Developed as an extension to my Garlic Herb Bread and Spinach Feta Bread this Bacon Cheese Bread is a hugely popular and delicious homemade bread recipe. With a savory flavor profile we use simple ingredients to make the dough and then create a cheesy bacon layer with Italian herbs and spices. Oven baked to perfection this cheesy bacon bread is perfect for all ages!
Recipes like the Spinach And Bacon Cob Loaf, Bacon And Cheese Cob Loaf, Slow Cooker Bean And Bacon Soup and the Bacon And Corn Fritters all embrace cooking with bacon.
The Slow Cooker Cheese And Bacon Bread gives us a similar flavor combination using no yeast and requiring no knead time.
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🤍 BACON CHEESE BREAD
If bacon is not one of the world's best foods then I don't know what is! Oh yes I do - cheese. So how about we take 2 of the best and we combine them, sounds pretty great to me right 😉👌.
The goal for this recipe was to create a fluffy white bread with a cheesy bacon filling that could be 'pulled apart' and torn and shared.
The method to do this is very simple. As it is a yeast bread we do need to have a little patience as we have 2 rise periods where we let the dough 'grow'. Other than that it's straight forward, easy and utterly stand there picking at it and keep eating delicious!
🥗 bacon cheese bread Ingredients
Like a lot of my recent bread recipes we use one set of ingredients for the 'bread' and one set for the filling/layer or 'fun stuff'. You will find the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post which has the specific measurements for each set of ingredients.
Bread ingredients:
- Yeast.
- Sugar.
- Salt.
- Butter: soft, spreadable butter.
- Milk: you can use full cream milk or skim milk.
- Plain flour.
Then for the cheesy bacon filling we need the ingredients shown in the photo below.
- Butter: unsalted, softened butter. Room temperature is best for this as we want to mix it in with the other ingredients and don't want it to be too hard. Or simply microwave for 20 seconds to soften.
- Tomato paste.
- Dried oregano.
- Dried basil.
- Bacon: my preference is to use store bought diced bacon bits. We don't cook these 1st. They get cooked in the oven as the bread cooks. This also means that the bread doesn't get 'too greasy; texture from any pre-cooked bacon.
- Cheese: mozzarella is recommended. It adds a mild flavor with a cheesy pull.
😉 Variations
Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:
- Dried herbs: I like to use a combination of dried oregano and dried basil for the recipe. You could also use dried Italian herbs (equivalent amount).
- Cheese: I haven't tried to make the bread with cheddar cheese. It has a lot stronger taste than mozzarella. You could try it or use a combination of mozzarealla and cheddar or colby/tasty cheese.
👩🍳 How to Make BACON CHEESE BREAD
To make the bacon and cheese bread we start by combining the ingredients to make the dough. I like to use my food processor for this, equally you can simply use a bowl and spatula if you prefer.
🍳 Instructions
- Add the bread ingredients (Photo 1)
- Combine (Photo 2)
- Transfer to greased bowl (Photo 3)
- Cover and rise 1 hour (Photo 4)
Like you see in the photos above, we combine the ingredients then remove from the food processor (can give a quick knead here for 30 seconds). Then place into a greased large mixing bowl. Flip to other side (so both are lightly oiled) then cover with cling wrap and a kitchen towel.
Now let the bread rise for 1 hour (it will double in size).
- Add seasonings (Photo 5)
- And bacon and gently fold in (Photo 6)
Towards the end of this hour you can make the bacon seasoning mixture. To do this grab a medium size mixing bowl. To it add the softened butter, tomato paste, dried onion, dried oregano and dried basil. Stir to combine (ensure all of the butter is consistently mixed in with no blobs). Then once it is, add the diced bacon and stir to gently fold in.
- Roll out (Photo 7)
- Dollop with bacon mixture (Photo 8)
Next use a rolling pin to roll out the dough as if you were making a large rectangular pizza. The exact size doesn't matter too much but we don't want it to be too thin.
Once it is rolled out use a soup spoon to dollop the bacon mixture on top like you see in the photos above.
Then flip the spoon and use the back of it to spread the mixture out like you see in the photos below.
BACON AND CHEESE BREAD MAKING
- Spread with bacon mix (Photo 9)
- Top with cheese (Photo 10)
Once you have spread the bacon mix out top it with the mozzarella cheese.
Then use a pizza cutter to cut the large rectangle into approximately 16 even-ish sized pieces. You will have to make cuts a couple of times to ensure that the blade has gone through the dough.
- Stack into bread tin, cover (Photo 11)
- Rise (Photo 12)
Pick up the pieces (I use a cake lifter), place in your hand then when you have 4 ish pieces place these into the loaf tin vertically. (Start at one end). Then repeat to fill the bread tin with all of the pieces, pushing them forward as needed to fill the tin.
Gather any leftover cheese or bacon bits from the bench and sprinkle this over the top of the bread.
Next cover with cling wrap and a tea towel like you see in the photos above. Then let rise (2nd rise) for 25 minutes.
Once the 2nd rise time is complete, remove the tea towel and discard the plastic wrap.
Then tent the bread with a baking paper and foil cover and place into the preheated oven on the middle shelf. Also pour 1-2 cups of water into a baking tray on a lower rack to create a steamy environment.
Let the bread bake for 50-55 minutes. Then use oven mitts to remove, set on a heatproof surface and test with a skewer to ensure it is cooked through. If it needs more time simply pop the tent back over the top and into the oven again.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
This is the best bit right - the eating!
I feel with this one it is whatever works for you. A pull apart bread like this calls for digging in, pulling those slices away from each other, tearing the bread apart, watching the cheese pull and more. I don't garnish but if you want to some chopped green onions or fresh parsley would look nice.
If you want to serve it as a side, it goes well with the Slow Cooker Leek And Potato Soup, Slow Cooker Chicken Barley Soup or the Slow Cooker Sausage And Potato Soup.
Or if you want to serve it for lunch with something else try the Prawn Fritters, Ham Fritters or the Zucchini And Carrot Fritters.
If you are taking a plate to a friends, this will work well alongside dishes like the Mini Croissant Sandwiches, Baked Brie With Red Pepper Jelly or the Mini Enchiladas.
👍 How to Guide
How to Store
Serve the bread hot and fresh from the oven! That is always the best way.
If however, you have leftovers, these can be stored in a sealed, airtight container. Leave on the bench for 1 day or into the fridge for 2-3 days.
How to Reheat
Place on a plate and reheat on high in the microwave for 1-2 minutes until warmed through.
💡 Tasty Tips
Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:
- Food processor: liberally grease this with cooking oil so that the dough doesn't stick. This also makes the clean up process a lot easier!
- Mixing bowl: also give your mixing bowl a spray with cooking oil before adding the dough. Once you have added the dough, you can flip it to the other side before covering with plastic wrap to keep both sides soft and moist.
- off alsoI find we get best results (visually) if we tent the bread for the entire cooking time. Throughout the testing process for my Pesto bread I tried this just with alfoil. The result was that the cheese stuck to the foil so when I pulled it off half of the bread came too (oh no!). From there I devised a 2 layer tent with foil and baking paper. These 2 layers are stuck together with a light spray of cooking oil - it works a charm! The bread doesn't come out looking 'too brown' and stays nice and appealing with nothing stuck to the tent. The tent is recommended to bake your bread.
- Steamy oven: If you notice that your water has evaporated over time in the oven, simply pour in another cup.
🤓 BACON CHEESE BREAD FAQ's
No, you can't. We need to let the yeast work and that happens when we leave it to rise.
No, I don't. The cook time for the recipe is around 50 minutes. This is ample time for the bacon to cook along with the bread.
Sorry, I haven't tried to freeze it. Personally I feel it is best cooked and consumed fresh. So I can say what the results would be like if you froze it.
😍 More Easy Recipes
The following recipes have been selected as ones that you might enjoy if you like this bread recipe. They each have a variety of cook times methods and ingredients.
- Breakfast or brunch recipes: Blueberry Croissant Bake, Croissant Bread And Butter Pudding, Egg And Croissant Bake, Brie Grilled Cheese, Brie Croissant.
- Lunch recipes: Havarti Grilled Cheese, Tuna And Corn Fritters, Bacon and Egg Slice.
- Sweet recipes: Raspberry Pancakes, Lemon Pancakes, Mini Pancakes, Crispy Pancakes.
It is time to get our bacon cheese bread on my friend! You can also find all of my bacon recipes or comfort food recipes in the one spot.
Adrianne
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📖 Recipe
Bacon Cheese Bread
Ingredients
Bread ingrdients
- 3 ½ cups/565 grams plain flour Note 1
- 1 ½ teaspoons instant dried yeast Note 2
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ⅓ cups milk Note 3
- 2 tablespoons/40 grams butter softened, Note 4
Bacon cheese filling ingredients
- 100 grams/ 1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature, Note 5
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste Note 6
- 2 tablespoons dried onion flakes Note 7
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 300 grams/1 cups diced bacon Note 8
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese Note 9
Instructions
- Bread: liberally spray the bowl, blade and lid of a food processor with cooking oil. Then add the plain flour, yeast, sugar, salt, milk and butter. Blitz for 30 seconds to combine then tip out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 20 seconds. Place into a greased mixing bowl, flip to other side then cover with cling wrap and a tea towel. Leave for 1 hour to rise (1st rise).
- Bacon cheese layer: add the butter, tomato paste, dried onion, dried basil and dried oregano to a medium size mixing bowl and stir to consistently combine. Next add the diced bacon pieces and stir to gently fold in.
- Roll: once the 1st rise time is up remove the tea towel and cling wrap. Lightly sprinkle the bench with flour then tip the dough out onto the flour. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a large rectangle the size of a big pizza. Ensure it is 'thick crust' not 'thin'.
- Layer: next use a soup spoon to dollop the bacon mixture onto to the rolled pastry. Then use the back of the spoon and spread this out across the dough leaving a slight border at the edges. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the top of the bacon layer.
- Loaf tin: grease a 21 x 11 x 7 cm non stick loaf pan (8.3 x 4.5 x 2.75") with cooking spray.
- Slice and stack: use a pizza wheel to cut the rolled dough into pieces (approx 16 in total) then stack a row of the slices in your hand and place these into the prepared loaf tin in a vertical direction. Repeat to fill the loaf tin with the pieces, pushing them to the front of the tin to fit as needed. Cover the loaf tin with cling wrap and a tea towel. Leave to rise for 25 minutes (2nd rise).
- Loaf tin: grease a 21 x 11 x 7 cm non stick loaf pan (8.3 x 4.5 x 2.75") with cooking spray.
- Preheat oven: to 180°C / 350-375°F / Gas Mark 4-5.
- Tent: make a aluminum and baking paper tent to cover the bread sticking the 2 layers together with a spray of cooking oil.
- Oven bake: remove the tea towel and cling wrap then cover the bread with the tent. Pour 1-2 cups of water into a baking tray on a lower rack under the bread. Place the tent covered loaf tin into the preheated oven on the middle shelf. Bake for 50-55 minutes and test with a skewer that should come out clean to ensure it is cooked through.
- To serve: use oven mitts to remove the cooked bread from the oven and set on a heatproof surface. Remove the tent. Let sit in the tin to cool (5-10 minutes) before using a butter knife around the 4 edges of the tin to gently break the seal and slide out. Plate and serve warm and fresh!
Video
Notes
- Note 1 - Flour: this is plain flour which is cheaper than bread flour. There is no need to sift it before using.
- Note 2 - Yeast: this is instant yeast. It gets added as a dry ingredient to the bread dough. It doesn't need liquid to activate it.
- Note 3 - Milk: you can use either full cream milk or skim milk with little noticeable difference across the 2.
- Note 4 - Butter: for this ingredient I am referring to soft, spreadable butter. The kind that you would spread on toast. I use my tablespoon, dig it into the tub, level it with a knife and then chop the half circle in 2. Then repeat for the 2nd tablespoon. If you choose to make this bread recipe with a mixing bowl and spatula it will be this ingredient that is the hardest to consistently combine. Chopping it in half and also being aware of this and paying attention to ensure it is mixed in well will give you the best results.
- Note 5 - Butter: for this I use unsalted butter from a block. We need it at room temperature so it is soft enough to mix in with the other ingredients. Or you can simply microwave it for 20-30 seconds to soften it. Keep an eye on it when mixing as this will be the ingredient that is the most stubborn to mix in.
- Note 6 - Tomato paste: use the plain version ie no herbs or spices. This is because we are adding our own dried herbs to the bread and don't want to overdo it or have unwelcome flavors in the mix.
- Note 7 - Dried onion: this is different to onion powder. It is in the same section of the grocery store though ie with the herbs and spices. It is dried onion flakes. They are unreal and I love cooking with them! They add flavor but don't overwhelm and there is no tears or time needed.
- Note 8 - Bacon: store bought diced bacon is recommended. This keeps the recipe 'easy'. We don't cook it 1st as it cooks at the same time as the bread cooks. This also means that there is no bacon grease from pre cooking in the bread. I use a 2 pack which has a total of 300 grams. Some stores sell it in a 200 gram pack. This would be fine to use also, you will simply have a little less bacon pieces in the bread (not the end of the world, trust me, haha!)
- Note 9 - Mozzarella cheese: depending on how much effort you want to use to make this bread recipe you can either freshly grate the cheese yourself or use store bought shredded cheese. I am a purist who will tell you which is best as I have tried both and it is pretty same/same. Besides we ain't all always got all the time in the world and store bought shredded cheese is easy (and fast!).
- Australian tablespoon: an Australian tablespoon (metric system) measures 20 ml. This is the tablespoon that has been used throughout the testing and development of this recipe.
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