This simple asiago bread is ready in just a few hours! Easy asiago cheese bread baked in a Dutch Oven for a crispy crust and chewy interior.
In a hurry? Click here to jump straight to the recipe!
STEP ASIDE, plain ol’ easy crusty bread. There’s a new game in town.
Its name is “more bread.”
And it’s covered in asiago cheese.
(You’re welcome).
(but also jk easy crusty bread you know I can’t live without you).
(but ALSO also, this asiago cheese bread is REALLY, REALLY GOOD).
I’ve been testing variations on my classic weeknight bread for a few months now, and this asiago bread recipe almost IMMEDIATELY shot up to the top of the “favorites” list.
If you’ve made my Dutch Oven bread before, you’ll recognize the technique, but we’re playing up the flavor here by adding a dash of fresh ground pepper and a boatload (<— actual measurement. sort of) of asiago cheese.
This bread packs a punch (grilled cheese sandwiches with this cheese bread? They are NEXT. LEVEL) but is still ready in just over two hours. (No waiting for anything to rise overnight, and no excessive kneading necessary, because I have zero patience for any of that)
Here’s a quick asiago bread baking timeline for you:
- Mix the dough – 15 mins.
- Let it rise – 1 hour
- Shape the loaf – 5 mins.
- Rise again – 30 mins.
- Bake – 40-50 mins.
- Attempt to let the bread cool before slathering it with butter and shoving it into your facehole – 20 minutes recommended, .00003 seconds actual
This is a slacker (wetter) dough than you might be used to, but that’s what makes it so light and chewy! As with any recipe, though, don’t be afraid to trust your instincts – sometimes you need to adjust the amount of flour or a rise time to compensate for different variables in your kitchen. These photos should give you a general idea of what you’re looking for (and there’s also a helpful technique video here!)
Ahhhhh, bread.
This asiago bread is pretty forgiving, so don’t be afraid to mix it up and try some other flavors! I love adding herbs, roasted garlic, olives, or sun-dried tomatoes to the mix. And while I love using my Dutch Oven for this (hip hooray for a nice crispy crust!) you could also totally shape this bread into baguettes or bread bowls. (Side note: an asiago bread bowl? YES, PLEASE).
Description
This simple asiago cheese bread is ready in just a few hours! No-knead asiago bread loaf baked in a Dutch Oven for a crispy crust and chewy interior.
Ingredients
- 2.25 tsp. active dry yeast
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1.25 cups warm water (about 100 degrees F)
- 1.5 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
- 1 cup shredded Asiago cheese, divided (you’ll save some for topping the bread)
- 2.5 cups All-Purpose Flour, plus extra for dusting
Instructions
MIX THE DOUGH & FIRST RISE (1 HOUR):
- Combine yeast, sugar, and warm water in a large mixing bowl.
- Let the yeast proof for about 5 minutes, until the mixture looks nice and foamy.
- Add kosher salt and pepper to bowl.
- Add 3/4 cup of the asiago cheese to the bowl – save the extra 1/4 cup of cheese for topping the bread later!
- Add flour to bowl a bit at a time and stir gently with your hand or a sturdy spatula until all flour is incorporated and dough has come together and pulled away from the sides of the bowl. The dough won’t be completely smooth and may even look slightly shaggy – that’s ok!
- Lightly flour all sides of your dough (don’t mix the flour in – it’s just to keep the dough from sticking!) and turn it over inside the mixing bowl to coat with flour on all sides. Cover with a tea towel and let rise on the counter for about 1 hour, until dough has doubled in size.
SHAPE THE DOUGH & FINAL RISE (30 MIN):
- When dough has doubled in size, lightly flour a large cutting board.
- Tip the dough out of the bowl and onto the cutting board. DON’T PUNCH THE DOUGH DOWN – you want to keep all those nice air bubbles intact so you have an airy, delicious loaf of bread. (Tip: If the dough is sticking to the bowl a little bit, just wet your hand with a bit of water and gently separate the dough from the bowl to get it all out).
- Sprinkle a bit of flour across the top of the dough, then begin shaping it into a round loaf. I like to pull each corner of the dough in towards the center (like I’m folding an envelope) a few times, then flip the dough over and tap it into a nice round loaf. (Click here for a video tutorial on this technique!)
- Flour a proofing basket or a small mixing bowl and place your loaf into it seam-side down. Cover with a tea towel and let rise another 30 minutes or so, until not quite doubled in size.
HEAT THE OVEN:
- While bread does its final rise, place an empty dutch oven (with the lid on) in your oven and heat to 460 degrees F.
BAKE!
- When the oven is hot, you’re ready to go! Use oven mitts to pull the dutch oven out and remove the lid.
- Tip your bread dough gently out of the proofing basket back onto your floured cutting board. The seam side should face up this time – that’s what gives it a nice crackly look on top! If you’d like, you can tip the bread onto a piece of parchment paper to help you lift it in and out of the pot easily.
- Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of asiago cheese over the top of the bread.
- VERY CAREFULLY (without burning yourself!) lift the bread loaf and place it – seam side UP, this time – into the hot dutch oven.
- Put your oven mitts back on, put the dutch oven lid back on the pot, and slide the whole thing back into the centermost rack of your hot oven.
- Cook bread for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove the lid from your dutch oven. The bread should be crusty and very lightly browned.
- Continue cooking the bread, uncovered, for 10-20 minutes more until the bread has deepened in color and you have a beautiful brown crust.
- When bread is done, use oven mitts to pull the pot out of your oven.
- Use a long spatula to lift the bread out of the dutch oven and onto a cooling rack.
- Let cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting into it.
- Slice, slather with butter, and enjoy!
Notes
I have two Le Creuset Dutch Ovens (from two different decades) each with the plastic knob, and I have not personally had a problem at this 460 degree F temperature (although some people have reported their plastic knobs melting at high temperatures). If you’re worried about the knob on your Le Creuset melting, you can replace it with one of their metal ones for relatively cheap! As always, please check the care instructions on your equipment and use your own best judgment.
You may not need all of the flour here, or you may need a little more. This is a fairly slack (wet) bread dough, and you may also need to adjust the amount of flour based on your measuring technique, the humidity in your kitchen, or a variety of other factors. Trust your instincts and don’t be afraid to adjust as you go!
You can use pretty much any size of Dutch oven (or French oven, as Le Creuset calls them) for this bread – anything in the neighborhood of a 5- or 6-quart size will work.
If your kitchen is cold, you may need to extend the rising/proofing time by a few minutes.
This dough isn’t as smooth as you might be used to with my Easy Crusty French Bread because of the cheese mixed in, so don’t worry if it feels a tiny bit different!
Use honey in place of sugar if you prefer.
Adjust the amount of asiago cheese or black pepper depending on your preferences!
This is a pretty forgiving bread recipe and tastes great with other mix-in additions as well: sun-dried tomatoes, olives, rosemary, roasted garlic, chopped herbs, etc.
Mix this dough by hand or use a stand mixer – it tastes good either way!
Forgot to mention that I’ve made this once before and had the same ‘problem.’ It baked up wonderfully and was delicious, but just didn’t seem like the right consistency…? Thanks!
The dough is very very soft and doesn’t come to a ball…?? I added correct amount of flour and used extra to mix a bit more before proofing, What am I doing wrong? Measurements are right on…,
Hi Bec! It’s hard to say without being in the kitchen with you, but I would guess that it just needs a bit more flour! When we measure flour in cups, it’s much less accurate than measuring by weight, so you may occasionally have to add more or less depending on how heavily you measure your cups of flour. You can certainly add more flour if you like a stiffer dough – don’t be afraid to go with your gut and add more or less until the dough looks right to you.
This IS a very slack (wet) dough, so it’s not as stiff or thick as a lot of people are used to. You’ll also notice that as the dough proofs/rises, it will stay together more easily and get “stretchier” rather than “stickier,” and when you fold into your loaf you’ll notice it stiffen up quite a bit as well! If your dough still feels loose, I recommend giving it a few extra folds before proofing to help the dough build up some extra strength. I hope that helps!
Hi! I made this a few weeks ago (along with some Herb de Provance thrown in) and it was delicious!!
I want to take it to my work meeting in the am. Can you make this dough one day and bake it the next morning or would that totally mess up the rise?
★★★★★
I’m so glad you liked it, Lauren – LOVE the herbs de provence addition!
You can definitely make the dough a day in advance if you like. I’d recommend letting it do its first rise as instructed, then folding it over on itself a few times, covering it, and letting it do an extra rise in the fridge overnight. Let it come to room temperature on the counter the next morning (this can take a couple of hours depending on how warm your kitchen is) and then shape and bake as directed. You may also want to reduce the amount of yeast in the dough by 1/2 teaspoon or so since it will have so much extra rise time.
Alternatively, you can make and bake the bread all in one day – just cover the fully cooked loaf with a tea towel overnight and pop it back in the oven (you can put the baked loaf straight onto the rack) for a few minutes the next morning to crisp it back up! I hope that helps!
Thank you so much! The bake one day, re-heat the next was really what I was hoping for so this is great! Trying again now, as we’ve had crazy storms in Texas and my work meetings cancelled. I appreciate the response!
When do you add the pepper?
You can add it along with the salt when first mixing the dough!
Is there a reason you use flour instead of olive oil when rising for sticking?
Primarily to slim down the ingredients list (and just a personal flavor preference – too much oil in the bowl when the dough rises can affect the final taste/texture!) You can definitely use olive oil on the first rise if you like, though!
Can olives be added to this dough to make olive bread it would that ruin it? 🥰
You can definitely add olives! It’s also great with some roasted garlic folded in!
Made this yesterday and it was so easy and so good. Thanks so much for this!
★★★★★
Hi Jen, it is quite tasty!
I tried this bright in the Dutch oven it came out wunderful just like you said.
★★★★★
Hello Gabi – WONDERFUL!!!!
The recipe doesn’t say when to add the pepper…
Good catch – fixed now! Add the pepper along with the salt and flour when mixing the dough. Thanks!
Thank you so much for this..
I had tried this…and this is really tasty one..
i like this very much..
Looking for more posts like this!!!1