This summer I saw that there was a baking competition at my local agricultural fair, and decided to enter. Sourdough is really my thing, but unfortunately there was no sourdough category. Only yeast bread! So I thought to myself, what kind of yeast bread inclusions would be the most crowd friendly. Of course the first thing that came to mind was cheese. Everyone loves cheese and it adds a salty, oily richness that’s hard to match. So much so that there’s a running joke in the bread community that if you lose a baking competition and you’re wondering why, people ask “did the winner include cheese?” It’s got that much of a reputation. I briefly considered going a sweet route with maybe apples and cheddar (a New England classic) but I thought that might be a little too controversial. 

Having no extra time, I fully sent it into the final loaf. The first loaf was pretty good so it would probably be fine, right? I followed the exact same procedure, this time making dough for two loaves in two separate containers, just in case. It was a good idea too, because I totally freaked myself out and added way too much flour to one of them. Lol whoops. I just added some extra water to that one and marked it so I didn’t mix the two up. Spoiler alert, both actually turned out fine. All in all they looked pretty similar coming out of the oven, but by some grace the one that looked nicer was the one that I hadn’t messed up. Love it when that happens!

Because the submissions were due at 9am I baked the bread the evening before and then gave it 5 mins in a preheating oven the morning of to remove any surface moisture. This was a good idea and a bad idea, because then it was warm going into the ziplock bag that was required for submission. Whoever made that decision was not thinking about crusty bread.

When I went to the fair a few days after turning in my submission I initially didn’t see my bread anywhere in the baking area, which I assumed was because I hadn’t won anything. Totally fair. After spending altogether too long looking for my bread it was starting to get embarrassing how long I’d been standing there, so I left the barn and accepted my fate. But on a second pass we saw it… not in the regular baking section, because it was in the best of show display! To my immense shock I won best of show for baking! Here’s that recipe.

Caramelized Onion and Cheddar Bread 
(French Onion Bread)

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients

For poolish (preferment)	250 g water, room temperature 250 g white flour 1/16 tsp dry active yeast
For caramelized onions	1 vidalia onion 1 Tbsp olive oil 1/2 tsp salt 1-2 Tbsp water, as needed
For dough	250 g white flour 125 g warm water (not hot) 2 tsp salt 3/8 tsp dry active yeast all of poolish mixture all of caramelized onion mixture 150 g white cheddar cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Instructions

Day 1

Approx. Time	Instructions
8pm	Around 8pm the night before you want to bake, mix the poolish. In a medium sized bowl or tupperware container combine water, flour, and yeast. Mix with a small spoon or a chopstick until no dry flour remains.
8:15pm	Cover the poolish, set it poolish aside, and let it rest at room temperature. In the meantime, cut 1 vidalia onion into thin slices. Begin to heat the olive oil in a small pan on the stove set to low heat. When it begins to shimmer and move around the pan add the onion. You should hear a light sizzling sound. Add the salt and stir to coat the onions in oil. Cook the onions until deep golden brown, at least 30 mins, stirring occasionally. If you notice them drying out and sticking to the bottom add 1/2 Tbsp of water to loosen any bits stuck to the bottom. Continue as needed. When the onions are done, place them in a container and refrigerate overnight.

Day 2

Approx. Time	Instructions
8am	About 12 hours later, when the poolish is very bubbly and at least doubled in size, mix the dough. Pour the warm water over your poolish to loosen it from the bottom and pour the whole thing into a large bowl. Add in the flour, salt, and yeast. Using a large spoon or your hands, mix until the dough is relatively homogeneous. Let rest for 20 mins. In the meantime, take your caramelized onions out of the fridge to warm up.
8:20am	After 20 mins, add the inclusions to your dough. Splinkle 1/4 of the onions and 1/4 of the cheese cubes on top of the dough. Looking at the top of your dough, imagine it has four “sides” like in the image provided. Using the palm of your hand, loosen the first side from the side of the bowl and stretch it up and over the top of the inclusions, folding it like a taco. Splinkle another 1/4 of the onions and 1/4 of the cheese on the dough, turn the bowl 90 degrees, and do the same with size 2, stretching it up and over the conclusions. Repeat 2 more times, until you’ve used all of your inclusions and they are all covered with dough. Cover and let rest for another 20 mins.
8:40am	After 20 mins, repeat the folding technique in the previous step, but without adding additional inclusions. Lift and stretch side 1 over the top of the bowl, turn the bowl 90 degrees, list and stretch side 2 over, and continue the same on all 4 sides. If any of the cheese pops out while doing this, simply push it back in. When this is done, cover and let rest for another 20 mins.
9am	After 20 mins, repeat the sale folding technique one more time. When this is done, cover and let rest for 2 hours.
11am	After 2 hours the dough should be well risen and airy and ready to be shaped into loaves. At this time, turn out the dough onto a clean and lightly floured work surface. Using a knife or a bench knife cut the dough into approximately 2 equal pieces and separate the pieces. Shape both pieces into approximate rectangles, trying not to press into the dough too much. Working on one dough at a time, pull the top of the rectangle up and over to the center. Then repeat with the other four sides, like folding an envelope. When this is done you should have a smaller rectangle. With the longer side facing towards you, use your thumb and forefingers to grab the side closest to you and roll it up and away from you, like if you were rolling up a sleeping bag. Repeat with the second dough. Transfer both doughs to a cookie sheet, cover, and let rest for 1 hour.
11:30am	After 30 mins of rest, preheat your oven to 450. Allow the oven to preheat for 30 minutes to make sure it’s fully heated. When this is done, transfer the cookie sheet to the oven and bake for 30 mins or until the bread is golden brown.
	Allow to cool completely before slicing. Enjoy as is, or toasted with butter!