Cottage Cheese Dill Bread

I love dill, so when I saw this recipe I was really interested in trying it, especially because I don't like any type of cottage cheese. I messed up multiple times with the recipe, and found the bread to be a little dry, but I'm owing it to the fact that it was my first loaf of homemade bread ever. The bread was delicious with a sandwich, but next time I might attempt to make it more moist by adding more cottage cheese, and it could probably use double the amount of dill. I've listed the recipe directly from the website I found it on for you to make your own adjustments. I will definitely make this bread again!

Preparation Time: 15-20 minutes prep/knead time, 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 hours rise time, 45 minutes cook time

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. instant yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
1 cup cottage cheese (full or reduced fat), at room temperature
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 heaping tbsp. fresh onion, finely minced
1 1/2 tbsp. fresh dill, minced
1 tbsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp. olive oil
5 to 6 1/2 cups bread flour *

*I only used 4 cups of flour, and I swear all the ingredients before the flour were measured correctly. Decide for yourself how much to put in since you add 1 cup at a time.

Directions:
Combine the yeast and the water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and stir to dissolve the yeast. Add all remaining ingredients except flour to the bowl and mix until a dough has formed. Switch over to the dough hook and stir at low speed. Add flour 1 cup at a time until you have a soft dough that clears the sides of the bowl. Continue kneading on low speed for 5-6 minutes. Transfer the dough ball to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place. (I preheat my oven to 150 degrees F, turn it off as soon as it reaches this temp, and then put the dough in.) Let rise until the dough has doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

When the dough has doubled, punch it down and shape into a log the size of a loaf pan. Place into a lightly greased loaf pan and press down gently so that the dough touches all sides of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise again in a warm place, 30-60 minutes.

When the loaf has risen, remove the plastic wrap and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 30 minutes, then cover with aluminum foil to prevent over-browning and bake another 15-20 minutes longer. Let cool for 5 minutes and then remove from pan and cool to room temperature on a wire rack.


Source: Annie's Eats: http://www.annies-eats.com/