Homemade Cheese Bread Recipe with Yeast

The perfect texture, rich flavor, and soft interior of this cheddar bread will have your friends and family asking for it over and over again.

Why You’ll Love This Homemade Cheese Bread Recipe

• Common ingredients. You probably already have everything you need to make this bread with the exception of active dry yeast.
• Versatile enough to make it your favorite bread. Change up the recipe with different cheese or customizations and make it your favorite.
• Makes an amazing gift. This recipe makes two loaves of cheesy bread. Wrap a loaf in parchment to take to a friend, a family with a new baby, or a special relative.

Equipment Needed To Make Cheese Bread with Yeast

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• Stand Mixer. This is an essential tool for making a huge variety of bread.
• Mixing Bowl. A must-have in your kitchen.
• Sharp Knife. A good knife makes all the difference.
• Loaf Pans. Two pans are a minimum.
• Bread Knife. Makes slicing up a fresh loaf of cheddar bread so easy!
• Instant Read Thermometer. Quickly measure the internal temperature of your bread. No more guessing!

What is Cheese Bread?

Cheese bread is a soft and tender bread loaf stuffed and layered with cheddar cheese. This Cheddar Cheese Bread makes a great sandwich or as a side with a plate of pasta or as my friend Jen says, “the best BLT ever!”.

Ingredients For Your Cheese Bread

• Warm Water. It should be warmed to a temperature of 90º and 95º F.
• Active Dry Yeast. Look with the baking soda and baking powder. Active dry yeast must be activated with the warm water and sugar. We’ll tell you how.
• Sugar. White granulated sugar.
• Olive Oil. For fat and flavor. We recommend that you choose an olive oil that tastes good. I’ve actually thrown out olive oil that was supposed to be of the highest quality because it was too bitter for my liking.
• All-Purpose Flour. You can use bleached or unbleached flour. One doesn’t act or taste any differently from the other. Unbleached flour is just less processed since it doesn’t go through the step of bleaching it.
• Salt. You can use any salt. Our preferences are Kosher salt or Fine sea salt which we feel dissolves better with a less likely chance of salt pockets in our baked goods.
• Shredded Cheddar Cheese. You can use any kind of cheddar or cheddar blend and can even change it up with different cheeses if you want to experiment. You’ll want a semi-soft cheese so that it will melt when it bakes.
• Italian Seasoning. This is a spice blend containing oregano, basil, rosemary, and thyme.
• Egg. For the optional egg wash.

Please note, that the printable recipe card has the full list of ingredients, quantities, complete instructions, and nutritional information. The following is a quick overview of the recipe.

How To Make Cheese Bread

Proof the yeast.

Set up your stand mixer first and then proof the yeast directly in the stand mixer bowl by adding the yeast, sugar, and 1 cup of the warm water.

Mix the dry ingredients in a separate mixing bowl.

Mix the flour, Italian seasoning, salt, and cheese until they are evenly combined. I find mixing the cheese with the flour mixture helps to keep it from clumping together and distributed evenly throughout the bread.

Mix half of the dry ingredients into the proofed yeast mixture.

Mix on low speed until half of the loose flour is mixed in. I find that keeping the second cup of warm water handy is helpful if the mix is too dry to mix.

Add the remaining water and oil and mix well.

Add the remaining flour alternating with the remaining water and oil. Mix on low speed until the dough forms.

Increase the speed and knead

Increase the mixer speed to medium and mix for 4 to 5 minutes. This allows the gluten to form.

Let the dough rise and butter your loaf pans.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover it with oiled plastic wrap. Place the bowl in a draft-free warm area to rise. The dough will need to double which takes 50 minutes to an hour. If your oven has a proofing drawer or setting, this will work best. Make sure to move the racks to allow room.

When the dough has risen, divide the dough between the pans.

Press the dough down into a rectangular shape approximately 9″x 10″. Cover it with cheese if you want a swirl. Roll it into a log and place it in the bread pans to rise, approximately 15 minutes.

Score the loaves with a sharp knife.

Score the bread gently with a sharp knife 3 to 4 times across the top of the bread at a diagonal. This allows the loaf to breathe as it bakes. Recover the bread and let it rise for 20 to 30 minutes.

Bake the bread.

Remove the plastic wrap and brush the top of the bread with the egg wash. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Your goal is 90ºF or 95ºF and this is easy to measure with an instant-read thermometer.

Remove the bread from the pan and allow it to cool completely before slicing.

What to Serve with your Homemade Cheese Bread

This bread makes an amazing appetizer sliced on a Charcuterie board or alongside a bowl of marinara for dipping.

Dip it in marinara for a finger-friendly appetizer.

Amazing with a pasta dish or alongside a cup of soup.

Try it with these recipes: Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta, 13 Bean Soup Recipe, or Bacon-Wrapped Grilled Lamb Medallions.

Popular Substitutions & Additions

• Add 2 to 3 minced garlic cloves to the dough for a garlic cheese bread recipe.
• Change up the herbs. Rosemary and thyme would be delicious or you could use another seasoning blend like a Mediterranean spice blend.
• Veggies – It’s best that any add-ins be semi-cooked or softened such as bell pepper, onion, or jalapeno.
• Crumbled bacon.

How To Reheat & Store This Cheese Bread Recipe

Best Way To Store Leftover Homemade Cheese Bread with Yeast?

Keep your leftovers in a zipped plastic baggy on the counter for a few days. We prefer not to store the bread in the refrigerator, moisture can condense on the bag and make the bread’s exterior soggy.

Can I Freeze Homemade Cheese Bread?

Yes. But make sure it’s completely cool first so the bread doesn’t become mushy from the condensation. Wrap the bread in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months.

How To Reheat Cheese Bread

If you want to eat the cheese bread hot, microwave an individual slice for roughly ten to fifteen seconds depending on the wattage of your microwave. You can also slice it thin and put slices in your toaster. This bread would be amazing with a poached egg for breakfast!

Homemade Cheese Bread FAQ

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Tips to Make the Perfect Cheese Bread

Warm water between the temperature of 90 to 95 degrees F is the best temperature to activate the yeast. Think about warm bathwater. If it is too cold the yeast won’t activate and if it is too hot it will kill the yeast.

Sugar works better than honey or maple syrup to activate yeast so I don’t recommend making a substitution.

If you put the swirl of bread in the loaf, the tighter you roll it the tighter the swirl will be when cut.

You can use oil or a non-stick spray to prepare the pans but I like using butter because it makes the crust even better.

The egg wash will give a crunch to the bread. Brushing with butter after baking will keep the crust soft. Both are excellent.

Mixing the cheese with the flour helps the cheese to be uniformly distributed throughout the dough.

I hope you enjoyed this delicious recipe as much as we do. Drop me a comment below, and don’t forget to give it a star rating. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. Your comments and ratings help others decide if this recipe is for them too.

Other Recipes You’ll Love

• Baked Stuffed White Cheddar Meatballs
• Easy Cheesy Potatoes Casserole with Real Potatoes
• One-Hour Homemade Dinner Rolls
• Thick Cheesy Baked Potato Soup Recipe
• Sweet and Spicy Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread
• Peasant Bread

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