It’s surprisingly easy to make homemade cheese bread. This soft buttery yeasted bread is twisted up with cheddar cheese, but you can use any cheese variety you love. Bake the bread in a loaf pan, then slice it to reveal the 2 cups of swirled cheese inside. For a sweet version, try our cinnamon crunch bread.
This recipe is brought to you in partnership with Red Star Yeast.
The inspiration behind this recipe comes from a local bakery, where I’ve picked up DOZENS of cheese bread loaves. Each of us love it, my almost 2 year old being the biggest fan. ♥
Cheese and bread. It’s obviously the greatest loaf of all time.
So I decided to make it myself. Brace yourself for impact!
What is Cheese Bread?
Let’s back up. This cheese bread is homemade bread swirled with real cheese. It’s a simple yeasted dough that I adapted from my sweeter homemade homemade cinnamon swirl bread and my basic sandwich bread. Each slice is extra soft with a chewy crust and ribbons of melted cheese throughout. For extra flavor, brush the top of the unbaked bread with garlic herb butter. The cheese on top crisps up, while the garlic butter infuses down into the bread.
I have 3 loaves in the freezer right now. Things would become dangerous if there wasn’t a constant stash of cheese bread in our house.
Video Tutorial: Cheese Bread
Let’s walk through each step.
Ingredients in Cheese Bread
- Buttermilk: Liquid activates the yeast. For soft, flavorful, and chewy cheese bread, use a combination of buttermilk and water. Nondairy, whole, or low fat milks work too, but buttermilk produces phenomenal flavor and texture.
- Water: Although you could use all milk as the liquid in this dough, I preferred a mix of water and buttermilk. All milk made this taste more like an overly soft dessert bread.
- Yeast: You can use active dry yeast or instant yeast. If using active dry yeast, the rise times will be a little longer. I recommend Platinum Yeast from Red Star, which is an instant yeast that is blended with natural dough improvers.
- Sugar: Sugar feeds the yeast, increases its activity, and tenderizes the dough.
- Melted Butter: Butter promises a soft and flavorful bread. Use melted butter. I found that room temperature butter produced a cakey-er and less flavorful end product.
- Egg: 1 egg provides structure and flavor.
- Salt: Bread would be seriously lacking flavor without salt!
- Garlic Powder: Garlic powder adds incredible flavor to the dough AND to the topping. If using fresh garlic, use 1 finely minced clove in the dough and 1 teaspoon minced garlic in the topping.
- Bread Flour: Higher protein flour like bread flour is best for this bread recipe because of its strong gluten formation and high rise. All-purpose flour will yield a flimsy bread.
- Cheddar Cheese: I recommend cheddar cheese, but you can use another harder cheese such as pepper jack, gouda, or colby cheese. Avoid very soft cheeses. For best taste and texture, shred the cheese off the block yourself with a cheese grater.
Did You Know?
The crustier and chewier the bread, the less fat in the dough—aka a lean dough. Chewy focaccia and my artisan bread are made from lean dough. The softer and richer the bread, the more fat in the dough—aka a rich dough. Monkey bread and cinnamon rolls are made from rich dough. This homemade cheese bread is somewhere in between. It’s chewy, super soft in the center, and a little crisp on top.
Make and knead the dough, referencing my How to Knead Dough video tutorial if necessary. After the dough comes together, let it rise for about 1 and 1/2 – 2 hours. After that, punch it down and begin assembling the cheese bread.
Baking with Yeast Guide
Reference this Baking with Yeast Guide whenever you work with baker’s yeast. I include practical answers to all of your common yeast questions.
How to Shape & Assemble Cheese Bread
Remember Nutella babka and cinnamon crunch bread? We’re doing the same thing here. Pictures and explanations can only do so much, so make sure you watch the video tutorial above before assembling.
- Punch down the risen dough. Roll out into a 9×15-inch rectangle.
- Sprinkle cheese all over the top.
- Tightly roll the dough into a 15-inch log. Place the log on its seam.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the log in half lengthwise.
- Criss-cross one half, cut side down, on top of the other half– forming an X. Tightly twist the two together.
- Pinch the outer edges to seal as best you can.
By the way, there’s 2 cups of cheese stuffed inside this bread. 🙂
After it’s shaped, loosely cover the bread and let it rest for about 30 minutes. During this time, preheat the oven. Right before baking, brush the shaped dough with melted butter, garlic powder, and chopped parsley. Chopped basil would be excellent, too!
There is no sight more beautiful. No smell more heavenly. No taste more paralleled!
The best part, besides that first cheesy bite, is slicing into the loaf to reveal all those swirls of real melted cheese. Like I said, this is obviously the greatest loaf of all time.
More Easy Homemade Bread Recipes
- Focaccia
- Artisan Bread
- Pizza Crust (great for beginners!)
- Homemade Soft Pretzels
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Pizza Pull Apart Rolls
- Cheddar Biscuits
- Sandwich Bread & Whole Wheat Bread
See Your Homemade Cheese Bread!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge! Feel free to email or share your recipe photos with us on social media. 🙂
PrintHomemade Cheese Bread – Extra Soft
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
You only need a handful of basic ingredients to make homemade cheese bread. This soft buttery yeasted bread is twisted up with cheddar cheese, but you can use any cheese variety you love. Bake the bread in a loaf pan, then slice it to reveal the 2 cups of swirled cheese inside. See recipe notes for make ahead and freezing instructions.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk, warmed to about 110°F
- 1/3 cup (80ml) water, warmed to about 110°F
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons Platinum Yeast from Red Star (1 standard packet)
- 2 Tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
- 5 Tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, melted + slightly cooled
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 cups (390g) bread flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed and for hands/work surface*
- 2 cups (250g; 8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese (see note)
Topping
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley (or your favorite dried or fresh herb)*
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: Whisk the warm buttermilk, warm water, yeast, and sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
- Add the butter, egg, salt, garlic powder, and 1 cup flour. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula, then add the remaining flour. Beat on low speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. *If you do not own a mixer, you can mix this dough with a large wooden spoon or silicone spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle!*
- Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.
- 1st Rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1.5-2 hours or until double in size. (I always let it rise on the counter. Takes about 2 hours. For a tiny reduction in rise time, see my answer to Where Should Dough Rise? in my Baking with Yeast Guide.)
- Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
- Shape the bread: Punch down the dough to release the air. Place dough on a lightly floured work surface and with a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out into a 9×15-inch rectangle (approximately). Sprinkle cheese all over the top, leaving a 1/2 inch border uncovered.
- Watch the video above to see exactly how I do this step. Tightly roll the dough into a 15-inch log. Place the log on its seam. Using a sharp knife, cut the log in half lengthwise. I find a serrated knife works best. Criss-cross one half, cut side down, on top of the other half—forming an X. Tightly twist the two together. Pinch the outer edges to seal as best you can. If you have any leftover cheese, cut a few small squares and tuck into the dough as shown in the video above. This is optional and simply for extra cheesy pockets! Place in prepared loaf pan and cover with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. (This step can get a little messy.)
- Allow the covered loaf to rest for 30 minutes. It will slightly rise during this time.
- Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position. Place a baking sheet on the lower rack to catch any cheese or butter that may drip down. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Topping: Whisk the melted butter, herbs, and garlic powder together. Drizzle or brush on top of dough.
- Bake: Bake until golden brown and, when gently tapped, the top of the loaf sounds hollow, about 45-55 minutes. If you find the top of the loaf is browning too quickly as it bakes, tent with aluminum foil. (I usually place foil on top after about 25 minutes.) Remove bread the oven and place on a wire rack. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove from the pan and cool loaf on the wire rack.
- Slice and serve. Cover and store leftovers at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Leftover slices taste delicious when warmed in the microwave for 10 seconds.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions – Overnight: Prepare the dough through step 3. Place into a greased bowl as directed in step 4. Cover the dough tightly and place in the refrigerator for up to 15 hours. Remove from the refrigerator and allow the dough to fully rise for 1-2 more hours. Continue with step 5. I don’t recommend shaping the bread the night before as it will puff up too much overnight.
- Make Ahead Instructions – Freezing: Baked bread freezes wonderfully. Wrap the cooled loaf in plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw wrapped bread overnight in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then warm to your liking. You can also freeze the bread dough. After punching down the dough in step 6, wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then punch the dough down again to release any air bubbles. Continue with the rest of step 6.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Stand Mixer or Large Glass Mixing Bowl | Silicone Spatula or Wooden Spoon | 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Rolling Pin | Whisk | Pastry Brush | Cooling Rack
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk provides the softest texture and unbeatable flavor. In a pinch, you can use whole milk instead. Lower fat or nondairy milks work in a pinch, but the bread won’t taste as moist or rich. Here are other recipes using buttermilk if you purchase a carton and need to use it up.
- Yeast: Platinum Yeast from Red Star is an instant yeast. You can use Red Star Yeast active dry yeast instead. Rise times will be slightly longer using active dry yeast. Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
- Bread Flour: Higher protein flour like bread flour is best for this bread recipe because of its strong gluten formation and high rise. All-purpose flour will yield a flimsy bread.
- Cheese: I recommend cheddar cheese in this recipe, but you can use another relatively harder cheese such as pepper jack, gouda, or colby cheese. Avoid very soft cheeses. For best taste and texture, shred cheese off the block yourself with a cheese grater. Pre-shredded cheese is drier than freshly shredded. If you have extra cheese, cut a few small squares to stuff inside the twisted bread, as noted in step 7.
- Herbs in Topping: Use your favorite herb in the topping. If using dried, reduce to 1/2 teaspoon.
Can the bread be stored on the counter after it is baked? I’m wondering because if the cheese.
Hi Amanda, it can be stored on the counter for up to two days, or for up to a week in the fridge. Leftover slices taste delicious when warmed in the microwave for 10 seconds.
This bread is so great! Love the texture. As FYI for others who might be interested – I made the dough in my bread machine (on the dough setting) and came out great.
The flavor is amazing and this bread is really fun to make! After more than 60 minutes mine came out dense and almost under baked on the inside . Any tips on what I may have done wrong?
Hi Amanda, if it’s too dense and under-baked, the bread could benefit from more time in the oven. If you try the recipe again, don’t be afraid to extend the bake time. You can tent the loaf with aluminum foil to prevent it from over-browning on top.
Hi Sally!
I only have active dry yeast.
Can I just proof it in warm water w/sugar before adding the warm buttermilk.
Hi Diane, you can use active dry yeast instead, following the recipe as written (no changes needed). Rise times will be slightly longer using active dry yeast. Hope you enjoy this bread!
Hi Sally,
I’ve been spending weekends trying your recipes. So far, the cinnamon bread, bagels and Nutella babka have been delicious! This weekend I made the Blueberry cream cheese braided pastry. Amazing!!
My question: can I use sour milk (whole milk with vinegar) in lieu of buttermilk, or should I just use plain milk?
Thank you!
Susan
Hi Susan, we’re so glad to hear you’ve been enjoying our recipes! For this one, you can either make your own DIY buttermilk as you mention, or you can use the plain whole milk. The buttermilk gives it the best texture and flavor!
I made it and it came out sooooo gooood. Thank you.
I have made this bread twice. Once as the recipes suggested and the second time adding fresh sliced jalanpenos along with the cheesey center. Delish!
Can’t wait to make this bread!! Can I use low fat buttermilk? That is all I can find in my local stores ..
The bread may be slightly less rich, but it should work just in a pinch!
I have made this recipe multiple times and it tastes absolutely wonderful, but when I slice open the loaf, where the cheese has melted inside, I end up with some very big hollow caverns coated in a thin layer of cheese. I’m making sure that I roll the bread tightly. Is there something I can do to prevent this cheese stuffed bread from having these giant hollow caverns?
Hi Marie! In addition to rolling the dough up very tightly, a trick we’ve found helpful is to poke the top of the risen loaf (before baking) with a toothpick in a few spots. This helps that steam escape from the top instead of making the air pockets inside.
This was delicious! I couldn’t wait to cut into it – the aroma was heavenly!
Hi! I’m planning to try this recipe next week and have a quick question. In the recipe it calls for either a dough hook or paddle attachment in the mixer. I see in the video that Sally uses a paddle attachment. I have both, but have always defaulted to using a dough hook for bread. Is the paddle attachment preferable? And if so why? Thanks!
Hi Sara, either works just fine — feel free to use whichever you prefer!
I can’t wait to try this! We love cheese bread. I am a novice with making bread as yeast makes me nervous. I can whip a cake together like a pro. I have always used buttermilk powder mixed with water and want to know if that will be okay or if it will just be safer to buy buttermilk or make the alterations that you have mentioned to others. Thank you so much Sally.
Hi Suzanne, buttermilk powder with water should work just fine in this bread. You can also just use whole milk in its place. Would love to hear how this bread goes for you!
Hi Sally, I made your bread yesterday and paired it with homemade lasagna for my husbands birthday. Let me say Fantastic!!! We love it! The buttermilk powder with water worked just fine. We heated the water in the microwave to make sure it was the proper temp and checked it with a candy thermometer. I proofed the bread both times in my new oven since it has that proof setting and it only took 1 1/2 hours to double in size. We did the second proof for 30 min as well in there. I am so glad you said to put a pan under it as the cheese was all melty and dripping. And you are so right. Heating it up in the microwave made it even better. I am going to put more grated cheese on top tonight with my shrimp bisque and make cheese toast. Yippee! Thank you so very much! Suzanne
Love this recipe. Made it the first time with my 12 year old granddaughter who has just discovered baking! It was incredibly successful and her family (and I) raved. All of Sally’s recipes are foolproof-if one follows the directions! So they are perfect for beginners like my granddaughter and more experienced bakers like me! Thank you, Sally.
Anxious to make this one. I have used buttermilk powder in past years. What’s your experience with it? Or have added lemon juice and 2% milk. What’s your take on these? Thanks a zillion!
Hi Gail! Either of those substitutions should work fine, though lemon juice with whole milk would be better than 2%. In a pinch, you can use plain whole milk instead as well.
I have made the cheese bread recipe several times and followed the directions carefully. Each time my bread has turned out with very large holes in it. We like the taste very much and it’s fun to make but the big holes make it impossible to slice nicely. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Diana! Make sure to roll the dough up tightly with the cheese in it (step 7). You want as little air as possible to make it into the middle. Hope this helps for next time!
Excellent and super simple! My family loved it.
Is it possible To make this without a loaf tin?
I understand the shape will be differently but i don’t have one and this looks so good:-(
Hi Jerri, I’m sure you could use this dough/cheese/topping and assemble in a cake pan or springform pan just as we do with this raspberry twist bread.
Made this tonight and it is amazing! And it looks super impressive too! I’m not great with yeasted breads but this was a definite winner. I did not have buttermilk so I used sour cream and milk mixed together 1:1-ish. It seemed to work ok, but next time I’ll get real buttermilk.
For Christmas I gave my brother and his wife a gift certificate for one homemade baked good a month. This recipe was their first choice, which made me nervous because I’m a cake baker not a bread maker. I have to say it was easier than I thought it would be and other than not tenting it soon enough it came out beautifully! Your recipes are always terrific!
What a lovely gift idea, Beverly — thank you for making and sharing our recipe!
Hi, what would happened if I let the dough rise for 6 hours on the counter instead of in the fridge? I really don’t want to put the dough overnight in the fridge and take it out to let it rise for 1-2 hours again.
Thanks
Hi there, I only have whole wheat bread flour or regular all purpose flour. Which would work better?
Hi Kelly, In a pinch, you can simply use all-purpose flour in this recipe.
Looks Devine!! Wonder if a hard cheese like Asiago or Parmesan would work?
This recipe is amazing. I’ve made it four times and it turns out beautifully each time.
For the holidays I made baskets of savory breads for my team at work. Each included homemade croissants, pretzels, english muffins and this cheese bread. I made it into mini loaves. It was the absolute favorite item in the baskets. I knew it would be.
I have also made the bread into boules for bread bowls for chili. I didn’t braid in the cheese. I added that after creating the cavities and then toasted them just before filling with chili. It was amazing.
Dear Sally,
Can I double the ingredients to yield 2 loaves?
Hi Lindy, For best results, we always recommend making two separate batches. Though some readers have doubled this dough successfully by doubling each ingredient. The first rise time will be longer since there’s more dough.
I made this in my bread machine and made 4 mini loaves instead of one loaf, as follows: all the water and oil (instead of butter), dry ingredients next (NOT the cheese), top with instant yeast. Start machine on “dough” cycle, add remaining 1 cup flour as needed to make dough that does not stick to sides. Once mixed, let rise 20 minutes. Remove from machine, cut 4 pieces, knead briefly and shape into 4 balls; let rest 20 minutes. Roll out with rolling pin, sprinkle cheese onto dough, roll up like a cinnamon roll, let rest briefly. Brush with garlic butter; roll into additional shredded cheese. Let rise 20-40 minutes. Bake at 350 F about 30 minutes (until golden brown)
Oops, did not use egg in recipe. Turned out soft and light despite that. Highly recommenf
What size bread pans did you use? My dough cycle kneads and then rests for 20 minutes, deflates dough then rises for 50 minutes. I will have to try your method with the 2 20 minute rests and the final rise.
Did not use bread pans. Shaped it about the size of a fat bread stick (x 4) and placed them on a cookie sheet after rolling the tops with cheese. If you wanted to make it into mini loaves, I would split dough in 2 rather than 4 and use small loaf pans (8.5 × 4.5 x 2.5).
My dough cycle is the same as yours. I let it knead for the 20 minutes then pull the plug /stop the cycle as find my machine heats too much during the rise. I then proceed as indicated.
This bread is amazing! And I’ve never baked bread before! I used fresh garlic in the dough (not the topping), and for the topping added a bunch of finely chopped basil and sundried tomatoes, heated in the butter, and sort of pushed them into the folds before baking. So yummy
I’ve made this twice in the past week. It is so tasty! After making it the first time, my 6 year old requested it for her birthday dinner.
I honestly felt like I messed up both times when I was shaping it, but it turned out beautifully both times.
My family devoured this! I had to make a fresh loaf the same day! I’d love to know what the bake time for this would be if I made them into small cheese buns
Hi, we made this recipe just last night, and the bread does taste amazing. But what didn’t work out was the whole middle of the loaf on top completely collapsed into a sinkhole that covered about 70% of the loaf. We followed every direction religiously, so we don’t know what we did wrong. It was baking up just fine, but toward the end of the baking, the whole middle collapsed. So no way of slicing anything, of course. We’re calling it a cheese pull-apart, but still disappointing. Any thoughts?
Hi Ken, thanks for trying this recipe for cheese bread. It’s normal for yeasted breads to sink a bit as they cool, but they shouldn’t collapse. I wonder if the shaped loaf rose for too long, which could have caused it to deflate when cooling. Additionally, what could help, is poking a few holes into the top of the risen loaf with a toothpick. We do this with apple cinnamon babka because it helps steam escape and keeps the layers tight and compact. You could try that with this recipe to see if it helps for next time.
Thank you for the great recipe, and easy to follow directions. The video really helps to shaping the bread. My family loves it when I make it, it never last for more than 1 day!
Love the recipe, but how do you make the top shiny? Mine is dull.
Hi Sarah, For the shiny golden top, right before baking, brush the shaped dough with melted butter and herbs as directed in step 10. Enjoy!
This has truly become a favorite of mine. So light, fluffy and buttery. I just add a bit of pepper with the cheddar for a little kick. Also tried it with pesto and mozzarella instead of the cheddar and it worked great. Thank you for this recipe!
This was my first time making this bread and it turned out amazing!! I also watched the video which helped me as well. Very pleased with my first try.