I’m a huge fan of the glorious Mrs. Marv, a lady whose blog is full of inspirational and delicious recipes and food experiments that will leave you drooling and hungry every time you read about them. My favorite recipe of hers is for her “Chubble” Bread (a shortening of “cheese bubble”), which is the undefeated champion of all breads that she or I have ever served. This bread is jam-packed with flavor, herbs, and cheese and is a pull-apart snack bread that’s equally fitting for a football party, brunch, or dinner party. The recipe is also easily adaptable to suit your tastes just by changing the “stuffs” you add (she has even made a sweet version), so the flavor possibilities are endless! This bread is a labor of love — but worth every bit of effort.

Mrs. Marv was happy to let me share her recipe with you, although I couldn’t resist making a couple of minor modifications to her original list of “stuffs” (I left out the parsley and added bacon). I made a batch up this weekend and my husband and I were both thrilled with the results!

Chubble Bread Recipe

For the sponge:

For those who don’t know, a “sponge” is a starter dough that gives the yeast a chance to develop. You’ll let this set a while and then add it to the rest of the dough.

• 1 tsp active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (use a thermometer to make sure it’s between 105F and 115F)
• 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

For the dough:

• 1 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water (use a thermometer to make sure it’s between 105F and 115F)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• sponge, above
• 3 1/4 – 3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp kosher salt

For the “stuffs”:

• 8 – 10 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/4 cup cheap Parmesan cheese from a can (because it’s dried out)
• 1 bunch of green onions, thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup chopped cooked bacon (keep it soft, not crispy)
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano or basil
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 3 tbsp olive oil

To make the sponge:

Sprinkle yeast over the warm water in a large bowl, whisk it in, and let it stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in the flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until very bubbly and doubled, about 45 minutes.

To make the dough:

Sprinkle yeast over the warm water in the bowl of a heavy duty mixer, whisk it in, and let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Add the olive oil and sponge to the bowl and mix with the paddle attachment until well blended. Add in salt. Add in flour 1/4 cup at a time — when you get to 3 cups, add flour more slowly, checking it until the dough stops being very sticky and is only slightly sticky. (You may not need all of the flour.)

Change to the dough hook and knead at medium speed until the dough is soft, velvety, and slightly sticky, 3 to 4 minutes. Finish by sprinkling 1 tbsp of flour on your work surface and kneading the dough by hand briefly. Shape into a ball and transfer to a bowl lightly coated with olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

To make the stuffs:

Meanwhile, prep and toss together all the stuffs ingredients in a large bowl. Stir well, coating everything with the oil. Set aside.

Put it together:

Empty out bread on a cutting board and flatten into a rectangle about 1/2″ thick. Use a pizza cutter to cut bread into inch-wide strips. They do not need to be uniform.

Then cut each strip into 1″ pieces and put them, a few at a time, into the bowl of stuffs. Toss dough cubes gently to coat them with stuffs.

As dough pieces are covered, place them into an baking dish. You can use just about anything, including a pie plate, loaf pan, or muffin tins.

Once you have the dough in the pans, cover with plastic wrap and leave for a second rise in a warm area. Let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Baking:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush top of bread with olive oil and bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or cool and tear off bits as you want to eat them!

P.S. If you have any “stuffs” leftover, they make a fantastic filling for an omelet!