Hateno Cheese! One of the best additions to the culinary repertoire of Hyrule! Thanks to Koyin bringing cheese making to Hateno village, the doors have opened to a new world of deliciousness. One of the highlight recipes making use of Hateno Cheese combines the cheese with delicious freshly baked Hyrulean bread made from Tabantha wheat. This is the Melty Cheesy Bread.
“Is there anything better than a simple slice of bread baked with Hateno Cheese on top?”
This recipe is simple in concept, but it does take a little time and effort to make. We will be using the standard Hyrulean wheat bread recipe, but we will be making one slight adjustment. We’re going to add a garlic cheese mixture inside of each of the bread loaves. The mixture will be rolled up into each bread loaf before shaping and baking them. Outside of this change, it will essentially be business as usual for the bread. Once the bread loaves are baked, they will be topped with the same cheese sauce we used for the Cheesy Meat Bowl. The loaves will be broiled to get the cheesy sauce all bubbly and slightly browned. After the addition of a little parsley garnish, the Melty Cheesy Bread is complete!
Let me tell you, if Hylian Tomato Pizza doesn’t get you running to Hateno Village for a weekend getaway, this cheesy bread will. The crisp of the crust, the softness of the bread, the butteriness, and all the melty cheesy goodness are just an absolute treat. I am so ready for a weekend in Hateno and I will eat my way through the village (while my daughter shops Cece’s fashions), and I will definitely be eating my fair share of the Melty Cheesy Bread while I’m there!
Ingredients
2 ½ cups bread flour
1 packet yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tbsp honey
½ tbsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
6 oz gruyere cheese, shredded
3 cloves garlic, grated
6 tbsp butter, divided
2 tbsp flour
1 cup milk
1 cup gruyere cheese, grated
¼ tsp salt
2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
Add yeast to one cup of warm water and whisk together. Allow the yeast 5 minutes to bloom (you should see bubbles forming on top of the water). Once the yeast has bloomed, add the honey and olive oil to the water and whisk.
In a standing mixture with a dough paddle attachment, add the flour and salt and mix and a low speed to combine. Turn the mixer off and then add the water mixture, and mix again at a low speed until the ingredients fully incorporate and a dough is formed. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure everything mixes and combines. This should take about a minute it or two. Scrape off any dough stuck to the paddle and switch it out with a dough hook. Turn it back on at a low-medium speed and knead the dough. It may take as much as 8-10 minutes for the dough to fully come together. The dough is done when it is smooth, holds its shape, and fills back in when you poke a hole in the dough.
Remove the dough from the mixer, and if it is not yet ready, place it onto a floured cutting board or other surface and knead the dough further by hand if necessary.
Grease a bowl with cooking spray. Place the dough in the bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest for about an hour(or until it doubles in size).
At this point, once it has doubled, you can remove it from the bowl and split it evenly into two portions with a knife. Roll them back into two balls. Now cut each of these dough balls into three equal portions and roll each into a dough ball. You should have six dough balls.
Add the shredded gruyere cheese and the minced garlic to a bowl. Toss them together until the garlic is incorporated through the shredded cheese.
Now, to make the bread loaves. Use a rolling pin to roll one of the dough balls into a flat disk about ¼ inch thick. Spread one ounce of the shredded gruyere across the disk of dough. Start at one end and slowly roll the dough into a sort of cylinder shape, layering the cheese inside. Use your hands to smooth out the dough and form it into an oval shaped loaf. Repeat this process with all six dough balls to form six small loaves of bread.
Melt 4 tbsp of butter in a small microwave safe bowl. Melting the butter for 20-30 seconds on high should do the trick.
Gently place the loaves on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Place three loaves spaces apart on each baking sheet. Brush the loaves with some melted butter and cover them with towels to rest for 20 minutes.
In the meantime, preheat an oven to 350°F. After 20 minutes, brush the loaves with more butter and place them the oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, increase the temperature 400°F and cook for 5-10 minutes more, until they turn golden and have an internal temperature of 190°F.
When the loaves are baked, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for 10 minutes on a wire cooling rack.
While they are cooling, make the cheese sauce. Place a small pot over low heat. Melt the remaining two tablespoons of butter in the pot. Once the butter is melted, add the 2 tablespoons of flour. Whisk the flour into the butter to create a smooth roux. Allow the flour to cook for about 2 minutes, but do not allow it to brown.
After the 2 minutes, start slowly whisking in the milk. Pour the milk in slowly, about 2-3 tablespoons at a time and completely whisk it into the roux before adding more. Continue this process until the full 1 cup of milk has been whisked in. Once all of the milk has been added, add ¼ teaspoon of salt. Whisk the salt into the sauce to fully blend. Allow this béchamel sauce 2-3 minutes to thicken a little more, whisking or stirring as needed. Finally, add in the grated gruyere cheese. Stir the cheese into the sauce until it fully melts in. Allow the cheese sauce to thicken over the low heat for about 2-3 minutes, stirring as needed. Remove the pot from the heat.
Now the final part! Set the broiler on your oven to low. Place the bread loaves back on a baking tray (or two), and pour some of the cheese sauce generously over each. Place them back into the oven and allow them to broil for 5-10 minutes until the cheese sauce begins to bubble and slightly brown. Be careful not to allow the bread to burn. Once the cheese has browned, remove them from the oven.
To serve, place a loaf of the melty cheesy bread on a small plate and garnish it with a little of the minced parsley. Enjoy!
Learn more about the Melty Cheesy Bread dish from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom at Zelda Dungeon.