Bread · Yeast Bread

Blue Cheese Walnut Rye Bread

Gail

Blue Cheese gives a little bite and creamy richness that contrasts with the crunch of the walnuts and the earthy flavor of rye in this delectable Blue Cheese Walnut Rye Bread.

A loaf of blue cheese walnut bread sits on a pale brown wooden board. The bread is shaped like two and a half large cinnamon rolls arranged in a circle. The golden brown knots pop up from the top of the bread. The bread has been sliced and two slices lay in the open space where the fourth bun would have been. The inside of the bread is streaked with darker rye and blue cheese.

This has been a crazy year for everyone. One of the things I’ve been missing is volunteering in the Seton Sewing Room. It’s great fun working together and the things we make bring comfort to patients while they’re in the hospital.

I’ve been worried about the growing numbers of homeless people during this pandemic. Shelters have closed and so have many of the organizations that feed them. I normally carry protein bars in my car to help them out. Before the pandemic I also started carrying ziplock bags of dog food for those who had dogs.

At the beginning of the pandemic, there were few homeless folks out panhandling and I wasn’t willing to roll down my car windows for anyone. So I got out of the habit of stocking my car with protein bars and dog food.

A loaf of blue cheese walnut rye bread sits on a pale brown wooden board. The Bread has been sliced and two slices are propped up against the cut loaf. The slice in the foreground had three clear pockets of blue cheese and the slice is vertically streaked with lighter blue cheese and darker rye. The sliced section of the loaf faces the viewer and has two pockets of blue cheese along with striations of rye and lighter bread. Two of the rolled knots in the loaf are visible behind the slices.

Now the homeless are out again but the virus is also surging in our area. A friend of mine introduced me to Our Daily Bread. It’s a small group of families who bake bread and donate some other staples (like water and gatoraide) for the homeless.

Each week we bring our donations to Ted and Virginia’s house in central Austin. Ted takes them to a homeless camp and distributes them.

This is my first week baking for them so I’m making something savory and something sweet.

We’ll start with the savory. I had some incredible French blue cheese from Costco. This cheese is the most creamy blue cheese I’ve ever had. The problem is it molds within days of opening it so you have to eat it fast.

And, it’s big. It is from Costco. And, there’s only me. So I needed to use it up fast.

This is a photo of a cut loaf of blue cheese walnut bread. There are still two complete knots shaped like large cinnamon rolls at the back of the loaf. The third cinnamon roll shaped knot is cut in half on the left side of the loaf. Two slices of bread sit on the light brown wooden board in the open space of the cut bread.

I was watching the Great British Baking Show Master Class and Paul Hollywood showed how to make this Blue Cheese Walnut Rye Bread. It looked incredible and I already had the blue cheese and walnuts.

There were some discrepancies between the recipe I found on PBS and what he demonstrated online so I think I’ve rectified those. I’ve also “translated” the recipe into American measurements.

The result is a wonderfully flavorful bread that is delicious warm or cold.

Blue Cheese Walnut Rye Bread

This is a photo of a cut loaf of blue cheese walnut bread. There are still two complete knots shaped like large cinnamon rolls at the back of the loaf. The third cinnamon roll shaped knot is cut in half on the left side of the loaf. Two slices of bread sit on the light brown wooden board in the open space of the cut bread.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Additional Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 ½ cups + 2 tablespoons (450 g) bread flour
  • ¼ cup + 2½ tablespoons (50 g) rye flour
  • ½ tablespoon (10 g) salt
  • 1 tablespoon (8 g) yeast
  • 1 ½ cup water (room temperature)
  • 2 cups (200 g) coarsely chopped walnuts
  • 7 ounces (200g) Roquefort or other blue cheese

Egg wash

  • 1 egg

Instructions

  1. Put bread flour, rye flour, salt, yeast and water in the bowl of a stand mixer. Starting at the lowest setting, blend the ingredients together with a dough hook until combined. Increase the speed. Knead with the dough hook for 5 minutes. You will have a soft dough
  2. Add the chopped walnuts and mix until combined.
  3. Remove the dough hook and shape the dough into a ball. Cover
    with a damp towel and let rise for 90 minutes.
  4. Divide the dough into 4 portions. Flatten each portion into a rectangle about 8 inches long. Divide the cheese into 4 parts and crumble the cheese on top of each piece of dough.
  5. Fold the dough over to encase the cheese. Then roll each of the 4 pieces of dough into 2-foot-long ropes.
  6. Grab one end of the rope and turn it back towards the rest of the rope. Starting with the end you just turned back, continue turning the rope around itself on the table until you have a flat spiral (It will look like a cinnamon roll). Repeat with the outher three ropes. Place spirals into a greased 8” springform pan. Cover and let rise for an hour.
  7. Whisk egg and water together to make an egg wash. Brush over
    the top of the bread.
  8. Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 45 – 50 minutes.
  9. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 145Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 26mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 5g

Nutrition information is provided as a guide only. Please consult a dietician for specific dietary needs.

© Gail Dickinson
Category: Bread

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