Rustic Asiago Bread

Savory loaves of rustic asiago artisan bread that are crunchy on the outside but soft and tender in the middle. This bread may be the top competitor for the best-tasting bread I have ever had. AND there is no kneading (and no mixer) involved.

Hello Hello!

Okay now it’s time for the recipe!

This rustic asiago bread has my heart. Completely and entirely.

It is so very delicious and the perfect bread to make whether you are just getting started on your bread making adventure or you’ve been making bread for years.

When I was shopping at our local grocery store one day, the bakery was giving out free samples of a delicious artisan bread that was just divine. I don’t remember exactly what kind it was, but that was when my dreams began. My dreams of making savory artisan bread loaves come out of my kitchen and have them turn out flavorful and texture-perfect.

I had tried baking artisan loaves before and they turned out hard as a rock and not even close to edible. After a few failures, I wondered what the big deal was with that bread and wondered if people even really ate that disgusting stuff.

Well this time I was determine to master an artisan bread loaf.

And let me tell you—I did.

I knocked the whole idea out of the park in my humble (or maybe not so humble) opinion.

This rustic asiago bread is every bread-lover’s dream come true. The flavor, the texture, the appearance. Everything.

So let’s get more into details.

How to make this rustic Asiago bread

This is a no-knead bread recipe. That’s right. NO KNEAD! You don’t need a mixer or tough arms or anything. It’s REALLY easy.

You simple stir the dough ingredients together and let them sit there and do the work for you. Because it is no knead, it requires a longer rising time to develop the structure of the bread properly. You can even refrigerate the dough after it’s sat there for a while and bake it later –up to a week later if you want. Or you can cook one loaf and put the rest in the refrigerator.

I’m telling you, it’s almost embarrassing how easy this bread is.

Having said that, there is one pitfall that you may run into that I want to point out.

Make sure you are careful not to overwork the dough after it’s risen. If you are a perfectionist, you may have the urge to sit and pound and prod the dough until it makes the perfect shaped loaf.

AVOID DOING THAT!

You want to keep as much of the air bubbles in the dough as possible so it will have a nice light center. Just quickly form the loaf and if it looks a little bit ugly it doesn’t matter.

Well I think that’s all I have to say.

Except maybe to tell you that it makes the best tasting sandwiches I think I’ve ever tasted. YUM.

Just go make it okay?

Update (5/21/2020): If you are new to breadmaking (or just looking to up your breadmaking game), I wrote up a super detailed guide to baking with yeast. It will walk you through a lot of common breadmaking pitfalls and help you become a breadmaking expert.

5 from 1 vote

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Rustic Asiago Bread

Savory loaves of rustic asiago artisan bread that are crunchy on the outside but soft and tender in the middle.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword Asiago Bread

Prep Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 55 minutes

Servings 2 large loaves

Author Heather @ thecookstreat.com

Ingredients

• 3 cups water cold from tap
• 1 ½ tablespoons instant yeast
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 ½ cups (6-ounces) freshly grated asiago cheese
• 6 ½ cups (32.5-ounces) all-purpose flour

Topping Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter melted
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ¼ cup (1-ounce) freshly grated asiago cheese grated

Instructions

1. In a large bowl add the following: 3 cups water, 1 ½ tablespoons instant yeast, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 ½ cups grated asiago cheese and about 3 cups of the flour. Mix well. Then add the rest of the flour and mix. Cover with light dishcloth and let rise 2 hours (or up to 5 hours).

2. When the dough has risen, gently drop it on a floured countertop and divide into two. Carefully form each loaf into a round ball with a floured top. Be careful not to overwork the dough at this point causing it to deflate. Just quickly form the loaves and flip them in the flour. Place each one on a separate sheet of parchment paper. Cover with light dishcloth and let rise 30-45 minutes.
3. While dough is rising, preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place a pizza stone on middle rack (or an overturned baking sheet if you don’t have a pizza stone). Place a shallow dish (I use the base of the broiler pan) on the bottom rack.
4. When loaves have risen, slash each one with a sharp knife or razor with two or three slashes down the middle about ¼-inch deep. Prepare the topping by combining the melted butter, olive oil, minced garlic, and Italian seasoning in a small bowl. Brush the mixture equally over both loaves and then sprinkle each with Asiago Cheese.

5. Bake by placing one loaf at a time in the 450 degree oven on the pizza stone (or overturned baking sheet) and then pouring 1 to 2 Cups of water into the shallow dish on the bottom rack. The quickly close the oven door. The steam from the water will evaporate during baking to give the crust a beautiful crispy texture. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Repeat this step with the remaining loaf.

Recipe Notes

1. If making this recipe ahead of time, follow step 1 and then let the bread rise for a couple of hours. Then cover the bowl with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate for up to a week. When ready to bake, follow steps 2 through 5 increasing the rising time in step 2 to 1 ½ to 2 hours.

Recipe Source: Heather @ The Cook’s Treat

All images and text ©The Cook’s Treat

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