the only thing that will fix things sometimes
Yes it was a toss up between red and pink but pink won out!
Hi Cakelaw-I’ve made so many of her breads and they’ve all turned out exceptionally so I rarely look anywhere else now!
Looks and sounds yum. I have all those ingredients in my pantry already so I might have to give it a go this weekend
Mmmmmm Cheeseee ^^! Looks great and I can just imagine it coming fresh and hot out of the oven mmmmm
that hunk of bread is so rustic and beautiful, and i thought that before i even knew what decadence was contained inside!
Lorraine, what a beautiful bread!
This looks absolutely mouth watering! I’m sure I would be swayed to buy a house if it smelled like fresh baked bread, haha. Delicious!
Yumm! I love cheesey breads with the crunchy caramelized bits of cheese oozing out. Looks fantastic!
Mmmmm maple, walnut and cheese: three of my favourite items in one loaf! Ha ha yeah… bake me a loaf of bread and I would pretty much do anything. Sometimes I try to convince myself that I don’t have to exercise, if I’m giving my upper arms a good “work out” by kneading dough.
I am married to a man who doesn’t like nuts in his food (he even picks the pecan nuts out of his mother’s homemade cinnamon rolls – can you believe that?!). Do you think a maple and cheese bread would ‘work’?
And speaking of dough hooks. I am a big chicken.. I haven’t had the courage to use mine yet :S
Hi Helen-It’s definitely worth making! That is, if the weather isn’t too hot, sometimes having the oven on during 40 degree weather is the last thing I’d contemplate!
Hi FFichiban-I have to really stop myself cutting into it straight away when it comes out of the oven. The smell tortures me for a good 40 minutes!
Hi grace-Thankyou! I love making my own bread, I don’t know why
Hi yaelin-Thankyou so much!
Hi stephchows-Thanks! Hehe those real estate agents were onto something I think!
Hi Marc-Yes the oozing cheese is a must I think! Thankyou!
Hi Jackie-The combo is as good as you’d imagine
I’m with you, I think you’d burn up a lot of calories kneading! 
Hi Kathy-Oh no really?
That’s amazing! I think it would still work although you can always reduce it to 50g nuts and he can pick them out or you can split the dough in half and do half with and half without?
Oooh once you will you won’t go back. It’s so much fun making your own bread. Don’t worry I was scared too before I started
Well that’s something I have yet to do in 2009, make a loaf of yeast bread from scratch.
It’s horribly cold here today, and the media is suggesting everyone stay inside. Perhaps I should hit the kitchen and start baking—after reading your post (and about the cheese inside of this bread), I’m inspired!
P.S. Love your pink Kitchen Aid mixer
Hi Sandie-Absolutely! Sounds like a good plan
Oh really? It must be really cold then! I can’t think of a better way to spend time indoors-baking and eating
Thanks so much, I adore my Pink KA.
We love maple around here! This bread looks and sounds great. You have the pink mixer I keep dreaming of. Thanks for the recipe!
Nice,,,this could be a recipe that will make me make my first bread!
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