Recipe For Ham and Cheese Bread

Continuing along with Martha Day’s Complete Baking, here is a ham and cheese quick bread that is so hearty, it could be a meal all in itself. She calls it Parma Ham and Parmesan Bread, but because I used Romano cheese and regular deli honey ham, I don’t think I can get away with that. I served it for breakfast after putting a slice of Cheddar cheese on each slice and throwing it under the broiler for a few minutes. The ham flavor really came through. The bread texture is that of a buttermilk biscuit.

This bread is a freestyle loaf. I am sure you could put it into a loaf pan, but the baking time would go up a bit because the loaf would be thicker. I liked the idea of slapping it down on a baking sheet and molding it into a loaf. It seems more homey.

Can you see all of that ham? The parsley was mostly for looks, but I think it added a nice touch. You could always change out the herb to something a bit stronger. In fact, a little bit of onion powder would have been yummy and Swiss cheese instead of the Romano/Parmesan would also have been nice.

(adapted from Martha Day’s Complete Baking)

1. Info for Ham and Cheese Bread

• Cook Time: unavailable
• Total Time: unavailable
• Servings: unavailable
• Calories: unavailable

2. Ingredients for Ham and Cheese Bread

• 1 pound all purpose flour (can use ½ whole wheat)
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 3 ounces ham, chopped
• 1 ounce freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 2 Tbsp freshly chopped parsley
• 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1½ cups buttermilk
• milk for glaze, along with extra cheese

3. Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (200 C or gas 6).
2. Grease a baking sheet.
3. Place flour in a bowl with baking powder, salt, pepper, ham, cheese and parsley.
4. Combine mustard and buttermilk and pour over the flour mixture.
5. Stir quickly to form a soft dough.
6. Put a little more flour on the counter and knead briefly.
7. Transfer to the baking sheet and form into an oval loaf.
8. Brush with milk and sprinkle with extra cheese.
9. Bake 25-30 minutes or until it sounds hollow when tapped underneath.
10. Cool before cutting.