we could all use a little more comfort in our lives right now, even in the blistering heat of summer. for me, no other food combination spells out comfort more than cheese and carbs.

this loaf deliciously combines the best of both worlds. the savory creaminess from the melted cheese comes in sporadic pockets, with the subtle spiciness from the black pepper running throughout.

this cheese and black pepper combo has easily become one of my favorites.

notes

as always, please adjust the formula based on the hydration of your starter, and adjust the timing of the bulk rise based on the temperature of your kitchen. this recipe was developed during the summer, in a 80 degree kitchen. please add an hour during the shoulder months, and two hours in winter months.

i used mccormick’s ground black pepper to develop this recipe, which i found to be fairly weak in flavor. i liked the flavor better at 2.5%, which for a 400 g flour loaf was 10 g of black pepper. i did not try this with freshly cracked black pepper. if you do bake this with freshly cracked black pepper which usually carries a stronger flavor, please be sure to reduce the amount.

cubing a block of cheese yourself is the secret to melty cheese pockets! shredded cheese will not yield the same effect. i like to use sharp, white cheddar cheese, but i bet a similar type of cheese would work just as well.

parchment paper is important here because the cheese will melt and get stuck to your dutch oven! that being said, the parchment paper might also get stuck to the loaf due to melted cheese. peel and scrape it off before enjoying.

baker’s percentage & basic timetable

the percentages for water and flour only account for the final dough build, and do not include the levain formula build.

i wish i could say that perusing the olive and cheese selection at the park slope food coop is what inspired me to make this loaf, but alas. i must confess i made this loaf because i once loved a man who really, really loved olives.

he didn’t live in new york (or even in this country), and for some reason i got it in my head that if only he tried a piece of this bread, he would consider moving brooklyn. yes, the loaf was truly that tasty.

a year has gone and passed since then. my hypothesis was never tested, as our relationship was too short-lived for him to try this bread.

luckily, this recipe lives on.

salty, tangy, always leaving you wanting more. feed this to all the lovers and olive lovers in your life. please do let me know if it has the intended effect 😉

notes

be sure to buy pre-pitted olives! i most certainly, definitely am not including this because i learned this the hard way heh (but seriously, de-pitting them was a n00b lesson you will now not have to repeat).

for lamination videos, check out my guava cream cheese post or @fullproofbaking.

my regular batch of caveats: please be wary of starter hydration and seasonal timing adjustments (for me it means about +1 hr in the summer, and about -1 hr in the winter).

baker’s percentage & basic timetable

the percentages for water and flour only account for the final dough build, and do not include the levain formula build.

i’ve been making a lot of focaccia recently. it seems like the entire world is stress baking along with me as a result of coronavirus.

my covid-19 experience thus far has been rocky: i’ve been away from my home and home kitchen this past month as part of a residency program in a different part of brooklyn. i definitely wasn’t expecting to face a once-in-a-lifetime, once-in-a-century global pandemic in not-my-home with not-my-family in the now-global-epicenter, but hey, here we are, and this too, shall pass.

as a result of the unfamiliarity, i’ve been revisiting old recipes that bring me comfort, like this sourdough discard focaccia. i’ve made this specific flavor combination four times this past week and plan to make it many more times this week to pull me through what i can only describe as shared global grief and trauma. i’ve loaded this focaccia with so many of my favorite things: heavy with ricotta, so much so that it tastes quite like a white pizza, generously topped with caramelized onions.

it feels almost luxurious to be able to eat this during a time of crisis, especially when i consider the additional luxury i have to be able to work from home. i keep telling myself that it’s ok to enjoy and appreciate and be grateful for the tiny beautiful things.

so bake this and share it with your loved ones. feed this to those you live with. tell them they mean something to you. don’t hold back on the cheese. don’t hold back on the drizzle. don’t hold anything back at all.

wishing all of you and your communities lots of love, connection, safety, health — and a lot, a lot of bread.

notes

the dough used in this recipe is the exact same formula as my sourdough discard focaccia, but i’ve simplified it a bit. my original recipe uses einkorn flour, but i’ve found i can really use any non-white flour in its stead (though einkorn flour still produces my favorite texture).

i’ve also just defaulted the hydration to 80% and a 12 hour bulk time, given that i’ve found higher hydration and a long bulk time yield a jigglier dough and better structured crumb.

i often double this recipe and make two batches at once. increase the bake time slightly if you’re going to be baking multiple pans or a larger focaccia. the shape of the pan won’t matter too much, but the size does. i usually like to use a pan that is just slightly bigger than my stretched out focaccia.

peanut butter and jelly. apples and cheddar. chocolate milk shakes and fries. these are the three iconic sweet savory duos from my american childhood.

as i’ve had the opportunity to travel and try new foods in the past 10 years, i’ve discovered a variety of other iconic sweet savory duos: tahini and date spread in israel, matcha and red bean in asia, guava and cream cheese in latin america — the inspiration behind this lovely loaf.

guava is a small tropical fruit, with a light green waxy exterior and a soft, seeded, pink interior, with a texture similar to a soft pear. guava paste tastes kinda like strawberry jam with a hint of pear, and is usually sold in rectangular brick form. thankfully, this makes it way easier to cube.

the savory from the cream cheese beautifully counteracts the sweetness from the guava, all of which is encompassed in a soft, fluffy bread.

best enjoyed on its own as a dessert, snack, or breakfast. be prepared to audibly react to the deliciousness. don’t sleep on this pro-tip: makes for an amazing base for french toast after a couple of days.

notes

i use king arthur bread flour, trader joe’s all purpose, bob’s red mill rye, and farmer ground flour einkorn. i got guava paste from food bazaar, but it’s also available on amazon.

please adjust your levain and bulk times for when your kitchen is colder or warmer, about 1 hour more during the winter and 1 hour less during the summer.

i’ve included a video of the lamination technique, using @fullproofbaking’s lamination method.

baker’s percentage & basic timetable

the percentages for water and flour only account for the final dough build, and do not include the levain formula build.

*can sub einkorn for whole wheat

venturing into the unknown world of mix-ins and non-flour/water/salt ingredients has always intimidated me. i get nervous about the crumb closing, or the additional ingredients weighing the dough down, or the dough becoming way too sticky.

i didn’t approach experimentation as a way to be creative, as a way to keep developing my craft, a way to learn more about sourdough. i was more nervous about messing up a few times.

i let these thoughts hold me back from trying a bunch of new, fun things — until this year 🙂

the inspiration behind this loaf comes from a baker i really admire in this regard, @fullproofbaking. her beautifully curated, colorful instagram feed showcases many, many unique flavor combinations, the kinds that i’m always dying to try, but scared to.

when i saw this loaf on her feed, it gave me the final push to adapt and bake this yellow, punchy turmeric onion sourdough. this bread is soft, fragrant, and carries so much flavor on its own. i’d recommend eating it plain, the same day it’s baked, untoasted.

here’s to doing all the things that scare us — especially (i’d like to think) if the thing that scares us involves baking lovely, delicious things into bread.

notes

don’t skip the lamination step — it builds strength and yields a wonderful open crumb and soft, light texture. for lamination pointers, check out the video in my guava cream cheese recipe.

you could use oil instead of butter to sautee the onions, but i’m partial to butter (self explanatory).

as always, tweak levain and bulk times for when your kitchen is colder or warmer. for me this means closer to 9 hours in the winter, and 7 hours in the summer.

baker’s percentage & basic timetable

the percentages for water and flour only account for the final dough build, and do not include the levain formula build.