This bread is easy to make and loaded with taste. In addition to the sourdough tang, the bread has sharp cheddar cheese and savory-sweet sun-dried tomatoes. A little dried dill complements the cheddar and tomatoes. The bread is whole-grain. The recipe calls for white whole-wheat flour, which has the nutritional benefits of regular whole-wheat flour while also being a bit lighter in texture. That means the bread, though hearty, won't be leaden. The bread makes a great accompaniment to eggs for breakfast, and it's also at home with soups (especially tomato!) and salads. Or try the bread for dinner alongside pasta for a change from the usual garlic bread. I like to make the bread in the air fryer, which gives the bread a nice, crispy crust that isn't tooth shattering. You also can bake the bread in a loaf pan in the regular oven (bake the bread at 350 degrees for about an hour). Enjoy!
Sourdough Cheddar, Dill, and Tomato Bread -- Makes 1 Loaf
1 cup of starter/discard
1/4 cup of canola oil
1 large egg
1/4 cup of milk
1 cup of white whole-wheat flour
In a large bowl mix well all of the ingredients listed above and let the mixture sit in the bowl, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for at least an hour. Four or five hours is fine, too, if you want to mix up the dough and go do other things. When you're ready, add:
1/2 cup of white whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon of salt
Stir, then knead in the additional flour and salt. Knead the dough for three to five minutes, adding in an additional 1/2 cup or so of flour as you knead to prevent the dough from being too sticky to knead. Press the dough into a rectangle, roughly 10- x 12-inches. Top the dough with the following, leaving an inch or so uncovered along each edge:
1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese (or use crumbled slices, they work, too)
1/2 teaspoon of dried dill weed
1/4 cup of chopped, sun-dried tomatoes
Press the toppings into the dough just a little with your palms, then roll up the dough into a cylinder, jelly-roll-style, starting from a short end. Tuck the ends under the cylinder, then curve the cylinder into a round shape, bringing the two ends together. Spritz a 6- or 7-inch round cake pan or souffle dish with non-stick cooking spray and put the dough into the pan/dish. Spritz the top of the dough with non-stick cooking spray and loosely cover the dough with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until it has increased in volume by about one-third. Air fry the dough at 320 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until the internal temperature of the bread is 190-200 degrees and/or the bread is a deep, golden brown. Remove the bread from the air fryer to cool in its pan for about 15 minutes, then remove the bread from the pan to cool completely. The bread will slice best once it has cooled.
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