Cottage Cheese Bread

Cottage Cheese Bread

Incorporating cottage cheese and egg whites into a classic white bread recipe delivers a tender crumb, as well as a hefty boost of protein. This versatile loaf is perfect for sandwiches, toasts and more. The process is similar to making any sandwich bread: The wet ingredients are stirred with the flour, kneaded into a smooth dough, then proofed, shaped, proofed again and baked. Whisking the cottage cheese and egg whites with the wet mixture is the only difference. This recipe is bread-machine friendly, as long as the cottage cheese and egg whites are blended until smooth before being added to the machine. Thanks to the added fat and moisture from the cottage cheese, the bread should stay moist and soft for a few days at room temperature, but freezing the sliced loaf is the best way to extend its shelf life. Simply toast frozen slices before serving.

Yield: About 10 servings

1 ½ teaspoons/5 grams active dry yeast 

⅓ cup/75 grams lukewarm water

1 cup/250 grams egg whites (from 7 to 8 large egg whites) 

1 cup/255 grams cottage cheese 

4 ⅔ cups/582 grams bread flour, plus more for dusting 

1 tablespoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) or 1 ½ teaspoons fine salt

Oil (preferably avocado or sunflower oil), as needed

In a large mixing bowl, combine the active dry yeast and lukewarm water and set aside to hydrate.

In a blender or food processor, combine the egg whites and cottage cheese and blend until smooth. Add the blended mixture to the yeast mixture and whisk to combine. 

Whisk the flour with a dry whisk in its container to remove any lumps and aerate the flour. Measure it and add it, along with the salt, to the wet ingredients. Stir to combine into a shaggy, sticky dough. 

Dust a work surface with flour and dump the dough on it. Dust your hands with flour to prevent them from sticking to the dough (or oil your hands with a little bit of oil). Knead the dough, using a bench scraper to help lift the sticky dough from your work surface as needed, for 5 to 6 minutes, or until it starts looking smooth. You can also knead the dough until smooth using a stand mixer or bread machine. 

Shape the dough into a ball and place it back in the mixing bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until almost doubled in size.

Line a 9-by-5-inch or similar size loaf pan with parchment paper.

After the dough has doubled in size, punch it down to deflate it. Roll it into a log, then pinch the dough along the seam together. Place in the prepared pan, seam side down.

Let the dough sit in the loaf pan for 20 to 25 minutes, or until visibly risen and puffed up.

In the meantime, heat the oven to 400 degrees. 

After the dough’s second rise, make a slit along the middle using a sharp knife or razor blade. 

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until it sounds hollow after a gentle tap on the crust. The top of the bread will brown pretty quickly. To prevent it from burning, cover loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil as soon as it turns crusty and brown.

Cool completely, then slice and serve. (Slices can be stored in the freezer in a ziptop bag, then toasted before serving.)