Bacon & Feta Bread

I made a bacon and blue cheese bread recently that was alright but I wasn't as impressed with it as I wanted to be.  So I decided to explore more of this bacon and cheese bread concept.  The first time I made it I used regular bacon and I felt it got a bit lost in the bread.  The thick cut definitely held its own in the second loaf.  This original recipe was for a spinach and feta bread but I don't have any spinach on hand today so went for bacon instead.  Maybe not the healthiest swap but hey, bacon makes everything better!  It is like Paula Deen adds a stick of butter to everything, well I add bacon (or bacon grease) to everything!  Plus, feta is one of my favorite cheeses so I really liked the idea of using it.  Out of every bread I've ever made the ones that require a sponge the night before have the best, most amazing flavor to it so that alone drew me into this recipe.  I would actually really like to try it with spinach the next time I have spinach on hand.  This recipe was adapted from Cooking Bread.  I really, really enjoyed this bread.  So did my husband.  He ate it when he got home from work with a bit of butter, then made himself a left over burger and used it as the bun, then we made bacon, egg & cheese sandwiches on it toasted the next morning for breakfast. I was really pleased with this bread and it was pretty simple to make, even though you have to start the day before.  We will definitely be having this one again.   

Sponge:

3/4 cup bread flour

1/2 cup lukewarm water

1/4 teaspoon instant yeast

Dough:

1 cup chopped bacon (thick cut)

1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
1 lukewarm water
1/4 c. bacon grease
3 1/4 cup bread flour
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Bacon, Egg & Cheese Sandwich the next morning.

The night before you want to make this bread, combine the sponge ingredients together and mix well until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit for 12 -16 hours. Cook your bacon and crumble it and set aside.  The next day in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook add the water, yeast and sugar and allow to sit for about 10 minutes until foamy.  Add in the sponge, the remaining flour (1 cup at a time), salt , bacon grease and Italian seasoning and mix on low speed until a dough ball forms and then turn to medium and allow to knead for another minute or two until the dough is no longer sticking to the sides.  Add a bit more flour if you need to 1 tbsp. at a time.  Pour out onto a floured surface and add the crumbled bacon and feta and start to knead the dough.  As you knead it the cheese and bacon will distribute throughout.  Add more flour if necessary to make dough nice and elastic without being too sticky.  Knead roughly 5 minutes.  Place in a greased bowl and cover and allow to rise for about 2 hours, until doubled in size.  Punch down and all to rise another 1 hour.  Pour onto floured surface and add flour to the top as you shape into a loaf.  You will want to place your loaf on parchment paper at this time to easily get it in and out of the oven.  You can free form a loaf shape, use a loaf pan or leave it in a circular (peasant loaf) type of shape, whatever you prefer.  Cover loosely and allow to rise another 30 minutes.  Meanwhile preheat your oven to 450 degrees with a baking stone in the oven.  Use a knife and score the top of the bread.  Then right before placing in oven, lightly mist the top of the bread with water.  Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown.  Allow to cool slightly.  (Great leftover the next day too!)

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