Julie Clark
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Asiago Bread
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Asiago Bread has a cheese crusted golden crust with a fluffy, soft inside. It’s a homemade bread loaded with Asiago cheese and a hint of black pepper. It’s excellent served alongside our sausage tortellini soup or Italian skillet chicken.
The first time I tried Asiago Cheese Bread was the first time I ever stepped inside a Panera Bread, over 25 years ago. I was newly married and had a coupon for a free loaf of bread. And I’m all about free warm bread.
I stepped inside the restaurant and gawked at all of the egg soufflés, kitchen sink cookies and huge cinnamon rolls. Then my eyes landed on a loaf of cheese crusted Asiago Bread. I immediately knew what bread would be coming home with me that day. I served it with lasagna (Matt’s favorite), and fell in love.
A few years later I happened across a recipe for Asiago Cheese Bread. This savory bread recipe is a perfect Panera copycat recipe for that slightly tangy bread with a hint of pepper. I promise you’ll love it as much as we have over the years.
Ingredients for Asiago Bread
- Bread flour. Using a high quality bread flour such as King Arthur yields a crusty loaf of bread.
- Instant Yeast. Red Star Yeast is my choice for instant yeast.
- Salt, sugar and black pepper. All three will work together to season the bread.
- Milk & butter. Both ingredients add moisture and tenderness to this asiago bread recipe.
- Asiago. Last but not least, the ingredient that makes this a great bread. Aged asiago is a mild cow’s milk cheese that is more moist than Parmesan cheese or Romano. Buy a chunk of fresh Asiago, generally in the from of a triangle or wedge, and shred it at home.
Step by Step: How to Make Asiago Bread
Mix the dry ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the 1 ½ cups of flour, yeast, sugar, salt and pepper. Set aside.
Heat the milk and butter. Put the milk and in a microwave safe bowl. Heat the milk to 120-130ºF so that the butter starts melting. Make sure the temperature is just right so that it is warm enough to activate the yeast, but not kill it.
Combine the two. Stir the milk mixture into the flour mixture and mix on low speed using the paddle attachment until smooth. Add in 1 ¼ cups shredded cheese and mix just until combined.
Knead the dough. Gradually add in the remaining 1 ¾ cups flour to make a soft dough. Knead in the stand mixer with the dough hook for 5 minutes. Don’t add too much flour. It should still be a sticky dough, slightly sticking to the bottom of the bowl as it kneads.
First rise. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Add the bread dough to the bowl, then turn the dough over so the cooking spray coats both sides of the dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean tea towel and let the dough rise in a warm place until it is nearly double (30-45 minutes).
Shape and second rise. After the dough is doubled, punch it down and use a serrated knife or dough cutter to divide the dough in two. Shape each piece of dough into a loaf. Place the loaves on a baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper. Cover the loaves with plastic wrap or a clean towel and allow them to rise again for 20-30 minutes. The loaves may not rise much, but that’s ok. They’ll spring up in the oven.
Bake. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Whisk together the egg and water in a small bowl. Brush the tops of the loaves with the egg wash, then sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake for 30-35 minutes until lightly golden brown. The internal temperature of the asiago loaf should be 190ºF.
One Dough, Three Shapes
As if bread with cheese inside isn’t a beautiful enough, there are three options for shaping this asiago bread dough:
- Asiago Bread Loaves. That’s the method we describe in the recipe card below. It makes two small loaves of asiago bread.
- Asiago Rolls. Divide the dough into 12 dough balls of equal size. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray, place the dough balls in the prepared pan in 4 rows of 3 dough balls. Cover the pan and allow the rolls to rise until they are almost double. Brush the top of the rolls with the egg wash, the sprinkle asiago cheese on the rolls. Bake the rolls for 22-24 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown on top.
- Asiago Bread Bowls. Divide the dough into 4 large dough balls. Allow the dough to rise about 20 more minutes. Brush the top of the large dough balls with the egg wash and sprinkle with asiago. Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until the top of the bread bowls are golden brown. Allow the bread bowls to cool on a wire rack. Slice off the top of the bread bowl, then use your fingers to pull out the fluffy interior, leaving at least ¾ inch bread on the bowl walls. Fill up the asiago bread bowls with soup. Broccoli Cheddar Soup or beef stew is especially delicious in asiago bread bowls.
Asiago Bread
Asiago Bread has a cheese crusted golden crust with a fluffy, soft inside. It's a homemade bread loaded with Asiago cheese and a hint of black pepper.
Servings 20
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Rise Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 55 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 1/4 cups bread flour* 424 grams, divided
- 1 package instant yeast** 2 ¼ teaspoons
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 8 grams
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar 5 grams
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/4 cups 2% milk 10 ounces
- 2 tablespoons salted butter 30 grams
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Asiago cheese divided, 125 grams
Egg wash:
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon warm water
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together 1 ½ cups flour, yeast, sugar, salt and pepper. Set aside. 3 ¼ cups bread flour*, 1 package instant yeast**, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Put the milk and in a microwave safe bowl. Heat the milk to 120-130ºF so that the butter starts melting. Make sure the temperature is just right so that it is warm enough to activate the yeast, but not kill it. Stir the milk mixture into the flour mixture and mix on low speed using the paddle attachment until smooth. Add in 1 ¼ cups shredded cheese and mix just until combined. 1 ¼ cups 2% milk, 2 tablespoons salted butter, 1 ½ cups shredded Asiago cheese
- Gradually add in the remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead in the stand mixer with the dough hook for 5 minutes. Don't add too much flour. It should still be a sticky dough, slightly sticking to the bottom of the bowl as it kneads.
- Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Add the bread dough to the bowl, then turn the dough over so the cooking spray coats both sides of the dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean tea towel and let the dough rise in a warm place until it is nearly double (30-45 minutes).
- After the dough is doubled, punch it down and use a serrated knife or dough cutter to divide the dough in two. Shape each piece of dough into a loaf. Place the loaves on a baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper. Cover the loaves with plastic wrap or a clean towel and allow them to rise again for 20-30 minutes. The loaves may not rise much, but that’s ok. They’ll spring up in the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Whisk together the egg and water in a small bowl. Brush the tops of the loaves with the egg wash, then sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. 1 large egg, 1 tablespoon warm water
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until lightly golden brown. The internal temperature of the loaf should be 190ºF.
- Allow the loaf to cool, then slice and serve. It’s also delicious served the next day!
Video
Notes
*All-purpose flour also works, but the bread flour yields more of a crusty bread loaf.
**Use active dry yeast if that’s what you have, but proof the yeast in the milk according to the temperature on the back of the packet of yeast.
***Knead bread dough by hand or use your bread machine on the dough setting.
This is also delicious with cheddar cheese or parmesan cheese.
Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.
The calories shown are based on the loaves each being cut into 10 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice of bread. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. **
Nutrition
Calories: 126kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 315mg | Potassium: 55mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 123IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 112mg | Iron: 0.3mg
Adapted from Food.com
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If you love this asiago
I always love any of your recipes that I have tried, thank you for sharing. I am wondering if I can use 3% milk in this recipe, as it is what we buy in our home.
I made this bread in a EVOO coated Cast Iron Skillet, and it DID NOT disappoint! This is a wonderful bread recipe.
Can I bake this bread in a loaf pan? If so, do you recommend any changes? Thanks!
Recipe ingredients say 31/4 cups of flour. Instructions use 31/4 cups in Step 1. Then Step 3 adds 13/4 cups of flour. Either the ingredients should say 5 cups of flour or the flour should be divided. Which?
I’m confused. The picture for the recipe shows rolls, the recipe is for bread, the directions say two loaves and reviews talk about rolls. Directions for rolls? For loaves, just shape or roll out and roll up?
With dry yeast, if your water is too cold, the yeast will not activate. Or, if they do wake up, they might release a substance that hinders the formation of gluten. Then again, if your water is too hot, you will kill the little buggers and they will be useless. Typically, hot water somewhere in the range of 105° and 115°F is ideal for proofing dry yeast. 95°F is often recommended for live yeast, but it may not be hot enough at 95°F for activating the dry yeast. Regardless of the type of yeast you use, if your water reaches… Read more »
This is hands down my favorite bread recipe. They are absolutely fantastic. I make them as rolls and they come out perfectly every time and everyone raves about them.
Just made this recipe for the bread and we had to try it even though it was not completely cool. OMG! The subtle taste of asiago is amazing.
Can’t wait to try the rolls.
One question though could this be make in loaf pans for an easier sandwich slice?
Made this tonight so very tasty will definitely make these buns again 😋
Absolutely loved this bread. Nice and light and great flavor. Even better than Panera’s asiago bread. Easy too! I am not much of a bread maker, but as far as bread goes, it was easy. will be making it again and again.
Great recipe family loved it with a little bit of garlic butter. But I thought olive oil worked better than cooking spray
You never let us down with your recipes, and this is no exception! The rolls are awesome in texture and flavor. I plan to try the soup bowls next! Thanks for all your wonderful recipes!
Have you ever used a milk alternative?