Today's Case:
Baltimore Cheese Bread Recipe
Re: Baltimore cheese bread
From: Beth
Date: 1/10/2024, 8:16 AM
To: Phaedrus
On 1/10/2024 1:03 AM, Beth wrote:
Years ago, in the early 90s, a woman shared with me her recipe for
Baltimore Cheese Bread. It was photocopied from a book or magazine.
I kept—and used it—for years, but have tragically misplaced it.
I believe that the bread was a staple at Harborplace restaurant in
Baltimore, as I’ve found a couple of articles. However, I cannot find
the recipe anywhere online.
Can you help?
Cheers and with hope and gratitude,
Beth
Hi Beth,
The thing about "Harborplace" is that it's not a restaurant in itself. Harborplace is a place, a "pavillion." It's sort of like a mall, with shops and restaurants and other interests. There have been more than one restaurants in Harborplace, and one of the most memorable was called "Ms Desserts," which moved there from Washington DC in the 1980s. While it lasted, Ms. Desserts was notable for it's cheese bread. Sadly, I was unable to find a cheese bread recipe from Ms. Desserts, and it's difficult for me to believe that their recipe was published in a magazine or book, yet it is not posted somewhere on the web.
"Ms. Recipe" was not, however, the only place in Baltimore that was notable for its cheese bread. Baltimore had department stores called "Hutzler's" and, like many large department stores, Hutzler's had lunch counters in their stores. Unlike "Ms. Desserts'" cheesebread recipe, "Hutzler's" lunch counters' recipes for cheese bread has been published in books, magazines, and online mutiple times. See these websites and below for their recipe:
Phaed
Vintage Menu Mania
Hutzler's Cheese Bread
I hope this helps. I will post this so that perhaps someone who has the Ms. Desserts cheese bread recipe will see it and will send the recipe on to us.
Phaed
Hutzler's Cheese Bread
Yield: Makes 4 loaves
Ingredients:
1 package yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
9 1/2 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup sugar
13 1/2 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese
2 1/2 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 tablespoons margarine
2 cups milk
Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water.
Combine 9 1/2 cups bread flour, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/4 cup sugar and
13 1/2 ounces grated cheese. Melt butter and margarine, add to milk,
then combine all ingredients. Knead, let rise 2 hours. Divide into
4 parts. Place in four greased 4-inch-by-8-inch loaf pans and let rise.
Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour.
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Re: Baltimore cheese bread
From: Beth
Date: 1/10/2024, 3:25 PM
To: Phaedrus
Hi, and wow! Thank you for this wonderful information!!
In my searches, I’ve seen the Hutzler’s recipe. It differs very much from
what I am looking for, as the Baltimore Cheese Bread that I’ve made for
so many years is one in which, after the first rise, a pound of grated
Jarlsberg or Swiss cheese is mounded in the center of the dough,
which has been rolled out to a 16 inch circle and placed in a pie plate.
The dough is then gathered in sections up and around the cheese and
twisted into a turban-like shape.
I have a version of the recipe which I typed myself years back on a typewriter.
But the version that I worked from was, without any doubt, photocopied from
a book.
It MIGHT have been from a supplemental soft cover book published by the
Farm Journal cookbooks people. It is definitely NOT from their hardback
Homemade Pies, Cookies & Bread—I bought that because a page that I
still have from the woman who shared the recipe (on which she wrote a
note to me) has a heading of “newer ways of baking bread” or something
similar (I’m away from home right now).
Anyhow, I will keep on the search and am grateful, so grateful, for your
time and effort.
Cheers,
Beth
I'm not finding a cheese bread recipe that fits your description and none from a Farm Journal cookbook in particular. Farm Journal has published several cookbooks, and some of those were specifically bread recipes. There are several of them for sale at used book sources on the web, but none whose pages are posted on the web. If you knew exactly which one contained that recipe, you could purchase a copy of it.
I'll post this for reader input.
Phaed
Hi Beth,
I posted your request, and I just received the below from Gwen, a good friend
of mine who, when she has time, likes to search for the recipes that I have
been unable to find.
Phaed
In response to this request: https://hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/m012424w.htm,
the following appears in a cookbook titled 'You've got it made," by Marian Fox Burros,
published in 1984.
Baltimore cheese bread (12 SERVINGS)
This cheese bread was created by Dean Kolstad, the original owner of Ms Desserts,
one of the most popular food booths at Baltimore's Harborplace.
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 package active dry yeast
About 5 cups unbleached flour
2 eggs
1 pound Svenbo, Jarlsberg or Swiss cheese, grated (4 cups)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
GLAZE:
1 egg, lightly beaten
In a small bowl stir 1 teaspoon sugar into 3 tablespoons warm water; stir in yeast
and set aside until dissolved.
In large bowl, lightly beat eggs. Mix in remaining sugar, milk, butter and salt.
Blend in the yeast mixture and then stir in 2 cups of flour to make a dough.
Stir in another 1% cups flour, turn the dough onto a work surface and knead
in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft, smooth dough. Knead the
dough about 15 minutes more, or until it is smooth and satiny.
Place dough in lightly oiled bowl, turn it to lightly grease the surface, cover
with a tea towel and allow it to rise in a warm place until double in bulk, about 1/4 hours.
Thoroughly grease a 9-inch pie pan. Punch down dough and roll it into a 16-inch round.
Center dough in pie pan, pressing it snugly against the edges of the pan and allowing
the excess to hang over. Mound the cheese in the center and fold and pleat the dough
into a turban shape by gathering it into 6 or 7 equally spaced folds, stretching the dough
slightly as you draw each pleat over the filling. Hold the ends of the dough in your hand,
twist them together tightly on top. Glaze the surface by brushing it with the lightly beaten
egg. Set it aside in a warm place and let it rise until double in bulk, about 45 minutes.
Bake bread at 325 degrees in center of oven for about 50 minutes, or until top is golden
brown and bread sounds hollow when lightly tapped on the side. Cool for 15 minutes,
remove from pan and let rest another 30 minutes before slicing into wedges and serving.
NOTE TO COOK: This can be prepared ahead. Just warm it at 300 degrees for about
5 minutes before serving. If you live near the party you are bringing it to, warm it at home;
wrap well in aluminum foil and transport. It looks nice on a square or round cutting board.
Best,
Gwen
Thanks, Gwen!
