Artisan Bacon and Cheese Bread

Trolling through Noble Pig the other day (something I do every few weeks or so, playing catch-up), I came upon several recipes I really wanted to try. Cathy is so talented and I love her re-inventions. She discovered this bread recipe in Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.  After reading how much she loves this book, I put it on my Amazon wish list. Cathy took the original version and added cheese and bacon....and then used bread flour to make it strong enough to hold those extras. It turned out perfectly. Loved it with tomato soup I posted recently!

Easy Artisan Bacon and Cheese Bread
Inspired by Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, via Cathy at Noble Pig

Ingredients:

10 slices thick cut bacon, diced

8 ounces shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese (shred yourself, not packaged)

2 Tablespoons granulated yeast

3 cups lukewarm water (body temperature is perfect and will not damage yeast)

5-1/2 cups (29.30 ounces) bread flour, more for dusting

1-1/2 Tablespoons kosher salt

1 Tablespoon butter

1 Tablespoon yellow cornmeal

Method:

Cook bacon over medium heat until brown and crunchy. Drain on paper towels.

Put yeast in a large bowl, pour in warm water and give the yeast a little stir with a wooden spoon. Add flour and salt. Start mixing with a wooden spoon, use your hands as necessary to fully wet the flour and salt. Add the cheese and bacon into the dough until fully combined. Cover dough with a tea towel or plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for at least 3 hours. After 3 hours place dough in the refrigerator overnight.

When ready to bake, place a metal baking pan (not glass) on the bottom rack of the oven. Fill it with water, which will help steam the bread and makes it crusty.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees (the water will heat up during this time). Meanwhile, butter the bottom of an 11 x 17 baking tray and sprinkle cornmeal over the butter.

Sprinkle the dough with flour and flour your hands as well. Divide the dough into two even loaves, shaping each into a ball. Place on the baking tray, several inches apart. Sprinkle generously with flour. (I halved the recipe but you could make the entire recipe and save the dough in the refrigerator for another day.) Let rest on the baking tray for 30 minutes. Right before placing in the oven, score top of bread with an "x" or other decorative mark, cutting right through the dough.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 15 minutes before slicing.