BBD #19 – Parmesan Herb Batter Bread

This month’s BBD was hosted by Cindystar.  She has a great blog that’s mostly in Italian, but hey, who needs to speak it when you have all her awesome food to look at!  The pictures tell a thousand words.  She chose as the theme for this month Spring Country Breads and gave us considerable leeway with the breads we could choose…savory/sweet, yeast/quick, etc.  That left a lot of options to choose from!  When I think of spring, I think of the color green.  My herbs are starting to take off, and I figured I’d incorporate them into my bread somehow.  This bread was great!  Very simple to make but delicious.  Be sure to check out the BBD round up (here on Zorra’s blog) for the other participant’s creations.

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parmesan Herb Batter Bread (Adapted from King Arthur Flour)

Ingredients

• scant T or 1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/4 c lukewarm (105°F to 115°F) water
• 2 c all-purpose flour
• 1 T granulated sugar
• 1/2 t salt
• 8 T (1 stick) butter, room temperature
• 1/2 c lukewarm (105°F to 115°F) milk
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/2 c shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 T fresh herbs, finely chopped (I used a mix of parsley, oregano, and thyme)
• 3 oz chive & onion cream cheese spread

Directions

1.  In a cup, stir yeast into water to soften.

2.  In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar and salt together to combine. Add softened yeast/water mixture, butter, milk, egg, Parmesan cheese and the herbs. Beat vigorously for 2 minutes.

3.  Turn batter into a well-seasoned 10-inch skillet or round pan. Dot top of dough with cream cheese spread. Cover with tightly woven towel and let rise for 1 hour.

4.  Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake bread for 20 minutes, or until internal temperature of bread reaches 190°F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove bread from oven, cut into wedges, and serve immediately.