There's something addictive about Italian herb and cheese bread. Whether you're slicing it for a sandwich, cubing it up for a charcuterie board, or pulling off chunks to enjoy with garlic butter, it's hard to deny the flavor-bomb combination of Italian herbs, cheese, and bread. The only problem with making your own at home is settling on the type of bread, the variety of cheese, and the kind of herbs you want to use. But, to be fair, that's a pretty great problem to have.
In Wisconsin, our cheesemakers know a thing or two about the best cheese to mix with bread and herbs. After all, they've been perfecting Old World recipes and innovating new cheeses for over 180 years. You could start with Sartori's Garlic & Herb BellaVitano or Renard's Tuscan Rosemary Herb Cheddar for two delightfully herbaceous additions to your breadmaking recipe. Then there's Boar's Head Bold Italian Herb Mozzarella Cheese and Cello Cheese's Tuscan Rubbed Fontal with its exterior of Italian herbs on this ideal melting cheese. And let's not forget Pine River's Garlick and Herb cheese spread as well as Nasonville's Garlic and Herb Jack Cheese as wonderful options, too. Whether you prefer parmesan, mozzarella, or monterey jack, you'll find the perfect variety for your Italian herb and cheese bread in Wisconsin. From alpine style and sharp cheddar to brick and gorgonzola, Wisconsin cheesemakers produce the perfect melters for any style of Italian herb and cheese bread.
Pizza may be loved the world over, but it's not the only way to marry bread, cheese, and Italian herbs. Whether you choose focaccia or ciabatta, rosemary or sage, cheddar or mozzarella, you'll be baking a culinary marvel that is sure to please young and old.
Italian herb and cheese bread is typically a yeasty bread made from white flour where herbs and cheese are folded into the dough after it's been kneaded but before it's formed for baking. Alternatively, you may choose to sprinkle the herbs and cheese on top of the formed loaf. When folding cheese into the bread, you may use grated, cubed, or sliced cheese. For an easy shortcut, choose a specialty herb cheese with the herbs already present – for example, tomato basil cheddar cheese, swiss caraway cheese, dill havarti, asiago rosemary cheese, or black truffle cheese made with white cheddar.
Italian herbs typically used in seasoning are basil, oregano, rosemary, sage, parsley, marjoram, thyme, and savory. When used in bread, bakers typically use dried versions of these herbs.
The varieties most suitable for Italian herb and cheese bread are focaccia, pane toscano, ciabatta, pane pugliese, and coppia ferrarese.
A good melting cheese is ideal for Italian herb and cheese bread. The best Italian cheeses for this job include mozzarella, fontine (or fontal), provolone, and asiago. Even though it's not a melting cheese, a sprinkling of parmesan is heavenly on Italian herb and cheese bread. If you're venturing outside the circle of Italian cheeses, you can rely on cheddar, young gouda, queso oaxaca, or alpine-style cheeses like emmental and gruyere to melt beautifully within your bread.
The right wine or beer for your Italian herb and cheese bread will depend mostly on the type of cheese.
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