The yeast, cheese and flour ingredients below are given by weight, the preferred measurement for baking. Pull out your trusty scale!
Recipe by Joe on March 19, 2021
Rating
5 stars ( reviews)
Ingredients
18 g fresh yeast — or — 7 g instant yeast (about 2 tsps)
¼ cup milk
1 tsp sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
½ cup olive oil
150 g grated Parmesan cheese
50 g grated Pecorino Romano
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
500 g all-purpose flour
150 g mild melting cheese such as Asiago, Fontina, Gruyère, or Swiss cheese cut into ½-inch cubes
Steps
Prepare a 8- or 9-inch cake pan or springform pan by lightly greasing the inside with butter, olive oil or olive oil spray.
In a small bowl, mix the yeast and the sugar. If using fresh yeast, make a paste with the yeast and sugar.
Heat the milk in a small pot on the stove to lukewarm (about 100℉-110℉) and stir into the yeast to dissolve. Leave the mixture for about 10 minutes until it’s bubbly and foamy (this step isn’t strictly necessary for instant yeast but it will make sure it’s still alive and viable).
In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and whisk until smooth.
Add the yeast mixture and olive oil and whisk until combined and emulsified.
Now switching to a wooden or silicon spoon, add about 1/3 of the flour, Parmesan and Pecorino cheese, salt and pepper and mix into the egg mixture until completely combined.
Slowly add the remaining flour and mix to combine as completely as you can.
Scrape out the dough and any remaining bits of flour onto a wooden board and mix with your hands until completely combined. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth.
Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap and place in a warm area to rise until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours (see note about using your oven as a proofing box).
Remove the risen dough and place on the wooden board. Add the cubed melting cheese pushing the cheese into the dough.
Gently form the dough back into a ball and place in the cooking pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and place in a warm area to rise until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours (again see note about using your oven as a proofing box). Remove the plastic wrap.
Preheat oven to 350-degrees and place a sheet pan below a springform pan (this dough has a lot of oil in it and it can leak). Bake the bread until golden brown on top, about 30 minutes. If the bread is browning too quickly, cover with aluminum foil.
Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
Remove from the baking pan and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
Serve in wedge slices with a little butter, or just as is!
Reviews
Paul Bartomioli on 2024-01-15 (5 stars): My dad made this for us. He didn't use milk and never wrote the recipe down. It seemed to be about texture and feel to him.
This is great.
LMB on 2025-11-01 (5 stars): Wow. Excited to try this. My mother and grandmother made this bread all the time. Such a part of my childhood! The family would finish the loaf while it was still hot - with their homemade butter. Neither wrote down the recipe, and I've tried to wing it to no avail. This seems so similar. They always made theirs in bundt pans! Thanks for this!
Kathleen on 2026-03-24 (5 stars): I am going to try this. I miss what was called "cheese cake" which my Italian American grandmother made every Easter. My grandfather came from Umbria. I remember this bread but not with fontina or any of those other cheeses, just pecorino romano. Anyway, I'm going to try this. Thank you.
Beth on 2026-04-04 (5 stars): I saw this type of bread in a video and had to try it. I couldn't decide on a cheese so I bought a sample pack of havarti, cheddar, Gouda and asiago. I divided the dough into 4 pieces and then put them all together to bake. So good!!!!!
