Onions and cheese make a wonderful combination—but in a bread? Absolutely.

If you put the cheese in the dough, it’s tough to get enough cheese for a sharp flavor without overloading the dough. If you make a rolled loaf, like a cinnamon raisin loaf, you can use as much cheese as you like.

It is not difficult to make. If you would like to make it even easier, make it with a mix.

Onion and Cheese Bread

This is great bread. You can use a mix as we have or your favorite recipe. Use either a two-loaf recipe or one of our traditional bread mixes. Old Fashioned Honey Wheat, White, or Oat works well. For the batch in this picture, we used Old-Fashioned Honey Wheat.

You can also use your bread machine to make this bread. Mix the bread according to directions but on the dough-only setting. Remove the dough, follow directions for the cheese and onion bread, and bake in the oven. Since the recipe below is for two loaves, reduce the ingredients by one half when making one loaf.

Ingredients

A two-loaf recipe for bread or a two-loaf mix.

2 medium onions, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon crushed oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon paprika
fresh ground pepper
2 cups grated cheddar or mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese (for the top)

Directions

Prepare two bread pans, 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches, by greasing well.

1. Mix the bread according to the package instructions. Remove the dough to an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled—an hour or more.
2. While the dough is rising, sauté the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent and tender. Remove the onions to a bowl and add the seasonings. Add the two cups cheese.
3. Divide the dough in two. Roll out each piece to a rectangle ten inches by fifteen inches. Spread the filling over the dough. Roll the dough tightly in the long direction jelly-roll fashion to form loaves. Place the loaves in the prepared bread pans. Slash the tops with a sharp knife lengthwise to a depth of 1/4 inch at the ten o’clock position and the two o’clock position. Sprinkle the tops with flour, cover, and set aside to rise until doubled— an hour or more. Let it rise completely before baking. The dough should extend well above the pans and be soft and puffy to the touch.
4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. The interior of the loaf should be 195 to 200 degrees. Place the pans on a cookie sheet, sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup grated cheese across the tops of the loaves, and return them to the oven for another three minutes. Remove the bread when the cheese is thoroughly melted but before it burns.

Baker’s note: Bread rolled in jelly-roll fashion tends to separate and leave a void between the layers. It’s still great bread with filling caked in the voids. The slices down the tops of the loaves reduce the voids somewhat.

Because this bread is filled with moist onions it will not last long without refrigeration. Eat it shortly after baking and refrigerate any remainders.