Cottage Cheese Brown Bread Twist

“I like reality that tastes like bread.” – Jean Anouilh

While most cheese hardly has a reputation as a diet food, cottage cheese has long been a staple in many health conscious diets. It has a higher gluten and a lower fat content than any of the other cheeses, however – due to its texture and milder flavour – less favoured by ultimate cheese-lovers. Available in several varieties, cottage cheese is versatile in the kitchen, can be consumed on its own or added to sweet or savoury recipes. Cottage cheese is healthy to eat as part of a balanced diet, and provides a source of several essential nutrients. This soft cheese contributes to the success of baked goods with a wonderful layer of flavour, and in addition, cottage creates extra softness of the texture in the finished bakes.

 “Good bread is the great need in poor homes, and oftentimes the best appreciated luxury in the homes of the very rich.” – ‘A Book for A Cook’

 

Ingredients
Bread dough: 125 ml water, 100 ml yoghurt, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp honey, 1,5 tsp salt, 450 gr strong brown bread flour, 25 g fresh yeast
Filling: 1 tub cottage cheese (about 6 tbsp), horseradish cream

 

Preparation
In large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water, let stand for 10 minutes or until frothy. Stir in other ingredients to make soft slightly sticky dough. Turn out onto lightly floured surface; knead for 10 minutes, adding enough some flour as necessary to make dough smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease all over. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise in warm draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch down dough; turn out onto lightly floured surface. Roll out into rectangle. Spread filling over dough starting with horseradish, leaving a 1/2-inch margin clear of filling along all sides, pressing into surface gently (interestingly the filling becomes almost invisible in the crumb of the finished product). Starting at long edge, tightly roll up; pinch seam to seal. Place seam side down; cut in half lengthwise. Keeping cut sides up, twist or “braid” the two halves together, working from the centre to each end; then pinch ends together to seal and place on prepared baking tray. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise until doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes. Bake in centre of 200°C oven for 35 minutes or until golden. Remove from tray and let cool on rack.

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”  – J.R.R. Tolkien