This recipe is killer! I love starting out a new cookbook with a bang. America’s Test Kitchen’s Quick Cheese Bread recipe does just that! This recipe alone makes the book worth it. I never need to cook another recipe from this book and I will be content.

This loaf works for any meal – breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack. It is perfection straight out of the oven. The cheesy bread does not require any additions – no butter, spread, or olive oil. But then again, there are no rules. I’m certain some onion jam spread on a slice tastes divine!

Quick Cheese Bread is the very first recipe in Bread Illustrated and it is one of the easiest. Unlike many of the other recipes, it does not require yeast or kneading. This allows you to build a little bread baking confidence from the start.

The quick part of the name refers to the prep time. Since yeast is not used, simply stir together the ingredients and bake. By the time your oven is preheated, your loaf is ready to bake.

The not so quick part of the recipe is the 3 HOURS of cooling time. Ugh, it is so hard to wait 3 hours after the loaf comes out of the oven. BUT the extensive cooling time is necessary. The time allows the loaf to set minimizing crumbling. If you cannot wait to taste the bread, the crumbles do still taste yummy 🙂

Ready for the oven

Out of the oven… waiting 3 hours

Cook the Cookbook

This post is a part of the Cook the Cookbook series for Bread Illustrated, an America’s Test Kitchen cookbook. If you have always wanted to bake bread at home, this book walks through everything you need to know!