cheesy bread

this week has been out of the ordinary since the family i work for has been out of town. we've had a little more free time in the evenings but varied constraints throughout the day, and the dogs sleep with us. enough said. but its been feeling like fall, and we've spent some time in the east bay where some of the trees are actually changing color, and had good times with friends old and new. my soup this week was butternut squash, it was very savory, almost to much since i adjusted the spices for dried and overcompensated i think, as in i dumped in what looked right and so i'd just stick to her measurements if at all possible. it was a good twist on a normally sweeter soup. we didn't try the croutons but i did make this recipe for gruyere cheese, pull apart bread. here's the recipe from food and wine 2010:

1 1/2 sticks cold, unsalted butter, cube 1 stick
1 lg onion, finely chopped, i probably did about a 1/4 of the onion which wasn't quite enough but still really flavorful, i might suggest trying 1/2 an onion
1 tblsp poppy seeds
kosher salt and pepper
3 onces Gruyere cheese, coarsely shredded, {1 cup}
2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk

preheat the oven to 425. butter a 9 by 4 1/2 inch metal loaf pan. In a large skillet, melt the 1/2 stick of uncubed butter, pour two tbls of the melted butter into a small bowl and reserve. add the chopped onion to the skillet and cook over moderate heat. stirring occassionally, until its softened, about 8 minutes. stir in the poppy seeds and season with salt and pepper. scrape the onion mixture onto a plate and refrigerate for 5 minutes, until cooled slightly, then stir in the coarsely shredded gruyere cheese.

meanwhile in a food processor, or i just used a fork and then my hands, pulse the 2 cups o flour with the baking powder, baking soda and 1 teaspoon of salt. add the stick of cubed butter and pulse until the butter cubes are the size of small peas. add the buttermilk and pulse 5 or 6 times, just until a soft dough forms.

this is the tricky part guys.....turn the dough out onto well- floured work surface and knead 2 or 3 times. pat or roll the dough into a 2 by 24 inch rectangle. spread the onion mixture on top of the bread. cut the dough crosswise, in as close to the same width strips as possible. mine weren't and began to wobble in the next step. stack 9 pieces onion side up then top with the final piece onion side down, after about the 5th piece it began to wobble, so i put it in the loaf pan sideways and added the other pieces side by side. carefully lay the stack in the prepared loaf pan and brush the top with the reserved melted butter.

bake the loaf in the center of the oven for about 30 minutes, until it is golden and risen. let the bread cool for atleast 15 minutes before unmolding and serving.


this was amazing, super filling and perfect with the soup, worth the time for sure. especially if you don't have a dog in the house and leave it on the counter. you fill in the gaps.

and i must credit jacob's amazing skills as dishwasher to make this kitchen possible.

i'd love to hear anyone else's twist on their favorite soup...