Blue Cheese and Fig Stuffed Milk Bread

Cheese Bread is Never a Bad Thing, Right?

I don’t know if you’ve tried making milk bread yet. If you have, then you know how easy and wonderful it is. If you haven’t, it’s a great place to start your bread baking journey. My recipe is easy to follow and produces perfect results. And while I frequently make it as is, I also like to add fillings. I’ve made multiple variations, such as raspberry sweet rolls, garlic bread, etc. But I’d really been hankering for a cheese filled loaf. 

Before I get to the filling, let’s talk a little bit about why milk bread is so fantastic. It is soft, fluffy, and buttery. It’s softness comes from the fact that it incorporates a technique, which originated in Japan, called tangzhong. This is a mixture of milk and flour that is first cooked in a small saucepan until it becomes very thick. After it cools it is added to all the other bread ingredients. By cooking the flour and milk, the flour’s starches are pre-gelatinized, which increases the bread’s ability to retain moisture. Hence, the bread is soft and retains its freshness without getting stale far longer than other breads. It is unique amongst breads and I’ve yet to meet the person who doesn’t love it.

This time I chose to add blue cheese and fig spread. I’ve always loved that combination on a cheese board and saw no reason it wouldn’t be delicious stuffed into some milk bread. My Milk Bread recipe makes 2 loaves or 2 pans of rolls. I used half the recipe for this filled loaf and baked the other half into plain rolls. But you could simply choose to double my filling ingredients and make 2 loaves of this Blue Cheese and Fig Milk Bread. 

I happen to love the Dalmatia brand of fig spread * because I think it tastes less sweet than others I’ve tried, but any fig spread or jam would work. And I’ve become hooked on Point Reyes Original Blue Cheese, so that’s what I used. But again, this is a matter of personal preference and any good blue cheese would be fine.

When working with an enriched dough, I find it easiest to simply oil my counter top, rather than dusting it with flour. The dough easily lifts off the oiled surface. So, I pat out the dough into a 15” x 10” rectangle, spread it with the fig spread * and sprinkle on most of the blue cheese. It easily rolls up into a log and I pinch the edges closed along the seam. Then it’s simply a matter of rolling up the log into a large spiral and placing it in the pan. I use a 9 inch round cake pan with 2 inch high sides. This seems to be the ideal size. I once made it in an 8 inch pan and it rose up over the top and billowed down the sides – not a good thing.

I used a sharp knife to slash the top layer of the coil in a few spots, covered it with oiled plastic wrap and set it aside to rise for 45 minutes. After it had risen, I brushed it with egg wash, sprinkled on the remaining blue cheese and baked it. As you can see, it fills up the pan beautifully as it bakes and ends up being a richly browned gorgeous loaf. I like to spread some softened butter on top of the warm loaf. 

I grilled some assorted sausages, cut up a ripe cantaloupe and served that with my warm cheese and fig bread. Oh, for crying out loud, this was fabulous. It was even better than I’d hoped it would be. The cheese and fig spread melt into the bread, but don’t stop it from fully rising and being as fluffy as ever. We tore off pieces of the loaf and marveled at its taste and texture. The blue cheese and fig spread provide a sweet/salty aspect that we couldn’t get enough of. It was exceptionally good. Try it and you’ll see what I mean!