Bacon and Cheddar Chipotle Bread

Bacon and Cheddar Chipotle Bread is full of sharp cheddar cheese and is studded with crumbled bacon. It is a loaf of bread that you will never forget. It's that good!

I've officially jumped on the chipotle train.

Doesn't it seem like every restaurant and brand has incorporated chipotles into their products these days?  Well, I am hooked.  I would guess there's at least five different products in my refrigerator right now that have something to do with the spicy little delight. 

That being said, it's no surprise that I had some chipotle in adobo leftover from when I made chipotle beef tacos the other night.  Seeing as I was low on bread, I decided to incorporate it into a homemade loaf.  I found a recipe on allrecipes.com that struck my fancy and tweaked it a little to be exactly how I envisioned it.

If you know me, you know I rarely play around with a recipe's ingredients.  I like to give a recipe a shot as written because someone, somewhere wrote it that way for a reason.  But this time I was throwing all caution to the wind.  In my head, cheddar chipotle bread screamed for one thing.  I was totally adding bacon.  For the next few hours, I was a bread making fool.

The results were OUT.OF.THIS.WORLD.  Four loaves packed with swirls of mouthwatering sharp cheddar and smokey chipotle goodness, crumbled bacon nestled in the soft chewy dough surrounded by a cheesy crispy crust...yummy is an understatement.  The process takes some time and effort from start to finish, but if you're you're up to it, make this bread.  Try it toasted and topped with cream cheese for breakfast or with a steak dinner.  Think patty melts, croutons, and turkey sandwiches.  Dare I say the perfect bread?


Ingredients  

• 1 tbsp active dry yeast
• 3 cups warm water
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 8½ cups bread flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
•  ¼ cup canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, pureed
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 16 oz sharp cheddar cheese, cubed
• 1/2 cup grated pecorino romano cheese, shredded
• ½ lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
• cornmeal for dusting

Instructions

1. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and stir in the sugar. The water should be no more than 100° F.  Let stand for 5 minutes until the yeast starts to foam.
2. Combine 4 cups of flour and the salt in a large bowl. Add the water/yeast mixture and stir until it forms a soft dough. Let sit for 15 minutes to let the flour absorb the liquid. Add the remaining flour 1 cup at a time, mixing until the dough is very smooth. (I used my mix master with the dough hook for this, but towards the end, the dough got too tough for it, so I kneaded the remaining flour in by hand.)  Let the dough rest for an additional 15 minutes.
3. Knead the chipotle puree, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and pecorino romano cheese into the dough until fully incorporated.  (This gets a little messy with the cream cheese and chipotle peppers, but just keep trucking through it until it's completely mixed in.)
4. Place the dough into an oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with a light cloth and let the dough rise in a warm place (80 to 95° F) until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Punch the dough down and knead it a few times. Cover it and let rise again until doubled, about 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 450° and dust two cookie sheets with cornmeal.
6. Divide the dough into four equal pieces using a serrated knife. Shape the loaves into round balls and place two on each cookie sheet. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise for 15 minutes.
7. Bake in the preheated oven until the bread is golden and the loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom, about 20 to 30 minutes.