Habanero Cheese Batter Bread came about after I bought a block of Cabot habanero cheese and realized I couldn't handle the heat. Back to pepper jack for me, but in the meantime I had to do something with the super spicy cheese. So here's an easy batter bread with spice from the peppers, flavor from the cheese and a little crunch from roasted salted pumpkin seeds. And best of all, you can make it with any cheese.
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What is Batter Bread?
A batter bread is a yeast bread that doesn't require kneading. You just mix everything together, pour into a dish, let rise, then bake. The shape of the loaf will depend on the type of dish you use, so batter breads can be loaves, rounds or even squares. After rising, the batter bakes into a light textured, slightly stretchy bread that's perfect for toasting or serving warm alone or with some kind of butter. It's probably not ideal for sandwiches unless you make small delicate ones with meat and/or cheese and leave off heavy vegetables.
Texture and Flavor
The bread is still pretty spicy, but pleasantly so. It has a slow burn for me, wasn't painful on the palate like the cheese alone. The flavor comes from the habanero cheese, the butter and the dill. Pumpkin seeds add some crunch, but so would sunflower, or possibly flax or even little Nigella seeds.
Dish Size and Loaf Size
For round loaves, use a round pot or dish. The bread in the photo is actually a half batch which I baked in a 1 ½ quart enameled cast iron saucepan. The oven-proof saucepan worked perfectly because of the narrow bottom and high sides. For the full recipe, you should use a 2 quart souffle dish or perhaps a smallish cast iron pot. You could even use a casserole dish, but make sure the batter has room to climb. Here's what mine looked like right after I scraped it in the pan. It rose about an inch and a half in 30 minutes, then a little more during baking.
Mixing and Matching
I used habanero cheese and named the bread for the cheese, but you can use all sorts of combinations of cheese, spices and seeds. If you try a new one, let me know! Also, if you like the idea of this but don't have habanero cheese or want to make a no-yeast batter bread, the Cottage Cheese Dill Bread is very good.
Recipe
Habanero Cheese Batter Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (385 grams)
- 2 teaspoons quick rising yeast
- 2 tablespoons sugar (25 grams)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon dried dill
- 1 ¼ cups very warm water (125 degrees)**
- 2 large eggs, bring too room temperature
- ⅓ cup softened butter
- ¼ cup pepitas, I use roasted salted but unsalted okay too
- 1 cup shredded habanero cheese
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together just 1 ½ cups of the flour, yeast, sugar, salt and dill.
- Add the warm water and stir until fully blended, then stir in the eggs and softened butter. This is where the paddle attachment will come in handy! If you are doing it by hand, it will take some elbow grease.
- Gradually add the rest of the flour until you have a soft batter.
- Let the batter cool somewhat If it is warm from the water, then stir in the pepitas and cheese.
- Scrape into a greased 2 quart souffle dish or a casserole dish or possibly a cast iron enamel pot. It needs some room to climb. Cover and let rise for 40 to 45 minutes or until it has risen somewhat. It will not double.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bake for an hour or until top is golden brown and feels hollow when tapped. Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then carefully loosen and turn from pan. Let cool some more before slicing.
Anna says
Hi Barbara, I hope you have good gloves! I used Cabot Habanero Cheddar, so Cheddar would be the first pick. Another Cheddar I really like is the Sargento 4 State Blend, which might add a little more color. I noticed that the ingredient list for the Cabot Habanero Cheddar includes jalapenos, so if you have so of those you could throw it in. Let me know how it works with chopped habaneros. Unfortunately I am not sure whether or not they roast or process the peppers in any way before adding them to the cheese, so I can't say whether to roast the peppers or not before adding. Personally, I would roast or saute them, let cool, then add to the dough.
Barbara says
Sounds delicious. I have habaneros I need to use. Would you know how much raw habaneros would the recipe use and with what cheeses. I imagine the same quantity of cheese would be used.
Sue says
This sounds tasty and like a fun baking project!