Buckwheat Cotija Bread

After putting on three pounds in five days on vacation, I went on an over-compensating diet.  The problem with that is you get hungry.  As a way to fill me up while still staying relatively light, I decided to make a cheese bread and simply not eat too much of it.  Sprouts finally had buckwheat flour back in stock, so I added it to the dough.

This is not a gluten-free recipe.  There's more white flour than buckwheat in it.  It is lower in gluten than an all-wheat loaf would be, and I probably should have baked it in a loaf pan rather than free-standing because of that.  It kind of spread out instead of rising.

I'm listing the four-serving loaf I made.  To use a package of yeast, double the recipe.  That will make enough for a regular loaf pan, should you wish to make a sliceable loaf.

1/2 C milk
1 Tb butter, plus more for brushing
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp yeast
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C buckwheat flour
about 1 C all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp cracked pepper
2 oz cotija cheese, crumbled
1 Tb butter, melted, for brushing

1.  Warm milk, butter, and sugar to 100º F.  Stir in yeast and let sit until foamy, about 5 min.

2.  In stand mixer with the paddle, stir together buckwheat flour, pepper, and salt.  Add milk mixture and beat into a smooth batter.  Add 1/2 C a.p. flour and the crumbled cheese and beat into a soft dough.

3.  Turn out dough onto a well-floured board (up to 1/2 C of a.p.) and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.  Place in a lightly oiled bowl and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

4.  Punch down dough and turn out onto a board.  Let rest 10 minutes, then shape as desired.  Allow to rise again in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes.  Brush with melted butter.  Bake at 375º for about 20 minutes, until cheese bits are visibly toasted and loaf sounds slightly hollow when tapped.

5.  Turn out bread (or remove from baking sheet) to a wire rack for cooling.  Serve warm to room temperature.

Difficulty rating :)