Cheddar Stuffed Egg Bread in a cast iron skillet

Cheddar stuffed egg bread

Written by on in Recipes

This moist, rich, and flavourful egg bread makes a wonderful weekday or weekend breakfast treat.  Stuffed with old Cheddar and baked in a skillet, the loaf develops a deep, toasty brown crust that perfectly complements each bite.

Makes 6 servings, 15 minutes prep time, 105 minutes rise time, 40 minutes bake time.

Years ago, my husband and I were renting an apartment that sat above the shared laundry facilities of the entire building.  Although it meant that throughout the day, we’d hear the odd rumble of the spin cycles starting and slowing down, it also meant that I could work out in the apartment at 5 in the morning without annoying anyone underneath.  Waking up that early consistently was not easy, but I found that baking bread in the mornings really helped motivate me:  if I didn’t get up early enough, the bread wouldn’t be ready for breakfast.  So I woke up, took the unbaked bread out of the fridge at 4:30 am, heated the oven, started baking it at around 4:45 am, worked out, took the bread out of the oven, let it cool while I showered and the fresh bread was ready for breakfast by the time I was dressed and ready to go.  Leftovers always made it to the office by 7:30 am with a dish of whipped butter. 

This Cheddar stuffed egg bread is my favourite recipe for this purpose.  It’s a less-decadent brioche, but the eggs and milk contribute to its incredibly moist crumb.  Keeping the dough cool makes it very easy to handle, and it doesn’t seem too bothered by being baked while still cold:  it comes out lofty and moist anyway. 

Unbaked Cheddar stuffed egg bread in a cast iron skillet

I normally use a round 9″ cast iron skillet and a small toaster oven, with the dough split into 6 sections, stuffed and clustered together. The bread ends up being really tall, but the top can get overcooked because it gets too close to the heating element. So if the bread gets browned too early, I cover the top with foil during the early part of the cooking. Another option is to use a square 9″ cast iron skillet, and splitting the dough into a 3×3 formation – so the bread doesn’t bake as tall.

Cheddar stuffed egg bread
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Cheddar stuffed egg bread

Recipe by Tiny Kitchen CravingsCourse: Sides, BreakfastDifficulty: Easy
Servings

5

servings
Prep time

15

minutes
Baking time

40

minutes
Rising time

1

hour 

45

minutes

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup milk, warmed to optimal temperature as per yeast manufacturer’s instructions (usually 120°F, 50°C)

  • 2 tsp. quick rise dry active yeast

  • 3 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting

  • 3 tbsp. white sugar

  • 1 tsp. salt

  • 3 eggs

  • 0.5 cup butter, softened

  • 1 tsp. cooking oil, for greasing the skillet

  • 2 cups shredded old Cheddar cheese, divided

Directions

  • In a small bowl, sprinkle yeast into milk and let stand for several minutes until foam appears at the surface of the milk. Foam indicates that the yeast is alive and working.
  • In the large bowl of a stand mixer, mix flour, sugar and salt together. Add the eggs and milk.
  • Fit a dough hook in the stand mixer and knead for 3 minutes on medium speed until dough is elastic.
  • Reduce speed to low and incorporate butter slowly, chunks at a time. Dough will look stringy and very wet.
  • Let dough rise at room temperature for 30 minutes, then cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  • Use cooking oil to grease a 9″ cast iron skillet (either round or square skillet are fine).
  • Flour work surface and divide dough into 6 or 9 pieces (if a round skillet is being used, divide dough into 6 pieces. If a square skillet is being used, divide into 9 pieces).
  • Divide 1 1/2 cups of cheese into piles to match the number of dough pieces.
  • Roll 1 piece of dough into a ball. Flatten the dough ball into a disk and place a pile of cheese into the centre.
  • Seal one disk by bringing the edges into the centre, enclosing the cheddar cheese. Place filled ball, seal side down, in the skillet, considering final arrangement.
  • Repeat with remaining disks. For the round skillet, surround 1 filled ball with 5 filled balls. For the square skillet, create 3 rows of 3. Balls will expand as they cook, so they do not need to be close together.
  • Cover with an oiled plastic wrap or damp cloth. You can refrigerate this unbaked bread overnight at this point, so it’s ready to bake the next day.
  • Preheat oven to 375°F while unbaked bread rises in the skillet. If it was refrigerated, allow to warm up at room temperature. When the oven is ready, remove the cover from unbaked bread and brush the top of the bread with water.
  • Bake for 20 minutes. If the top is browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil. Add remaining .5 cup cheddar cheese and continue to bake uncovered for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until crust is deep brown.
  • Cool bread for 10 minutes in the skillet before moving it to a cooling rank. Serve warm.