Amanda from Madison, WI (2018 Week 2: Bread)

Baker

Amanda

Location

Madison, WI

Baking Challenge

Flatbread

Give your bread a name and tell us about your recipe.

Cheddar and Chive Focaccia: This might be one of my favorite things I have ever baked. The hardest part was deciding which cheese to use. I knew I wanted a very sharp cheese, like an aged cheddar, because the flavor of milder cheese does not often come through. The trade-off with aged cheeses is that they generally do not melt well. I went with a single year aged cheddar and I finely shredded what was to be folded into the dough, and thinly shaved the bits that dotted the top. It turned out to be the perfect choice! All it needed was a generous sprinkle of coarse salt and fresh chives for a nice visual pop to finish it off.

Would you describe yourself as a rogue baker, or do you strictly adhere to the recipe?

It depends on how familiar I am with the recipe. If it is something I have never done before I am much more likely to stick with what is on the page. However, I still sometimes go rogue in the planning stages — for this recipe I took the ingredient proportions from one recipe and used the method from another!

Tell us about how you added a Wisconsin twist to your bread creation.

I used fresh snipped chives from my garden and Hook’s 1 year aged cheddar.

How did you do?

Rocked it.