High Protein Cottage Cheese Bread (with a gluten free option)

In 2015, I posted this no-knead olive and sun dried tomato bread – yup, waaaaay before it was cool.

and then, when baking bread became cool again (aka covid), I made this simple overnight sourdough bread…she’s a beauty!

Then, as covid measures started to relax and people started to go out again, the bread baking came to a halt (except for those of you like me who will always make bread ;)).

But, what people did ask for was healthier versions of the foods they loved (helloooo Covid 15!!). Bread was still something people loved to see but they were just being more careful around it (and not eating as much as they/we did during covid…after all, it is one of the most comforting foods around!).

So I started playing around with bread recipes. And, as always, when I found myself with a container of cottage cheese in the fridge, I thought, “I wonder if I could incorporate this into the bread to make it a higher protein loaf?” My first attempt was good but I wanted to make sure that it was a good ‘toast’ bread – because I enjoy a slice of bread with almond butter every morning. I changed it up a bit to make sure it was a softer loaf to mimic the toast bread you get at the store. I added extra hemp seeds to increase the protein and I think we got it!!

I made this recipe in a bowl (below) but you an totally do this in a stand up mixer!  Make a well in your flour and add your dry ingredients (including the yeast) …

…then add your warm water, beaten egg, butter and cottage cheese!  Mix the wet ingredients in that ‘well’ to combine the wet ingredients and then start introducing the flour a bit at a time…

…until it becomes a ball (below). You can see the bits of cottage cheese in the dough but they magically disappear once the loaf is cooked! Then cover the bowl and put it in a dry, draft-free place (my fave place is the microwave!!) until it is doubled in size..

Like this! Then, dump it onto a floured surface and knead it back into a ball.

Then you want to divide it into two equal portions…

…place it into two loaf pans and brush the top with either a bit of beaten egg or heavy cream.

..then sprinkle a good dose of hemp seeds on each loaf!!

Ain’t she a beauty??

Let it double in size (about an hour) in the pan…

All baked up, it’s incredibly golden brown!!

They slice up beautifully and you are now ready to have the most epic toast ever!

Below is a gluten free version I tried. It was good but didn’t rise as well as the regular version. As you can see below, it slices even nicer than the regular version and makes great toast!!

But, if you’re gluten free, it might be worth a shot!!

Mmmmm almond butter toast, anyone??

Cottage Cheese Bread

Looking for a soft sandwich bread that is great toasted and has an extra kick or protein to keep you full longer?  Look now further…this is your loaf!!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients

  

• 3 cups all purpose flour (you can sub in gluten free flour that is made for bread baking *
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup warm 100 degrees water
• 1 large egg an extra egg for washing the bread
• 2 tbsp butter room temp
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 2 tbsp hemp seeds for sprinkling

Instructions

 

• In a large bowl, add flour, salt and baking soda and mix well. Make a ‘well’ in the centre.
• Add yeast, sugar and water to the ‘well’ and mix to combine (without disturbing the flour wall) and wait a few minutes for the yeast to bloom or get foamy.
• Add the egg, butter and cottage cheese and mix it into the wet mixture.
• Begin to add in the flour until the dough is incorporated into a ball; knead the ball for a few minutes and a put back into bowl, cover with a towel or plastic wrap and place in a dark, draft-free place until doubled in size (about 1-2 hours)
• Once it has doubled, punch the dough down and divide in two, form into loaves; place into loaf pans, brush with additional beaten egg and sprinkle with hemp seeds; cover again and place back in a dark place for an additional hours until proofed again.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Once they have risen again, uncover and place into the hot oven for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool before slicing.
• Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for up to a week or freeze for 3 months