Cheese Bread with Dipping Oils for Lobster Fest!

One of the best things about the approaching summer is the exciting food choices that summer brings. Our local Rotary Club Lobster Fest, which takes place tonight, announces the arrival of summer with a butter dipping bang. The event, which raises money for the Rotary’s various community service activities, is enormously popular and is always a sellout. It is a BYOB event held outdoors under a huge tent. The menu includes steamers, a freshly steamed lobster dinner (or steak for the crustacean-phobic, like my husband) and ice cream. There is live music followed by a DJ for dancing into the night…think college spring fest for the “college was probably quite a few years ago” set.

In addition to bringing your own drinks, each table brings an assortment of appetizers. I found some tasty looking flavored oils in the supermarket today by Boyajian Fine Oils. The package includes four small bottles: a roasted chili oil, a lemon pepper oil, a basil oil and a garlic oil I am going to bring a three cheese bread and serve the oils in small bowls for dipping. One suggestion for making this appetizer a bit fancier is to add freshly chopped herbs to each of the oils:

Roasted Chili Oil: add freshly chopped thyme and a pinch of red pepper
flakes
Lemon Pepper Oil: add freshly chopped dill and a few grinds of fresh
pepper
Basil oil: add finely chopped garlic and thinly sliced basil
Garlic oil: add finely chopped garlic and some finely chopped fresh rosemary

The bread is made from a recipe I found on the Panera Bread web site. It’s quite tasty and very simple to make. (Although if you're lucky enough to live near a Panera Bread you can just go there and buy a loaf instead of baking one...but honestly who doesn't love the smell of freshly baked bread?)

Rock Lobster!!!Rock Lobster!!!Oooo aah!Oooo aah!Red snappers snappin'Oooo
aah!Clam shells clappin'Oooo aah!Muscles flexin'Oooo aah!Flippers flippin'Oooo
aah!

Panera Bread Three Cheese Bread
From The Panera Bread Cookbook: Breadmaking Essentials and Recipes from America's Favorite Bakery-Cafe by the Panera Bread Team. Recipes by Ward Bradshaw and Joel Cammett. Copyright © 2004 by Panera Bread.

Starter:
1 cup (8.375 ounces) warm water (95-105° F)
2 teaspoons (0.25 ounces) fresh yeast
1 cup (4.875 ounces) all-purpose flour

Dough:
3/4 cup (5.75 ounces) warm water (95-105° F)
3 tablespoons (2 ounces) honey
4 teaspoons (0.5 ounces) fresh yeast
1/4 cup plus one teaspoon (2 ounces) vegetable shortening
4 3/4 cups (23 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon (0.5 ounces) salt
1/2 cup (2 ounces) 1/2-inch cubes Romano cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) 1/2-inch cubes Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) 1/2-inch cubes Asiago cheese
starter (recipe follows)

To create the starter, combine the water and yeast in a medium mixing bowl. Stir to dissolve the yeast fully. Add the flour to the bowl and stir until the ingredients are fully incorporated. Cover with a cloth and ferment the starter at room temperature for 30 minutes.

For the dough, combine the water, honey and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir to dissolve the yeast fully. Add the shortening, flour, salt, cheeses and fermented starter. Mix on low speed until the dough is fully developed. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl.
Divide the dough into 2 pieces weighing about 22 ounces each. Set aside any remaining dough and freeze for future use. Roll each piece of dough into a smooth ball. Place the dough on the counter or in a proofing basket and cover with a warm, damp cloth to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400° F.

Form the dough into loaves, cover with a warm, damp cloth and proof at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Score the loaves with a sharp knife, spray with water and bake for 30 minutes, or until the crusts are a deep golden brown and the middle of the loaves is 190-200° F.
Remove the bread from the oven and place on a cooling rack for 30 minutes. If the bread was baked in loaf pans, remove the bread from the pans before cooling.
Makes 2 loaves