Garlic Cheese Loaves

It was PSLE marking days for the last few days. No lessons for primary school students. I had to take leave for two days and stayed home with the kids. I needed to as I wanted to coach my eldest son in his studies. I knew that if I were to leave him alone to study during the four days, it will be as good as the days wasted.

For me, the most important food to bake during this period is bread, for breakfast. I know I will have time to bake this while I let him attempt mocked questions. I bought Judy Koh's Pockets of Happiness for quite sometime and haven't tried any of the recipe yet. I decided I shall try the bread, and attempt the Garlic Cheese Loaves.

For the overnight sponge dough, I used normal bread flour. For the actual dough, I used wholemeal wheat flour. From my previous experience with wholemeal wheat flour, these were my observations:

1) The bread won't rise to twice its size. Mainly because it is natural and doesn't have leavening agent.
2) The dough will be slightly drier. The final dough is not as wet as those with processed bread flour. I found it easier to handle.
3) The baked bread will be denser than those baked with processed bread flour. It won't be as airy and fluffy as those.
4) As for the taste, it taste exactly like Prima's wholemeal flour, except that it is much finer.
5) Quantity will be lesser and size will be smaller if you use the same wholemeal flour weight vs bread flour. Which means that, using the equal weight for both flours, you will have to expect that the final output of the wholemeal flour will be smaller in size or lesser in quantity.

Ever since I started using this wholemeal wheat flour, I tried not to use bread flour alone. I will add some wholemeal flour into the bread flour, even though it means the size or quantity will be compromise. Psychologically, I feel healthier. However, I do not know if using this wholemeal wheat flour will prevent me from gaining weight if I eat too much compared to normal bread flour. Does anyone has any information on this?

Anyway, this garlic cheese loaves is really nice. I didn't use cheddar cheese cubes as stated in the recipe. I used normal cheddar cheese slices instead. Also, I realised that my garlic topping didn't stay well on top. All of them dropped out when I cut the loaves. I think it would have been better if the garlic toppings were added before baking the doughs.

Besides those, I really like this bread as, firstly, it does not contain egg. Secondly, the amount of sugar is really minimum. And lastly, it uses olive oil instead of butter. I had it dipped in olive oil for breakfast and it sure makes a satisfied meal!

Recipe for Garlic Cheese Loaves, adapted from "Pockets of Happiness by Judy Koh"

Ingredients:
(Makes 3 loaves)

Overnight Sponge:
300g Bread flour
1/8 tsp Instant yeast
210g Water
1/8 tsp Salt

Method:
1. Mix the yeast, bread flour, salt and water till smooth. Cover and let it ferment overnight or for at least 8 hours. (I left it in the fridge overnight.)

Main Dough:
300g Wholemeal wheat flour
9g Salt
2g Instant yeast
2g Sugar
210g Water
20g Olive oil
150g Cheddar cheese, cubed (I used 6 slices of cheddar cheese slices as I don't have anymore. I would have used at least 3 slices for each loaf)

Garlic Topping:
25g Chopped garlic
100g Butter, melted
10g Fresh parsley, chopped (I used fresh sweet basil leaves)
--> Combine all ingredients and mix well (I didn't mix the butter with garlic and basil.)

Method:
1. Combine the fermented sponge with the dough ingredients and knead in a mixer till it forms into a smooth and elastic dough.
2. Divde the dough into 3 equal pieces, about 340g each. Round each piece of dough. Cover and set aside for 15mins.
3. Flatten each piece of dough before adding some cubed cheddar cheese, about 50g per piece. Roll up the dough and shape into oval shape.
4. Proof in a proofer or in a warm and moist place for about an hour or till they are double in size.
5. Slash the tops of the risen dough with a sharp blade and bake at 190C for about 25mins, or till golden brown.
6. Spread the garlic butter toppings over the loaves and return to the oven to bake for about 10mins till they are fragrant. (I brush the loaves with soften butter, then topped them with garlic and basil. For this final step, I moved my bread loaves to a higher rack, use grilled function to brown the garlic.)