This is my absolute favourite cheese bread recipe! This recipe produces delicious homemade soft cheese bread that’s filled with cheddar cheese and herbs. The dough is a dream to work with, and the twisted shape makes for a beautiful loaf (with none of those dreaded rolled cheese bread gaps).
Homemade cheese bread: at a glance.
This cheese bread recipe produces two tall, beautiful loaves with veins of cheese running throughout. The crumb is wonderfully soft, yet still perfectly sliceable, so it’s perfect for sandwiches. It also provides a small moment of joy when enjoyed toasted and buttered.
Despite its impressive appearance, this is an excellent beginner bread-baking recipe. As it has ample yeast and sugar, it is a fast-riser, which reduces a lot of guesswork. It is also a beautiful dough to work with, as it is perfectly smooth and moist.
This cheese bread recipe is also endlessly customizable for more or less cheese, different cheeses or cheese combinations, or just about anything else you can imagine adding to the mix!
- Homemade cheese bread: at a glance.
- Ingredients and substitutions
- How to make homemade cheese bread: step-by-step
- How to make homemade cheese bread: video
- Recipe tips!
- New to bread baking? Here is my best advice!
- Storing and freezing cheese bread
- Get the Recipe: Simply Perfect Homemade Cheese Bread
- More cheese bread recipes to love!
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Bread flour – High-protein bread flour will provide the nicest texture for your finished loaf. If you only have all-purpose flour, you can use it, but do note that you may need to add a bit more flour to get that moist, smooth dough when using all-purpose flour. The texture of your loaf will be slightly heavier than it would have been if using bread flour, but will still be nice and soft.
Yeast – You can use Instant yeast or Active Dry yeast to make this bread. I recommend and use SAF Brand (Red) yeast for all my bread baking.
Milk – I recommend whole milk (3.5% b.f.) if possible, or at least 2% milk, for best results. Warm the milk just slightly in a saucepan or in the microwave.
Cheese – use a sharp/old cheddar cheese for best flavour and grate it yourself. I find a yellow cheddar cheese makes a prettier loaf, as you can see the cheese, but an old white cheddar also works here.
How to make homemade cheese bread: step-by-step
This is a visual summary of the steps to make this recipe. Scroll down to the Recipe Card below for the complete list of ingredients and instructions.
Start by mixing the bread dough. You can mix the dough in a stand mixer with the kneading hook or in a bowl with a spoon and some elbow grease.
Step 1: Begin by mixing together the dough ingredients into a shaggy, just moistened dough. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
Step 2: Start kneading the dough on Speed 2 on a KitchenAid mixer and knead for 5-7 minutes until you have a smooth, moist dough that wraps the dough hook and cleans the bowl.
Step 3: Remove the dough to a work surface and knead briefly.
Step 4: Form the finished dough into a ball. It should be smooth like a baby’s bottom!
Step 5: Place the dough ball into a greased bowl or large measuring cup to rise.
Step 6: Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 45-60 minutes.
Once the dough has risen, here are the steps to roll, fill and shape the bread loaves.
Step 7: If you have a scale, weigh the dough to get the total weight.
Step 8: Divide the total weight by two and weigh out two equal-sized dough balls.
Step 9: Cover one ball of dough with plastic wrap while you work with the other ball.
Step 10: Roll the dough ball into a 12×16-inch rectangele.
Step 11: Scatter half of the shredded cheese over the rolled dough and sprinkle with some herbs, if using.
Step 12: Roll the dough up jelly-roll style, rolling from the long side.
Step 13: Pinch the seam together.
Step 14: Flip the dough over so the seam is down.
Step 15: Using a sharp knife, slice the rolled dough lengthwise down the centre.
Step 16: The dough is not cut into two pieces.
Step 17: Pinch the two pieces together at the far end.
Step 18: Begin to twist the dough together by placing the right side over the left side.
Step 19: Continue twisting the dough pieces together.
Step 20: Pinch together the closest ends once the dough is fully twisted together.
Step 21: Gently lift the shaped dough into a greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan, then repeat with the second piece of dough to make two loaves.
Step 22: Cover the loaves with plastic wrap and set to rise until they rise to an inch above the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes. Bake and enjoy!
How to make homemade cheese bread: video
Confused about how this cheese bread is shaped? Be sure to watch the video to see how easily it is done!
Recipe tips!
- If you want to take your bread game to the next level, you really need to be using a kitchen scale and weigh out the ingredients. You will quickly find that doing so will produce a perfect loaf every time! No more uncertainty about how dry measuring cups were filled. No more variations between the exact volume of a liquid cup. You can pick up a kitchen scale for only $20, and it’s the best investment you will make for your kitchen.
- This bread is endlessly customizable. All kinds of cheese, herb and other add-in combinations will work. Want to throw in some sun-dried tomatoes and/or a bit of pesto? Why not! Olives? Sure. Lots of cheese or just a bit? It’s up to you.
- There is an option to overnight-rise this dough in the fridge. I rarely do that, because I’m a) impatient and b) not that organized, but feel free to do so. There’s no doubt that any bread benefits from a longer rise for better flavour.
New to bread baking? Here is my best advice!
I think most of the problems people have when starting out baking bread are treating bread recipes like, say, a cake recipe, where you just measure the ingredients, mix them all together and bake.
Things like kitchen temperature, humidity, moisture in the flour you are using, the season you are baking in and rising time can differ from one kitchen to the next. All that makes bread recipes less consistent from one kitchen to the next.
Now that you know this, though, that’s more than half the battle :) What you’ll need to add to the mix to be a successful bread baker is some trust in what you see and feel.
- Does the dough look and feel too sticky, and does the recipe say it should be smooth and not sticky? Go ahead and add a bit more flour, as your dough needs it.
- Does the dough look moist and smooth, but you haven’t added all the flour specified? Trust what you see in the bowl and stop adding more flour.
- When it comes to dough rising times, trust your eyes and not the clock. Your dough in your kitchen may rise more quickly or slowly than it suggests in the recipe. Using a straight-sided rising container will make it easier to see when the dough has doubled. (I like to use a 4- or 8-cup glass measuring cup.) In any case, you want the dough to just double in size. No less. No more.
Trust what you SEE and FEEL, and don’t be too tightly tied to the specifics of the recipe. Do that, and all will be good!
Storing and freezing cheese bread
Allow the bread to cool completely, then store at room temperature in a bread bag or simply place on a cutting board with the cut end wrapped tightly with plastic wrap. This bread will keep well for 2-3 days at room temperature.
You can refrigerate bread to extend the shelf life, but I don’t recommend refrigerating it right away. I keep my bread on the counter for about 2 days, then after that I might refrigerate what’s left to extend the freshness another 2 or 3 days.
Bread freezes beautifully! Wrap tightly and freeze for up to 3 months.
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email and I’ll send it to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Seasons and Suppers.
You can unsubscribe at any time.
Get the Recipe: Simply Perfect Homemade Cheese Bread
Ingredients
- 6 1/2 cups (794 g) unbleached bread flour, spooned and levelled *see Note 1 below
- 2 teaspoons (14 g) fine salt , reduce slightly if using salted butter
- 5 Tablespoons (64 g) white sugar, or brown sugar or 3 1/2 Tbsp. honey
- 1 cup (227 g) lukewarm water, about 95F
- 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons (255 g) milk, or buttermilk, lukewarm, about 95F
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons (14 g) Instant yeast or Active Dry Yeast
- 1/4 cup (57 g) unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly, or the same amount of vegetable/canola oil
Cheddar and herb filling (for two loaves):
- 3 cups (340 g) sharp/old orange cheddar cheese, shredded and packed
- 2-3 Tablespoons (60 ml) dried parsley, optional *see Note 2 below
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the 6 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour (spooned and levelled *see Note 1 below), 2 teaspoons fine salt (reduce slightly if using salted butter) and 5 Tablespoons white sugar (or brown sugar or 3 1/2 Tbsp. honey ) together and stir together well.
- In a large measuring cup or bowl, combine the 1 cup lukewarm water (about 95F ) and 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons milk (or buttermilk, lukewarm, about 95F) and whisk in the 1 1/2 Tablespoons Instant yeast or Active Dry Yeast until dissolved. Add this mixture, along with the 1/4 cup unsalted butter (melted and cooled slightly, or the same amount of vegetable/canola oil), to the dry ingredients. Mix by hand or with a dough hook at Speed 2 until the mixture is combined and all the dry ingredients are incorporated into a shaggy dough, about 2-3 minutes. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
- Continue mixing the dough with the kneading hook at Speed 2 for 5-7 minutes, until a smooth dough forms that wraps the dough hook and cleans the bowl. The dough should not be sticking to the mixing bowl at all.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for a couple of minutes, adding more flour only if the dough is sticking to your hands or the work surface; then form the dough into a ball. (If the dough feels smooth like a baby's bottom, you've nailed it!).
- Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl or an 8-cup measuring cup, then flip the ball over in the bowl so the top of the dough is covered in the oil from the bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise until just doubled, about 40-60 minutes in a 72F kitchen. (This dough is a fast-riser! Don't wander too far. You want the dough to just double in size – no more and no less – however long that takes.)
- Note: Alternatively, you can refrigerate the dough, well covered, for up to 4 days. If you have refrigerated your dough, remove it from the refrigerator 2 hours before you plan to bake to allow it to come to room temperature.
- Grease two 8-inch by 4-inch loaf pans and set aside.
- Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Cover one piece with plastic wrap and set aside. Working with one piece of dough, use a rolling pin to roll it into a rectangle approximately 12 inches wide and 16 inches long. (If the dough seems to spring back and not hold its shape while rolling, allow it to sit for a few minutes and try again.)
- Once rolled out, scatter 1/2 of the shredded cheddar and 1/2 of the herbs evenly over the surface of the dough. Starting with the long side of the rectangle, roll the dough up jelly-roll style and pinch the seam together. Rotate the rolled dough so the seam is underneath.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the roll of dough down the centre, lengthwise. Rotate each piece so that the cut sides are facing upward and place them side-by-side. Pinch together the farthest end. Keeping the cut sides facing upwards as much as possible, place the right-side piece over the left-side piece. Straighten it up all the way and then repeat twisting together down the length of the dough, then pinching together the end closest to you. If any cheese escapes, just place it back on top. Using a bench scraper or spatula, carefully lift the dough into the greased loaf pan. Repeat with the other piece of dough, then cover both pans with a greased piece of plastic wrap (I like to spray the plastic wrap with cooking spray).
- Allow the loaves to rise until the dough rises about 1 inch above the side of the pans in the middle, about 30-40 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350F (non-convection/not fan-assisted), with the rack in the centre of the oven.
- Place the loaves on top of a baking sheet to catch any cheese that might fall off the loaves as they bake. Bake the loaves for 40-45 minutes total, but set a timer for 20 minutes, at which time you'll rotate the pans from front-to-back in the oven and loosely cover the top of the loaves with a piece of aluminum foil if the bread is already well-browned. The foil will prevent the top from over-browning. Continue baking the bread for about 20-25 minutes more, until the bread reaches about 185F° internal temperature in the centre when tested with an instant-read thermometer.
- Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool in the pans for a couple of minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the bread, then carefully remove the loaves to a cooling rack. Allow the loaves to cool for 1 hour before slicing. *Slicing hot or very warm bread will make for a gummy crumb, so resist the urge and let it cool :)
- Store the baked bread at room temperature for several days, storing it in a bread bag or, at least, wrapping any cut ends tightly. You can also freeze this bread for up to 2 months.
Notes
Watch how to make it
More cheese bread recipes to love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress-free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Hey! Recipe looks great — just one question for a bread beginner: when you say “spread the butter over the surface of the dough”, do you mean the entire ball after rising, just the layer we’re adding ingredients on top of or the entire thing after rolling it out?
Thanks so much!
Hi John, You should spread the butter once you’ve rolled the dough into a rectangle. Spread the butter over the whole surface of the rectangle. Note that you only need the butter for the Parmesan/Herb version. The butter gives the cheese and herbs something to stick to :) For the straight-up cheddar version, you can just scatter the cheese evenly over the rolled rectangle. No need for butter on the cheddar version. Hope that helps :)
Just wanted to tell you that I made this a couple days ago and it turned out fabulous. I have never made bread before (unless you want to count banana bread!). Your instructions were spot on, even for a total novice. My only issue was one side of the loaf was larger than the other, though that was probably due to me using a wine bottle instead of a proper rolling pin. Thanks for a great recipe, can’t wait to try others on the site!
So glad to hear, Emma! And I lol at the visual of the wine bottle rolling pin :) Thanks so much!
Oh my, this looks absolutely delicious! Can’t wait to make it this weekend.
Thanks so much, Katerina :)
I made this today and I absolutely love this bread! I ran into a bit of an issue though, and that was that the layers have somewhat separated from each other. When I sliced the bread some of my slices ended up falling apart into two or three pieces. Any tips on what I might do differently next time?
Hi Justin, a couple of thoughts … first, have a look at how you are rolling the dough up jelly-roll style (before cutting). You want to make sure you’re just pushing it along evenly and not in a one-roll, little stretch, one-roll kind of way. (Hope that makes sense :). That kind of motion stretches the dough in spots and can cause uneven rising/cooking. If that’s not an issue, take a look at how much cheese you are putting in it. As a cheese lover myself, I certainly understand the inclination to want to add more cheese, but a lot of cheese and the accompanying oil can cause the separating you described. Hope that helps. Let me know how you make out :)
This recipe looks fantastic, thanks for sharing! I’m making it today and was hoping to use one loaf today and the second one in 4-5 days.
I really want that second loaf to fresh in 4-5 days. Would I be better off freezing the fully baked loaf or the dough?
If I freeze the dough whats the best stage to do it at (and how would you store it and do you bake from frozen)?
And how do you store and defrost a baked loaf?
Do you pop it back in the oven for a bit?
Thanks!
Hi Sudha, I just freeze the baked loaf. Freeze as soon as it’s fully cooled in a freezer bag or well wrapped. To defrost, just set it on the counter (fully wrapped) and allow to thaw. It will be just as good as right after you baked it. I don’t re-warm in the oven. If I want a warm slice, I usually just pop it in the toaster.
Hi Jennifer-
Can you substitute instant mashed potato’s for the potato water?
Hi Nichole, While I have used instant mashed potatoes in bread, I’m not sure I would do a substitution here, especially not 1 cups worth. Potatoes can do wonderful things in bread, but only in small amounts. Too much and it will do nothing but weigh down the bread. My thought is not to mess with this bread dough recipe to that extent, as it is a beautiful dough as it is. One of the nicest bread doughs I’ve ever worked with, really. I’m not sure potatoes would improve it and could very well produce a less satisfying result. At the very least, I would make it as written first, then if you want to experiment with a bit of potato next time, at least you’ll know if it improved it or not :)
Hi Jennifer
What will the difference be between using bleached bread flour or all purpose flour? It seems like you prefer the bread flour in your recipe. I have all purpose flour at home and I’m wondering if I should go out to get the unbleached bread flour.
I look forward to trying out your recipe.
Hi Carissa, it’s really a case of “for best results” :) Unbleached bread flour will give you the absolutely best results. That said, unbleached all-purpose flour will certainly work (would be my 2nd choice), as would bleached all-purpose flour (3rd choice :). So it’s really your call. Not sure where you are, but unbleached bread flour is not that easy to find, at least here. I pick mine up at Bulk Barn here in Canada. Hope that helps!
Thank you so much for this recipe. I tried it the first time not knowing and came out perfect. Have made it over and over again countless times. Have also changed it with a fresh apple cinnamon which turned out soooo good and also a cinnamon raisin which was absolutely great as well. Next I’m going to do a jalapeño and cheese and parsley. Just cannot get enough of this bread. Thank you so much.
So glad you are enjoying it, Tyler! I too have used this recipe to make endless variations. It’s one of the nicest doughs to work with! Thanks so much :)
I wondered how this would do with a sweet filling as well. Thanks!
Yes, great with a sweet filling, too :)
Hey! Made this bread a couple of weeks ago, loved it, but found it a bit too sweet! Would it still be okay if decrease the amount of sugar, maybe to half? (I used brown sugar last time). Also, can I switch the all-purpose flour to whole whear flour? Thanks xx
Hi Sonali and yes, you can easily reduce the sugar, to taste (it doesn’t do anything but sweeten, except for a bit to feed the yeast). As for the whole wheat flour, you could, but you would drastically affect the lightness of the loaf, so I really wouldn’t recommend using all whole-wheat flour. You could replace a bit of the all-purpose flour (maybe 1/4 of it), with whole wheat if you like, but even at that amount, it will affect the lightness of the bread.
This recipe is just excellent ! Lost track on how many times I’ve made this cheese bread. Just delicious ? Thanks a lot for sharing.
So glad to hear, Grace :) Thanks!
Can this recipe convert to dinner rolls?
Hi Nikki, the dough itself can certainly, though the shaping method not quite as easily. I suppose you could twist it, then cut it into rounds and place in muffin tins? What were you thinking?
Hi Jennifer-
My initial thought was to mimic the shape of Lion House rolls. But always open to suggestions.
Thanks,
Nichole
Ok. So yes you could do a long, jelly rolled log and slice into rolls. You may find though that if you fill with cheese etc, you will get gaps between the rolls once baked. Not positive it will happen with rolls but it does with a loaf. That’s one of the benefits of the twist shaping. No gaps :)
I’m an avid baker but I don’t usually attempt breads because they never turn out quite how I expect them to. But when I took these babies out of the oven I cried tears of joy because they turned out just as beautiful as the photos and were soft and delicious, too! I’m obsessed with the loaf design this cut/twist method makes and will definitely be trying this recipe out with other fun fillings! Thank you for the great recipe :)
So glad to hear, Linnea! This is such a lovely dough to work with and adapts so well to both savoury and sweet fillings. Thanks :)
Thank you so much Jennifer!
This is such a wonderful recipe!
I made the cheddar + parsley as well as the herb + parmesan — they both turned out perfectly. All of your tips gave me a better understanding (especially since I am new to bread baking) and your video gave me the confidence to try it out.
I am excited to try more — I mean all! — of your recipes, they look divine. I just wish the weekend wasnt over :)
Oh one more thing…… soooo when is your cook book coming out?! :)
Thanks so much, Avery :) So glad you enjoyed it. No plans for a cookbook, but I will keep publishing delicious things here, for sure!
I halved the quantities to make one loaf (successfully), and made up a cheddar and parsley version. I used pretty good quality mature cheddar, and I think that chives as well might have been a bit OTT. With cheaper, mild cheddar, maybe. Anyway, it was ex-quisite. I took it to work and got rave reviews. And genius to have the video of how to plait the dough, watched it carefully three times and it worked well for me, I got it plaited and into the tin without disaster. I’m now wondering about making one with no salt and using grated dark chocolate and chopped drained Morello cherries . . . . . . .
So glad you enjoyed it, Gavin! And I’m loving the idea of chocolate and cherry. I’d keep the salt though (at least some of it). Sometimes that bit of a salty note is just the thing you need with chocolate and fruit :)
just wondering how much time to leave for the second rise in the loaf pan? How long should does it typically take?
Hi Louisa, the second rise is quicker than the first. In my kitchen, about 45 minutes.
One word… YUM!! Absolutely gorgeous bread. Not the healthiest considering the fact I’ve used an entire block of cheese. But it’s well worth it!!
So glad you enjoyed it, Dean! A worthy indulgence :) Thanks!