Italian Herb and Cheese

Italian Herb and Cheese Bread

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.

Wisconsin Varieties for Italian Herb and Cheese Bread

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.

All about 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.

How do you make Italian herb and cheese bread?

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.

What are Italian herbs?

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.

What is Italian bread?

The varieties most suitable for Italian herb and cheese bread are focaccia, pane toscano, ciabatta, pane pugliese, and coppia ferrarese.

What are the best Italian cheeses for herb and cheese bread?

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.

Videos: Discover Your Next Favorite Cheese

What to sip and savor with Italian herb and cheese bread

The right wine or beer for your Italian herb and cheese bread will depend mostly on the type of cheese.

  • Cheddar cheese, when young and melting, pairs best with lighter fare like Belgian ale, IPA, or cider or with a riesling, chardonnay, or pinot noir if you're drinking wine.
  • Mozzarella wants a lighter beer or medium-body, slightly acidic wine. Best to stick with pilsners or weiss beer, and to pour a chianti, merlot, chardonnay, pinot gris, or rosé.
  • Fontina or fontal cheese is an easy cheese to pair – it serves nicely with whites like chardonnay, riesling, or vouvray, or with chianti, montepulciano, or cabernet sauvignon if you prefer red. For beers, a bock, saison, or lambic will do fontina right.
  • Gorgonzola pairs best with big-flavored beers and wines – stouts, porters, and Belgian ales, or cabernet sauvignon, chianti, red zin, riesling, or malbec.
  • Provolone is perfect with big Italian reds like sangiovese and chianti classico. It also goes down nicely with light beers like lagers, pale ales, and pilsners.
  • Asiago teams up nicely with hard ciders and fruit beers, lighter Belgian ales, and pale ales. If you're drinking wine, try a pinot gris, sauvignon blanc, riesling, syrah, or cabernet sauvignon.
  • Gouda prefers a wine or beer that complements its nutty, slightly fruity flavor – try a farmhouse hard cider, brown ale, or bock for beer, or a gewürztraminer, müller-thurgau, riesling, champagne, or cava if you're pouring wine.
  • Alpine-style cheeses pair beautifully with Belgian-style ales, ambers, brown ales, bochs, and stouts. For wine, any fruit-forward red or white will do – try a zinfandel, beaujolais, riesling, or grüner veltliner.
  • Brick cheese likes salt-of-the-earth beers and wines – try a bock, stout, pale ale, or weiss beer. With wine, a chardonnay, pinot noir, riesling, or sauvignon blanc will treat brick well.

FAQs

What is Italian herb and cheese bread?

Italian herb and cheese bread is typically a bread made from white flour that has meltable cheese and Italian herbs folded into it or sprinkled on top.

What is a specialty cheese?

A specialty cheese is one that's typically made with a limited production and that uses additional ingredients such as herbs, spices, fruit, nuts, peppers, or mushrooms to add additional flavor and texture.

Craving award-winning aged cheddar, pining for parmesan, or searching for a new cheese to try? The world’s best cheese is just a click away! Explore our directory of Wisconsin cheesemakers and retailers who offer online cheese shopping and get cheese shipped right to your door. What are you waiting for?

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