The Cheese Also Rises

Rarely have I eaten a cheese bread I’ve liked. Usually they have a dubious orange color--and a dubious cheese taste. The following cheese bread recipe, however, is wonderful. There is no mistaking the flavor of good Cheddar in this loaf.

It is the ideal bread to go with summer salads. This recipe makes two loaves, one to serve within a day or two of baking and the other to freeze for another salad, another time.

A word about salads: A green salad should sparkle and be made of clean, chilled, crisp greens. The dressing should be made with fresh oil, a light, tingling vinegar or fresh lemon juice, salt, freshly ground pepper, and sometimes mustard, herbs and aromatics as accents. We have such a good variety of greens and fresh herbs in our produce sections these days there’s no excuse for monotonous salads.

Salads should be dressed lightly just before serving. The leaves should shine, but not drown in dressing (salad soup is not acceptable). The greens should be in bite-size pieces; cutting greens with knife and fork is awkward and never feels right.

SHARP CHEDDAR CHEESE BREAD

2 cups warm water

1/2 cup instant nonfat dry milk

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 packages dry yeast

1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, lightly pressed down

4 1/2 to 5 1/2 cups flour

In large mixing bowl stir together water, dry milk, sugar, salt and yeast. Let stand to dissolve, about 1 minute. Add cheese and 2 cups of flour. Beat vigorously until blended. Add about 2 more cups flour, enough to make dough manageable. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead 1 to 2 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes.

Resume kneading until dough is smooth and elastic, sprinkling on enough additional flour to keep it from being too sticky. Place in large greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled in bulk. Punch dough down and shape into 2 loaves. Place in greased 8x4-inch loaf pans. Cover, and let rise to tops of pans. Bake at 375 degrees about 45 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on racks. Makes 2 loaves, about 16 servings.

Each serving contains about:

166 calories; 283 mg sodium; 9 mg cholesterol; 3 grams fat; 28 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 0.10 gram fiber.