Beer, Cheese and Mustard Bread

Beer and cheese is always a good mix.
(Young’s Special London Ale and Swiss cheeses go paricularly well together!) But have you ever thought of baking your own bread with beer and cheese?
Well you’re in luck – as here is a great recipe for just that!

You will need:

225g strong wholemeal flour
225g strong white flour
1 tsp salt
Sachet quick action dried yeast
2 tsp sugar
150g mature cheddar cheese grated
250ml Young’s Bitter
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp wholegrain mustard

Put all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Measure the beer into a jug and heat for 1 minute in the microwave. Whisk in the oil and mustard. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients then add the beer mixture and mix until a dough is formed and comes away from the sides of the bowl. Turn onto a floured work surface and knead a good 5 minutes. You can use a food mixer with a dough hook, to make this easier, kneading in the machine for 3-4 minutes.

Lightly oil the mixing bowl, put the dough back into the bowl, cover with a clean damp cloth and leave to rest in a warm place for 1 hour or until almost doubled in size. The time it takes will depend on the warmth of the place the dough is placed.

Tip the dough back onto the floured work surface and shape into a ball, flatten slightly. Cut several slashes across the top of the bread. Leave to rise for about 30-45 minutes.

Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Bake the bread for 25-30 minutes until deep golden brown and the bread sounds hallow when tapped. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Tip: you can use different cheeses as long as they are well flavoured such a Lancashire, Red Leicester or a firm Goat’s cheese.
To vary the flavour, try adding some herbs such as 2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary spikes. Finely chopped spring onions also work well.