Italian Herb & Cheese Bread Recipe

This Italian herb & cheese bread recipe is a great-tasting and good-looking bread. The bread benefits from the flavors & aroma of the cheese and Italian herbs. While at the same time, the optional topping of cheese & herbs gives the bread a unique appearance.

My family thinks this Italian herb & cheese bread is great for sandwiches or as a nice side dish (for “mopping” up the tomato sauce from your favorite Italian dish!).

Recipe Sections

1. Ingredients
2. Instructions
3. Helpful Tips

My recipe shows you how to make the dough in your bread machine, how to shape the dough into a loaf and how to bake the bread in your oven (not bread machine). Many people prefer to make oven-baked bread machine breads because you get a more “traditional” looking bread loaf (versus the typical bread machine “brick” shaped loaf).

Sliced Italian Herb & Cheese Bread

Ingredients

• 1 1/8 Cups – Milk (warm) – 259 milliliters – FYI – 1 1/8 cups is the same as 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons
• 4 Tablespoons – Unsalted Butter (softened) – 57 grams – If desired, you can replace the butter with olive oil.
• 3 Cups – Bread Flour – 360 grams
• 1 Cup – Shredded Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese – 112 grams – Use a strong tasting cheese or the cheese bread may taste bland
• 1 Tablespoon – Light Brown Sugar – 13 grams
• 1 Teaspoon – Italian Herb Seasoning – 2 grams
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons – Salt – 9 grams
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons – Bread Machine Yeast (or Instant Yeast) – 4.5 grams – Not active dry yeast

Italian Herb & Cheese Bread (Before Baking In The Oven)

You Can Use This Bread To Make A “Herby” Oven Baked Grilled Cheese

Instructions

• Creating dough with bread machine
• Shaping dough & baking bread in oven

Instructions – Creating Dough with a Bread Machine

• Unplug your bread machine.
• Remove the bread pan from the bread machine.
• Pour the milk into the bread pan and then add the other ingredients. Place the instant yeast (bread machine yeast) in last and the yeast should not touch the liquid (until the bread machine is turned on and the ingredients start to be mixed together by the bread machine). Some bakers like to make a small indent on top of the flour to prevent the yeast from spilling into the liquids or mixing with the salt before the machine is turned on.
• Put the bread pan with ingredients back into unplugged bread machine.
• Plug in bread machine. Enter the “Dough” setting on your bread machine and then press the “Start” button.
• When the bread machine has finished making the bread dough, unplug the bread machine.
• Remove the bread pan (with the dough) from the bread machine.
• Now go to the instruction section below on “shaping the dough & baking the bread”.

Instructions – Shaping the Dough & Baking the Bread

• Sprinkle a little bit of flour onto a large cutting board.
• Remove the dough from the bread pan and place the dough on the cutting board.
• Press down on the dough with your hands and create a “flattish” rectangle with the dough. The dough should be roughly 1 inch high.
• Roll up the dough into a tight “jelly roll”. FYI – Please see the short instructional videos in the tips section on how to shape the dough if you haven’t shaped bread dough before. It is easier to watch & learn from these short videos versus trying to explain the rolling technique step by step.
• Place the rolled up dough into a lightly greased or nonstick bread pan.
• Press down on top of the dough so the edges of the dough press out towards the sides of the bread pan. This should result in little or no gaps between the dough and the bread pan. This helps the bread to turn into a nice loaf shape without any misshapen edges. Make sure that the top of the pressed down dough is roughly level (so one side isn’t much higher than the other).
• Optional – Lightly coat the top of dough with vegetable oil in order to prevent dough exterior from drying out.
• Loosely cover the top of the bread pan with plastic wrap. Set the covered bread pan aside for 60-90 minutes for the dough to rise into a loaf shape. Once the dough has risen 1 – 1.5 inches (2.5 – 3.8 cm) above the rim of the bread pan, the dough should be ready to be placed in the oven. FYI – You want the dough to fully rise during this stage. So don’t try to shorten this rising time. If the dough is still significantly rising while in the oven, you are more likely to see crust/seam cracks or “bursts” in the oven. In addition, the speed of the dough rise will vary in part based on the temperature of your kitchen (e.g. rise faster in the summer & slower in the winter).
• Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C) about 20 minutes before you plan to put the dough in the oven. FYI – I like to set my timer to go off 40 minutes after I place the dough in the bread pan (so I know when to start preheating my oven). Given variability in the dough rising time, this can be a little early sometimes (but better to be a little early versus being late!).
• Optional – Before placing the bread pan in the oven, brush on an egg wash on top of the dough. Then sprinkle cheese and Italian seasoning on top of the egg wash. FYI – The egg wash acts like a “glue” to hold the cheese & Italian seasoning. See the tips section for more info.
• Place the bread pan in the (preheated) oven to bake at 350 F (177 C) for 37-42 minutes. Wear oven mitts when dealing with a hot oven. Place the bread pan in the middle of the oven.
• Rotate the bread pan in the oven after 15-20 minutes (in order to ensure an even browning of the bread).
• After the 37-42 minute baking period has finished, remove the bread pan from the oven. Wear oven mitts.
• Remove the bread from bread pan and place the bread on a wire cooling rack. Wear oven mitts.
• Allow the bread to cool down on the wire cooling rack for 1 to 2 hours before cutting the bread.
• Please read the tips section below for extra information on how to make this recipe successfully & to avoid common bread making problems.

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Helpful Tips

• The tips below are designed to help bread machine “novices” and those who haven’t touched their bread machine in years.
• Click on this “print recipe” link if you want to print out this recipe. It includes all of the recipe’s ingredients and instructions. However, the recipe print function does not include my tips section. Please read the tips section in order to avoid common recipe problems.
• This Italian herb & cheese bread recipe is part of Bread Dad’s series on Easy Bread Recipes such as buttermilk bread, French bread, multigrain bread, bagels, etc.

• This is an oven-baked version of my Bread Machine Cheese Bread Recipe. The bread machine version is easier to make (as there is no dough shaping). However, the oven-baked version shown on this page makes a nicer looking loaf!
• If you want to make this bread completely in your bread machine, just use the ingredients shown on this page and then follow the steps for the 2 lb loaf on my Bread Machine Cheese Bread page. Of course, you will not be able to add an egg wash topping to the bread machine-only version.

• Use a STRONG tasting cheese (e.g. extra sharp cheddar) for the best results. Mild or bland cheeses are much harder to taste in the finished bread. Strong tasting cheeses will stand out more. Just make sure to pick a strong flavored cheese that your family actually likes (e.g. cheddar). Some powerful cheeses (e.g. Limburger) are scary!!!
• Don’t use a softer cheese (e.g. mozzarella) as your bread crust “topping” cheese. Softer cheeses are more likely to darken significantly or turn black/burnt. Stick to harder cheeses if you add cheese to the top of the dough. The picture at top of the page is made with extra sharp cheddar on the top of the bread.
• Visitors – What cheese did you use to make this Italian herb & cheese bread? Please leave your cheese selections & additional ingredient ideas in the comment section below. Your cheese bread tips & suggestions are a great help to beginning bakers!
• FYI – Here are some cheeses used by my visitors to make my bread machine cheese bread recipes – Asiago cheese, sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack, Swiss Gruyere, Mexican hot cheese, pepper jack cheese, vegan cheese, etc.

• This recipe uses Italian herbs (also known as Italian seasoning). Italian herbs/seasonings are usually made from dried herbs such as basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, mint, and marjoram.
• If you do not have Italian herbs/seasoning, you can use DRIED rosemary. Be aware that if you use fresh rosemary (instead of dried rosemary), you need to use 3 times as much. Dried rosemary has much more concentrated flavor than fresh rosemary.
• Optional – As I stated in the instructions above, you can brush an egg wash on top of the dough (just before you place the bread pan into the oven). This allows you to create a “cheesier-looking” bread loaf because you can sprinkle some cheese & dried Italian herbs on the sticky egg wash.
• FYI – Many bakers like to make an easy egg wash by mixing together one egg and 1 tablespoon of water. Just make sure to thoroughly mix the 2 ingredients together.
• When I add the optional toppings to this bread, I like to use 1/8 teaspoon of Italian herbs and 1/8 cup of shredded cheese. I don’t like to add too much of the herbs to the top of the bread as the flavor can be a little overpowering. Also I don’t like to add too much cheese (in order to avoid melted cheese spilling over the sides of the bread).
• Visitors – What do you like to add to this bread to make it unique or even better Different herbs? Onion flakes? Fried & minced garlic? Red pepper flakes (for a little extra heat)? Please post your bread variations in the comment section below.

• Use FRESH ingredients (e.g. flour) for the best results. Ingredients that have been sitting in the pantry for months can become stale or pick up weird smells & flavors.
• Try to keep your ingredients (e.g. flour) in airtight food containers in order to extend their shelf life.
• Airtight containers also help to prevent ingredients (e.g. flour and sugar) from absorbing moisture from the air. This extra moisture can throw off recipes (as it can disrupt the liquid-to-dry ingredient ratio in the recipe) and shorten an ingredient’s shelf life. They also help to prevent exposure to pests, dust, etc.
• My recipe uses bread flour. However, if you are out of bread flour, you can use all purpose flour in a pinch. However, an all purpose flour bread will be less airy and fluffy (when compared to bread made with bread flour).
• This recipe will NOT work with gluten free flour.

• Do NOT use cold milk. The main problem with using regular milk is that people tend to use cold refrigerated milk and this can slow yeast growth. Try to use warm milk (or instant powdered milk mixed into warm water). However, you should also be aware that the milk/water should not be too hot because very hot milk/water can kill the yeast.
• The ideal temperature for liquid ingredients used when making bread machine bread is around 100 F to 110 F. Cold liquids (such as water & milk straight from the refrigerator) will slow yeast growth and liquid ingredients that are 140 F or above can kill the yeast. Some people like to use a digital bread thermometer in order to measure the temperature of their liquid ingredients.
• I like to use whole milk when making this bread because it adds a richer flavor. However, skim milk or plant-based milk (e.g. soy milk or oat milk) is okay too!
• You can make this bread even softer by replacing the milk in the recipe with buttermilk. Visit Bread Dad’s buttermilk page for details about buttermilk powder.

• The flattening & shaping of the dough and the press down of the dough in the bread pan is the “punch down” phase. This helps to squeeze out any large bubbles produced by the yeast in the dough.
• If you don’t do this punch down phase, your bread will have large air pockets. Large air pockets are fine for ciabatta-type breads but are not ideal for sandwich bread. The punch down & second rising helps to create a lighter & chewier bread. It also creates a more uniform & tighter bread texture which is better for sandwich breads.
• If you are having problems shaping your dough, you should watch the “how to” instructional videos below. These are links to bread dough shaping videos on Youtube.
• King Arthur Baking Video
• San Diego Artisan Bread School Video
• Father Dominic Video – a slightly different method versus the videos above
• Don’t worry if you are a beginner and the bread top comes out a little lopsided. The bread will still taste great. It takes a little while for new bakers to learn how to shape a bread consistently. 

• How do you know when the dough has risen enough in the second rise (when the dough is in the bread pan)? After letting the dough rise for 60-90 minutes (and when it is roughly 1-1.1.5 inches above the 9×5 bread pan), you can try the “poke test“. Poke your finger into the dough (going in about an inch). If the poke hole rebounds immediately, you need to allow more time for the dough to rise further (it is “under proofed”). If the hole doesn’t come back at all, the dough has risen too much (it is “over proofed”). If the hole slowly fills over 2-3 seconds, the dough is at the right stage of proofing.
• Unfortunately, the temperature of your kitchen can make the timing for this perfect poke result hard to predict (because there is a faster dough rise in hot kitchens and a slower rise in cold kitchens). Experience with “proofing” will make this easier (but it can be a problem for beginning bakers).
• If the dough is “underproofed” (hasn’t risen enough) when you place it in the oven, the bread is more likely to burst/crack when baked in the oven (as the still rising dough will push against the hardening crust and “burst” at the seams of the crust). Bakers try to get around this issue via testing for the right “proofing” level (e.g. use the poke test), “scoring” breads (slicing the top of the dough so the cracks occur where you want them), adding moisture inside the oven (so the dough doesn’t harden as quickly), using a dutch oven (in order to trap the dough moisture inside the dutch oven container & not spread out into the oven), etc.
• Don’t overproof the dough (let it rise too long). This occasionally happens when someone forgets about the rising dough and comes back hours later to check. Overproofed dough leads to deflated dough as well as flat and/or sunken bread tops. According to Wikipedia, “Overproofing occurs when a fermenting dough has rested too long. Its bubbles have grown so large that they have popped and tunneled, and dough baked at this point would result in a bread with poor structure.”
• If your dough is “over proofed”, you might like to read the King Arthur Baking article “How to save over-proofed dough” as it gives tips on how to save the dough.

• Make sure to level off the ingredients in your measuring spoons & cups. No “mountains” of ingredients in your spoons & cups!! If you add too much of an ingredient, you can have a baking problem. FYI – I like to level the ingredients in my measuring spoons & cups with the back of a butter knife.
• Many of my international visitors like to use a kitchen scale in order to measure the weight of recipe ingredients (whereas Americans like to use measuring cups & spoons). The use of metric measurements (e.g. grams & milliliters) often provides more consistent results versus using measuring cups & spoons. Exact weight measurements help to avoid the problem of adding excess flour (e.g. adding heavily compacted flour versus fluffed flour).
• If you like breads made with dried herbs, you might also like to try Bread Dad’s recipes for Olive Oil Rosemary Bread (oven-baked) and Bread Machine Rosemary Bread.
• Or if you like garlic, check out my Bread Machine Garlic Cheese Bread Recipe. It is a delicious combination of cheddar cheese & fried garlic. The bread is mixed, kneaded & baked in your bread machine (no oven involved).

• This bread recipe uses instant yeast or bread machine yeast. It is not focused on active dry yeast. This recipe is targeted towards instant yeast & bread machine yeast as many of our visitors are bread machine users.
• Active dry yeast is different from instant yeast & bread machine yeast. Instant yeast & bread machine yeast are added directly to the recipe’s ingredients. In contrast, active dry yeast must be activated in water before being added to a recipe’s ingredients. Many bakers find it quicker to use instant yeast because you just add it to the dry ingredients. With active dry yeast, you need to spend roughly 10 minutes “proofing” (activating) the yeast with a liquid & sugar.
• I would recommend NOT reducing the salt in this recipe. You generally want to keep the salt-to-yeast ratio at a 1:1 basis in most bread recipes (1:1 based on teaspoons to teaspoons and NOT grams to grams). The salt moderates the growth of the yeast. If you cut the salt (and disrupt this 1:1 ratio), the yeast will grow faster than expected. In turn, this leads to more bread collapses (because the yeast rises too high and then craters in the middle) and/or results in “slack” less manageable dough. In addition, less salt will impact the flavor and browning of the bread.

• This bread recipe uses a 9 x 5 inch metal bread pan. You can also use a 8.5 x 4.5 inch bread pan but the “crown” of the bread might come out too tall (or overflow) if your yeast is very active.
• To prevent your bread from sticking to the bread pan, you should consider using a nonstick bread pan or either “greasing” the bottom & sides of the pan with butter, vegetable oil, a cooking spray, etc. Even if you’re using a nonstick pan, you should also consider greasing it (as some nonstick pans become more “sticky” as they age).

• Cooler home temperatures in the winter can cause rising problems for bread dough. Ideally, your room temperature should be around 75-80 degrees F. Colder winter room temperatures can significantly delay the rise of the dough. You will need to raise the temperature of your kitchen (if you like a cold house in the winter) or find a warm spot for the dough to rise. I often put my dough (covered of course) next to a heating vent in the winter to make sure it is getting enough heat.
• Conversely, dough can rise faster than expected in a very hot kitchen.
• Kitchen humidity can also impact a recipe. A winter kitchen tends to be drier due to your heating system drying out the air. In contrast, a kitchen in the summer can be much more humid. This change in humidity impacts baking as flour can soak up humidity from the air. Therefore, you might have to add 1-2 teaspoons of liquid in the winter if the dough is looking too dry. Or you might have to add 1-2 teaspoons of flour in the summer if the dough is looking too wet. If your kitchen is very dry or humid, you might have to add even a little more (but start with 1 teaspoon at a time until you achieve the right consistency).
• Of course, excessive kitchen humidity or dryness can impact a recipe at any time during the year (not just in the summer & winter)!

• Other factors that can impact the rise of the dough include old or expired yeast, contaminated yeast (e.g. the yeast was left in an open jar & air moisture contaminated it), water that is too cold or too hot, using heavily chlorinated tap water, placing salt next to or on top of the yeast (salt can kill yeast or inhibit its growth), not covering the dough during the rising period (as the exterior of the dough can dry out & limit the ability to rise), etc.
• If your bread comes out too dense, you should read Bread Dad’s Why Is My Bread Machine Bread So Dense? page. It covers potential reasons & solutions in order to prevent dense bread. Most of the reasons & solutions apply to oven-baked bread as well as bread machine-baked bread.
• It takes roughly 15-20 minutes to preheat most ovens with some variability due to the size of the oven, planned baking temperature (hotter takes longer), etc.
• Optional – Use an oven thermometer as your expected oven temperature may be different than reality. Some ovens can be 25-50+ degrees F hotter or colder than the number you set with your oven dial. An oven thermometer (which usually costs less than $10) is an easy way to measure the actual temperature inside your oven.
• Optional – Use a digital bread thermometer to test if your bread is completely done. The interior temperature of the bread should be 190-200 degrees F. This inexpensive tool can save you from underbaked breads.

• You should let your bread cool down for 1-2 hours on the wire cooling rack before you cut any slices (or the slices will be “gummy” and not taste as good as expected). Excess interior moisture is released (via steam) during the cooldown period.
• If you have not made bread in a long time, please buy some NEW bread machine yeast or instant yeast before making your bread. Old yeast can die or lose its potency and this will lead to bread that does not rise properly. Yeast is not likely to be viable if it has been sitting in your pantry for years.
• Once you have opened the container that contains the yeast, the yeast will last longer if you store the bottle in the refrigerator or freezer. Just make sure the bottle is sealed tight (as the yeast will deteriorate quickly if exposed to air, moisture and/or heat).

• You can also use this homemade bread to make one of Bread Dad’s hot & toasty Grilled Cheese or Panini Sandwich Recipes such as air fryer grilled cheese, chicken paninis and ham & cheese paninis.
• My recipes are based on US ingredient measurements (e.g. US cups & tablespoons). However, as a courtesy to our European visitors, I have also included some very ROUGH European equivalents (e.g. grams & milliliters). Since I rarely use European measurements when baking, please let me know in the comment section below if any of the European ingredient measurements need to be changed (e.g. for XYZ ingredient, milliliters are more commonly used versus the grams information listed in the recipe).
• Always wear oven mitts/gloves when dealing with a bread machine and/or oven. Both can get very hot!
• For more easy bread ideas, please visit Bread Dad’s sections on Bread Machine Recipes and Homemade Bread Recipes.

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Reference Sources

1. Wikipedia, Bread
2. Wikipedia, Bread Machine
3. Wikipedia, Cheese
4. Wikipedia, Italian Seasoning

Related Recipes

1. Bread Machine Cheese Bread
2. Bread Machine Garlic Cheese Bread
3. Bread Machine Italian Bread
4. Bread Machine Italian Herb Bread
5. Bread Machine Rosemary Bread
6. Olive Oil Rosemary Bread

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