This cheese and herb bread with oats and cider is easy to make but so delicious to eat! Enjoy it warm and fresh out of the oven simply with (vegan) butter, make into tasty sandwiches or enjoy it toasted after a couple of days!

I shouldn’t make my own bread.  I eat it far too quickly.  But so help me it’s not just the eating of things like this cheese and herb bread it’s the whole bread making process I love too.

There’s something a little primal about making your own bread.  Didn’t we as a nation survive on homemade bread during the Covid lockdowns?  From banana bread to quick, no-knead loaves.  We were hooked.  I hope it’s something that people continue to enjoy and find time for because it’s so rewarding.

It also isn’t as much effort as people might think.  Sure, there’s a bit of furious activity, or none if you’re lazy like me sometimes and use a machine.  But it’s mostly about being patient and waiting.

In the interests of science I managed to make this loaf last past the first day of being made.  No matter how tempted I was to go back for just.one.more.slice.  It was actually two whole days later I toasted the last crust piece, standing in my kitchen doing nothing other than enjoying the fruits of my labour.  Smothered in vegan butter obvs.

Obscenely satisfying.

How to make this easy homemade bread:

The most important ingredient in this type of bread (yeast risen) is the yeast itself.  It only needs a few things to help it do all the work for you – food (sugar), warmth and liquid.

It’s also the first thing we start with.  Warm the cider (liquid) until it is literally just tepid.  When you put your finger in to test the cider should feel neither warm nor cold.  Whisk in the sugar and yeast and set aside for 10-15 minutes to allow it to froth.

While that’s doing it’s thing, weigh the flours, salt and oats into a large bowl (or bowl of stand mixer) and stir together.

Once the yeast liquid has a frothy surface add to the dry ingredients and mix until it just starts to form a dough.  If you’re using a machine, use the dough hook and mix the dough for 5 minutes until soft and elastic.  If doing this by hand, once the dough has started to take shape tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes until the dough is soft and stretchy.

Put the dough into an lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave somewhere warm until doubled in size.  This can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour+ dependent on temperature.  I leave mine anywhere that’s warm – a sunny windowsill, near the boiler if it’s on or just in the kitchen if I’ve got the oven/stove on and it’s nice and warm!

While it’s proving grate the cheese, chop the herbs and prepare the tin.  I brush a little margarine round the inside then dust with flour, tapping the tin to cover the margarine then tip out the excess.

Second prove:

Once the dough has doubled in size, tip out of the bowl and roll out to a medium sized rectangle.  Sprinkle over the cheese and herbs then fold the dough over itself, roughly kneading again to incorporate the cheese and herbs into the dough.

Once that’s all evenly mixed shape the dough into a log the length of the tin then gently lift into the tin.  Cover and again leave to prove until doubled in size.

Cooking the loaf:

Once the dough is almost ready to bake preheat your oven to 180 Fan.

Brush a little milk over the top of the loaf – be gentle, you don’t want to squash out any of those air bubbles!  Sprinkle some seeds over the top.

Put the tin onto a tray then put the whole lot in the oven for 30 minutes until the loaf is well risen and golden.  Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then carefully lift out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

HOWEVER.  I strongly recommend having at least one slice while it’s still warm.

Storing your cheese and herb bread:

One the bread has cooled completely store the bread in an airtight container at room temperature to enjoy for a couple of days.  After that it can be refrigerated or frozen.

Looking for even more homemade bread recipes?  I’ve got you covered …

Basic white bread recipe

Asparagus and sun dried tomato bread

Blueberry and lemon twisty bread with cream cheese frosting

Kombucha bread

Cheese and tomato tear and share pizza bread

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