Chilli Herb Bread

It's frustrating when I have the urge to blog to keep my space brimming with recipes, yet I can't seem to make time to load my webpage even occasionally. That's how hectic the past couple of weeks have been. Crazy and way too swift to fuel this space aptly. I hope I'll be back to blogging routine soon, but till then I leave you with a nice Chilli herb bread for a lovely Sunday morning.

I have no talks for you today, but just the right recipe for this bread and some quick snaps clicked to share with you. This delicious herb bread with a dash of cheddar cheese is great served with flavoured butter and accompanies well with soups and dips. Even better toasted.

Chilli Herb Bread

1 tbsp. yeast
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups bread flour
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. chopped red chilli / chilli flakes
1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs
2 tbps. grated cheddar cheese* (optional)
Salt to taste

Dissolve yeast in half a cup of warm water and sugar and set aside for five minutes. The mixture will become frothy.

Stir in olive oil, salt, chilli flakes, cheese, dried Italian herbs and flour into the yeast mixture. Gradually mix in the next half cup of water. Using a wooden spoon, stir to form the dough. Bring the dough together and knead for roughly 10 minutes. If the dough is loose and sticky, add in more flour and knead further. The dough should become elastic. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to cover the surface of the dough with oil. Cover with a damp dish towel and let it rise for an hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.

Once the dough has doubled, punch it down to release all the air. Shape into an oval shaped loaf or a free form as you prefer. Place the loaf on a greased baking tray and let it rise until it's doubled in size again, about a 30 minutes.

Bake at 180 degrees C for 35 minutes. Remove and let cool on baking rack. Slice and serve with dollops of butter and cheesy dip to accompany.

*For a Vegan option, skip the grated cheese totally.