My 72th experiment: Oat bran parmigiano reggiano bread

Hubby loves cheese. I want him to have some comfort when he comes home from a day of strange weather and hard work. So I make him a cheese loaf. This loaf is made with fresh parigiano reggiano. Normally, it sells at $13.99 a pound. I happen to find it on sale at $0.99 in the market. Quite unbelievable!

Recipe: Oat bran parmigiano reggiano bread (1 medium round loaf)

Ingredients:
- 1 cup KAF all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup oat bran
- 1+1/2 tp active dry yeast
- 1 tp brown sugar
- 3/4 tp salt
- 1 egg
- 2 oz parmigiano cheese, shredded
- 1/3 cup warm water

Procedure:
1. Proof yeast in 2 TB warm water for about 10 minutes.
2. Mix flour, oat bran, brown sugar, salt in a medium bowl.
3. Add proofed yeast, egg and half the water into the dry ingredients. Knead to form a dough. Add water incrementally.
4. Allow dough to rise until volume doubles. Punch down. Add in cheese. Work on the dough. Allow to rise again. Punch dough down again.
5. Place dough on parchment paper and allow to rise one last time.
6. Preheat oven to 375F. Bake at 375 uncovered for about 20 minutes. When the top of the loaf is lightly golden, brush top with egg white. Then cover with foil, and resume baking at 350F until knife stuck into bread comes out clean.

Results:

5:09pm, proofed yeast, flour mixture and shredded cheese:

5:17pm, 2 oz of shredded fresh parmigiano reggiano:

5:17pm, initial mixture of all the ingredients (water and egg included) except egg:

5:23pm, final dough, sticky:

5:24pm, dough allowed to rest:

5:41pm, dough rested 17 minutes next to hot stove:

5:42pm, texture of dough after rest:

5:43pm, cheese added:

5:45pm, dough after cheese is added:

6:04pm, dough rested for 19 minutes on warm stove top:

6:14pm, dough rested 29 minutes on warm stove top:

6:14pm, dough punched down:

6:20pm, dough allowed to rise again on parchment paper:

6:35pm, dough risen 15 minutes on warm stove top:

6:40pm, dough risen 20 minutes on warm stove top:

6:40pm, baking started at 375F:

6:56pm, loaf baked 16 minutes uncovered:

6:57pm, egg white brushed on top of loaf:

6:57pm, baking resumed at 350F, loaf covered with foil:

7:17pm, loaf baked 26 minutes in total:

7:18pm, internal temperature of loaf 180F:

7:18pm, thermometer coming out clean:

7:20pm, loaf's top:

7:20pm, loaf's bottom:

7:21pm, loaf's height:

7:22pm, loaf being sliced right off the oven (because hubby loves eating hot bread!):

7:22pm, crumb of the loaf when sliced hot:

7:32pm, bottom crust of the loaf, crunchy and thick:

7:32pm, a bite:

8:46pm, to store on counter top, place cut side down:

Next day, 7:20am, sliced when cooled:

When fresh out of the oven, this loaf makes a wonderfully tasty dinner along with the two dishes:

Observations:
1. Because of the egg, I do not add any extra fat to the dough. It tastes rich enough.
2. The oat bran gives the bread a nice something to bite on without bringing in too much flavor of its own. It makes the loaf dense, but nice.
3. This bread smells so good, every time I walk pass the loaf on the counter, I can smell cheese!

Hubby really likes this loaf, along with the pork and the vegetables that we have for dinner. This is a memorable meal for us, and a nice treat for hubby after his day of hard labor.