Whole Wheat Garlic Herb And Cheese Bread

There are several reasons I am excited to share this bread recipe with you. You see, it is from the first cookbook I ever owned. It is in Norwegian by a beloved Norwegian chef named Ingrid Espelid Hovig, titled Everything You Need To Know To Make Good Food, Bake Good Cakes And Good Bread. She was the first TV chef in Norway, when we only had one state channel that came on after 5 o'clock in the evening (we are talking mid-seventies to mid-eighties here). Ingrid is sort of like the Norwegian Julia Child, although she wasn't quite as funny as Julia (I am actually not sure if Ingrid has passed away?). Anyhow, I have this tattered cookbook that has been my companion since I moved away from home. Most classic Norwegian recipes are in here.

Every once in a while I take it out and look through it (I don't read many novels, but I read cookbooks and cooking magazines as though they were). Every time, I stop at the page with the picture of the Bread with oregano, garlic and parsley and think to myself:, "I should try that"! And today I finally did! Unfortunately my pictures don't do it justice, but the bread came out beautifully. My family thought I had picked it up at our local bakery. It looked beautiful and tasted great. If I can bake bread, you can too. And this is definitely one to try. It would be perfect with any soup, salad or as in this case, Beef Stroganoff.

Note! A kitchen scale would be very helpful here, to get exact measurements. But if you don't have one don't worry. Just adjust the flour so that your dough feels nice and easy to work with. I didn't use all of the all-purpose flour for the bread, but you need some of that for rolling it out.

Whole wheat garlic herb and cheese bread

(Makes 1 large loaf)

2 Tablespoons (30 grams) butter or margarine

1 1/2 cups (3 1/2 dl) milk

1 envelope dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 3/4 cups (approx.250 grams) whole-wheat flour

1 1/2 cups (approx. 200 grams) all-purpose flour

Filling:

4 Tablespoons butter or margarine

1 cup chopped parsley

1-2 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon dried oregano

3/4 cup grated cheese, I used Swiss

but next time I will use Parmesan.

In a sauce pan, melt butter and add the milk. Heat the mixture until 120 degrees Farenheit. Mix next 4 ingredients in a large bowl, add most of the all-purpose flour. Add milk mixture. Combine until dough is no longer sticky adjusting the consistency with the remaining flour. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough until smooth just about a minute or so. Put the dough back in the work bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place (my heated bathroom floor is perfect!),  30 - 40 minutes.

Make the filling while dough is rising.: Stir butter until soft. Add next 3 ingredients. Set aside.

Put risen dough onto a floured surface. Roll out to a rectangle measuring approximately 12 x 16 inches

(30 x 40 cm). Spread butter mixture evenly over dough. Sprinkle cheese evenly on top. Roll dough like a jelly roll. Squeeze ends firmly together. Place bread diagonally on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

Cover with a tea-towel and let it rise a second time, about 30-40 minutes.

Brush bread with lightly beaten egg, and sprinkle some oregano and a little sea salt over the top.

Score the top with a sharp knife. Bake bread on the bottom rack of the oven at 390 degrees Farenheit

(200 degrees Celscius), for approximately 25-30 minutes (until nicely golden). Let cool slightly. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from, Ingrid Espelid Hovig, Gyldendals kokebok, 1994