After months of lockdown and not being able to meet friends and family, things are slowly changing again. Yay! You still have to be very careful, of course, but when every one of your friends and family is fully vaccinated, you could theoretically plan the next party ;) For that glorious moment, I baked a delicious Party Bread with Oven Cheese today. Crunchy little bread balls are arranged around a big bubbly oven cheese, ready for you to dip the bread into the cheese. So good! So good I probably should not invite any guests and eat everything myself? Hmmm… ;P
Just kidding! Of course, this party bread is much better enjoyed with a larger crowd. You grab one of the bread balls, dip it into the melted bubbly cheese, and then you stuff the cheesy result into your face. Delicious! If you are quick enough (and quicker than your friends), you can do that theoretically 24 times – depending on the number of bread balls you shaped ;)
We have not yet had a party at home and it will probably still take a while until we are going to actually plan one again. That does not mean you can’t bake a party bread though ;) It’s time for another “Bake Together – The Baking Surprise” – my monthly baking (and cooking) session with Andrea from Zimtkeks & Apfeltarte – and this month we wanted to bake bread suitable for a party or bbq. Just in case things change in the near future… well and for you to be prepared in case you needed a party bread ;)
The dough I made for the bread is made with spelt bread instead of wheat flour – I prefer that kind of flour over regular a/p flour because my stomach does not like regular flour that much anymore ;) Well… you can use normal flour as well if you like – you probably have to adjust the amount of liquid added though. You could also use pizza dough here to make the bread balls – homemade or storebought… doesn’t matter. I am not really picky here tbh. When preparing a party, you normally have to do and organize a lot in a short time, so using something premade like pizza dough is actually a good time saver. Just saying ;)
Also… feel free to change toppings or add a filling to the bread balls if you like. Filling the bread balls with additional cheese might be too much though, but you could fill the bread with small pieces of salami or chorizo, for example. As toppings, you could use mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, corn, and much more. Pretty sure you can come up with something nice here ;)
Well… since we got some bread here and cheese – grab something and start dipping!
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
For the dough:
3.5 oz. (100g) milk (or oat milk).
6.3 oz. (180g) water, plus more if necessary
1/4 cup (60g) butter
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
0.25 oz. (7g) active dry yeast
17.6 oz. (500g) spelt flour (type 630)
1 large egg
For the dip/decoration:
1 large oven cheese (approx. 10 oz. / 300g)
1 large egg yolk
some milk (or oat milk)
4-5 small tomato slices
1-2 tsp. basil pesto
1-2 tsp seeds (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, etc.)
fresh thyme leaves
1-2 tsp. black sesame seeds
some granulated garlic/onion
chili flakes, flaky sea salt, pepper
Für den Teig:
100g Milch (oder Haferdrink)
180g Wasser, plus ggf. etwas mehr
60g Butter
1 TL Salz
1 TL Zucker
7g Trockenhefe
500g Dinkelmehl (Type 630)
1 Ei (L)
Für den Dip/Dekoration:
1 großer Ofenkäse (ca. 300g)
1 Eigelb (L)
etwas Milch (oder Haferdrink)
4-5 kleine Tomatenscheiben
1-2 TL Basilikum Pesto
1-2 TL Saaten (Sonnenblumenkerne, Kürbiskerne, Pinienkerne, etc.)
frische Thymianblätter
1-2 TL schwarzer Sesam
granulierter Knoblauch/Zwiebeln
Chiliflocken, Meersalzflocken, Pfeffer
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
2. Add the flour and egg to a large bowl, add the yeast mixture and knead for about 10 minutes to get a smooth dough – add more water if the dough seems too dry. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and let the dough rest for about 30 minutes.
3. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Remove the cheese from the wooden box it comes in (leave cheese in the refrigerator) and then place the box in the center of the baking sheet. Set aside.
4. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead again briefly. Divide into 24-26 pieces and shape each piece of dough into a ball. Place the dough balls (not too close together) around the wooden box. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for 30-45 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C). Mix the egg yolk with some milk (or oat milk) and brush the risen dough balls with it. Top/decorate the dough balls with tomato slices, pesto, seeds, and thyme leaves as desired. Mix the sesame seeds with some granulated garlic/onion, chili flakes, flaky sea salt, and pepper, and sprinkle on some of the dough balls as well. Press everything down lightly. Sprinkle a little more salt and pepper on everything, if desired. Return the cheese back into the wooden box, place the baking sheet in the center of the oven, add a heatproof bowl of water to the bottom of the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Take out, cut a cross into the top of the cheese, and fold the corners out. Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake for an additional 12-14 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and the bread has a nice golden color. Remove from oven and serve hot.
2. Mehl und Ei in eine große Rührschüssel geben, die Hefemischung dazugeben und dann für etwa 10 Minuten durchkneten lassen, bis ein glatter Teig entstanden ist. Sollte der Teig zu trocken wirken, noch etwas Wasser dazugeben. Die Schüssel mit einem feuchten Tuch abdecken und den Teig für etwa 30 Minuten ruhen lassen.
3. Ein Backblech mit Backpapier auslegen. Den Ofenkäse aus der Holzschachtel nehmen (Käse im Kühlschrank lassen) und diese Schachtel dann in die Mitte des Bachblechs setzen. Zur Seite stellen.
4. Den Teig auf eine leicht bemehlte Fläche setzen und noch einmal kurz durchkneten, dann in etwa 24-26 Portionen aufteilen und jede Teigportion zu einer Kugel formen. Die Teigkugeln (nicht zu eng zueinander) um die Holzschachtel setzen. Mit einem Küchentuch abdecken und noch einmal 30-45 Minuten gehen lassen.
5. Den Ofen auf 200°C (390°F) Ober-/Unterhitze aufheizen. Das Eigelb mit etwas Milch (oder Haferdrink) verrühren und die gegangenen Teigkugeln damit besteichen. Die Teigkugeln nach Belieben mit Tomatenscheiben, Pesto, Saaten und Thymianblättern. Sesam mit etwas granuliertem Knoblauch/Zwiebeln, Chiliflocken, Meersalzflocken und Pfeffer vermischen und dann ebenfalls auf einige der Teigkugeln streuen. Alles leicht festdrücken. Nach Belieben alles noch mit etwas Salz und Pfeffer bestreuen. Den Käse zurück in die Holzschachtel setzen, das Blech in die Mitte des Ofens schieben, eine hitzebeständige Schale mit Wasser in den Ofen stellen und dann für 10 Minuten backen. Das Partybrot herausholen, den Käse kreuzförmig einschneiden und dann die Ecken nach außen klappen. Blech zurück in den Ofen schieben und für weitere 12-14 Minuten backen – der Käse soll schön blubbern und das Brot sollte gut Farbe bekommen haben. Aus dem Ofen holen und warm servieren.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Party Bread with Oven Cheese
- Prep Time: 00:25
- Cook Time: 00:24
- Total Time: 02:25
- Yield: 1 1x
- Category: Bread
- Cuisine: Germany
Description
For all fans of bread and cheese – Party Bread with Toppings and a bubbly Oven Cheese for dipping. So good!
Ingredients
For the dough:
3.5 oz. (100g) milk (or oat milk).
6.3 oz. (180g) water, plus more if necessary
1/4 cup (60g) butter
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
0.25 oz. (7g) active dry yeast
17.6 oz. (500g) spelt flour (type 630)
1 large egg
For the dip/decoration:
1 large oven cheese (approx. 10 oz. / 300g)
1 large egg yolk
some milk (or oat milk)
4–5 small tomato slices
1–2 tsp. basil pesto
1–2 tsp seeds (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, etc.)
fresh thyme leaves
1–2 tsp. black sesame seeds
some granulated garlic/onion
chili flakes, flaky sea salt, pepper
Instructions
1. Add the milk (or oat milk), water, butter, salt, and sugar to a bowl and heat up in the microwave until the butter has melted. Let cool down to body temperature, then add the yeast and mix in. Set aside and let rest for about 10 minutes.
2. Add the flour and egg to a large bowl, add the yeast mixture and knead for about 10 minutes to get a smooth dough – add more water if the dough seems too dry. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and let the dough rest for about 30 minutes.
3. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Remove the cheese from the wooden box it comes in (leave cheese in the refrigerator) and then place the box in the center of the baking sheet. Set aside.
4. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead again briefly. Divide into 24-26 pieces and shape each piece of dough into a ball. Place the dough balls (not too close together) around the wooden box. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for 30-45 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C). Mix the egg yolk with some milk (or oat milk) and brush the risen dough balls with it. Top/decorate the dough balls with tomato slices, pesto, seeds, and thyme leaves as desired. Mix the sesame seeds with some granulated garlic/onion, chili flakes, flaky sea salt, and pepper, and sprinkle on some of the dough balls as well. Press everything down lightly. Sprinkle a little more salt and pepper on everything, if desired. Return the cheese back into the wooden box, place the baking sheet in the center of the oven, add a heatproof bowl of water to the bottom of the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Take out, cut a cross into the top of the cheese, and fold the corners out. Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake for an additional 12-14 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and the bread has a nice golden color. Remove from oven and serve hot.
Notes
Enjoy baking!
I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
