A beautifully soft, fluffy texture with perfect little air pockets in the bread. Then, top amazingly delicious yeast bread with garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, Italian cheeses, and fresh oregano, and you have a stunningly delicious bread with great flavor and a beautiful shape that’s fairly easy to make. Use the servings slider to easily change the amounts in the recipe card.
¾cupshredded Italian-blend cheese or the cheese of your choice
½cupoil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
3 to 6clovesgarlicpeeled and minced
2tablespoonsfresh oreganofinely chopped
Instructions
Make the dough:
Combine all of the dough ingredients in a bowl (or the bucket of your bread machine), mix and knead (by hand, using a mixer, or in your bread machine set on the dough cycle). Make a smooth, soft dough. The dough should stick a bit to the bottom of the bowl.
Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl (or let rise in your bread machine), cover, and let it rise for 45 to 60 minutes, or until it's doubled in size.
While the dough is rising, thoroughly drain the tomatoes, patting them dry. Use kitchen shears to cut them into smaller pieces.
Gently deflate the dough, and roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a 22 x 8 ½ -inch rectangle. Spread with the cheese, tomatoes, garlic, and oregano.
Starting with one long edge, roll the dough into a log lengthwise. Pinch the edges to seal. Place the log seam-side down on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.
Using kitchen shears, start ½-inch from one end and cut the log lengthwise down the center about 1-inch deep, to within ½-inch of the other end.
Keeping the cut side up, form an "S" shape. Tuck both ends under the center of the "S" to form a figure 8. Pinch the ends together underneath the loaf to seal.
Cover with a cotton towel, and let rise in a warm place until double, 45 to 60 minutes.
While the loaf is rising, preheat the oven to 350° F.
Uncover the loaf, and bake it for 35 to 40 minutes, tenting it with foil after 15 to 20 minutes to prevent over-browning.
Remove the bread from the oven, and transfer it to a rack to cool.
Store, wrapped, at room temperature for a couple of days; freeze for longer storage.