Roasted Pepper Cheddar Sun Bread
Happy holidays, friends! This roasted red pepper, garlic and cheddar sun bread might be my favorite tear and share yet. The holiday season is never complete for me until I’ve made a fun bread centerpiece! Hope you enjoy this as much as I did!
For the dough:
500g all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
12g salt
7g (1 packet) yeast
190g warm milk
20g (1 tbsp) honey
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 eggs (beaten)
Filling:
Approx. 1 cup of roasted red peppers
2-3 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 bag of shredded Cabot Creamery Vermont sharp cheddar (or a grated 8oz block)
In a small bowl or measuring cup mix the yeast, honey & warm milk. Whisk thoroughly and let it sit until foamy (about 5-10 minutes). If you’re using instant yeast, skip the activation step with the warm milk and just mix the yeast straight into the flour. You may still want to dissolve the honey in the warm milk, though.
Meanwhile, whisk together the salt and the flour, followed by adding the melted butter and beaten eggs.
When the yeast mixture is foamy, add it to all the other ingredients and give everything a good mix. You can either knead it using the dough hook & stand mixer, or knead by hand until you have a nice smooth ball.
Let it rise in a lightly oiled bowl (covered) for 1 hour or until doubled in size. While the dough rests, make your red pepper spread.
Warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and add 2-3 sliced garlic cloves. Lightly cook the garlic until fragrant and then turn the heat off. Add 1 cup of roasted red peppers (patted dry) and the garlic to a food processor. Blend until smooth. Set aside until ready to use.
6. When the dough has doubled in size, gently deflate it. Flour a work surface, and divide the dough into two equal pieces.
7. Roll the first dough ball until you have a disc that is about 14-15 inches across. If it’s tough, just keep at it! Eventually you’ll get there. Transfer it to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread the roasted garlic red pepper sauce and then top with all of the cheese. Gently press down to get the cheese to stick into the sauce and dough.
8. Roll the second piece of dough out until you have a similarly sized disc, then lay it on top of the first piece.
9. Place a cup in the center of the top dough disc to mark where to make cuts (see images below). Do not cut into the dough that is underneath the small cup.
10. Cut each arm using a very sharp knife or use kitchen scissors (my preferred method). The sun will have 16 “arms” total, but don’t stress too much if you end up with more or less. It will still look beautiful!
11. Twist each piece 1.5-2 times around - all twisted in the same direction.
12. After completing the twisting, your sun bread should look something like the above image! Let it rest for about 20 minutes while the oven pre-heats to 400F.
13. Bake for 25 minutes or so, until the sun has puffed up and is golden brown all over. Let the bread cool before tearing a piece off (this is the hardest part!).
Enjoy! Sun bread is best the day it’s made. But you can also pull it apart and keep it in a sealed container at room temperature for 1-2 days. If you make this, I’d love to see! Tag @nokneadtoworry on Instagram. This post is sponsored by Cabot Creamery.
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