The cheese in this Walnut and Gruyère Loaf is just so delicious. Nuts are a nutritious and delicious addition to any bread dough, along with the cheese that adds flavour and texture to the bread.

This yeasted bread is very easy to make and ready in around 3 hours. Sounds like a long time but well worth it. It's the proofing that takes up most of the time here!

What are Cheese breads?

Cheese breads are homemade breads packed with various cheeses. Our Walnut and Gruyère is a simple yeasted dough that can be used to accommodate a number of different additions.

Ingredients

• Flour, white strong bread flour is used in this recipe but we've also used strong wholemeal too and sometimes a blend of both.
• Salt, we use sea salt for extra flavour.
• Fast action dried yeast.
• Unsalted butter, use at room temperature.
• Tepid water.
• Olive oil for greasing tin and kneading. Light olive oil will suffice rather than extra virgin.
• Walnuts, chop these roughly but not too large.
• 100g Gruyère cheese, grated.

How to make Walnut and Gruyère Loaf

• Lightly brush olive oil on the inside of a 10" tin.
• Fill a roasting tin with water and pop in the bottom of your oven. This will create steam in the oven when baking the bread, the steam will help produce a really crisp crust. Take a look at the science bit here.
• Put the flour, salt and yeast into a bowl and stir together.
• Make a small well in the centre and add the melted butter and tepid water.
• Make sure the water is only warm not hot or the yeast will die and the dough will not rise.
• Mix until the ingredients together until are all combined and the dough is soft.  You may need a little more water, 225 ml seemed fine for this amount of flour.
• Add the chopped walnuts and the grated Gruyère cheese and combine into the dough for another minute or two.
• Tip the dough onto an oiled surface and knead for 5-10 minutes (or use an electric mixer with a dough hook for 2 minutes) until the dough has a nice soft, smooth skin.
• Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with cling film. Leave to prove/rise for 1 hour until doubled in size.
• Take the dough out of the bowl and knock back the dough (punch the air out).
• Give the dough a little knead, pull it up and in on itself, then mould the dough into a ball again.
• Pop the dough into a lightly oiled tin (I like a round loaf) and covered with a plastic bag or cling film, then prove for another hour.  The dough should be doubled in size again.
• *Dust the top of the loaf with flour and put two cuts in the dough.
• Bake in a very hot oven, 200ºC/gas 7 for 30 minutes.
• Cool the loaf for a few minutes then take out of the tin and cool on a wire rack.

*At this stage you can also grate more cheese over the unbaked dough for a cheesy, crispy top!

**For extra flavour and this is something I love to add to my savoury breads is to brush the top of the unbaked bread with garlic and/or herb butters. The butters will infuse down into the bread and add another flavour level into the bake.

Can you freeze this Loaf?

Like most breads, this Walnut and Gruyère loaf will freeze well for up to 2 months. Wrap tightly in two layers of cling film to freeze. Thaw at room temperature when needed. We do usually slice our loaf to make it easier to just take out single slices.

How long will Walnut and Gruyère Loaf last?

Not long, but that's only because it is so delicious and you won't have it round for long! But it will keep fairly fresh in a bread bin for a couple of days, then can be toasted to prolong its use.

Can I use other cheeses and nuts?

You can use any cheese such as Cheddar, Gouda, even Parmesan is great too! Always grate the cheeses for the best texture in the bread.

 Hazelnuts, almonds, pecans and pistachios are all good in bread dough too.

Other Bread recipes you may love:

• Sun-dried Tomato Cheddar Soda Bread
• Spelt seeded Buttermilk Soda Bread

Recipe originally posted in 2013, updated in 2021.

Walnut and Gruyere Loaf

The cheese in this Walnut and Gruyère Loaf is just so delicious. Nuts are a nutritious and delicious addition to any bread dough, along with the cheese that adds flavor and texture to the bread.

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Author: ND

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PREP 2 hours hrs

COOK 30 minutes mins

Additional Time 30 minutes mins

TOTAL 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

• ▢ 350 g white bread flour
• ▢ 1 tsp salt
• ▢ 7 g fast action dried yeast
• ▢ 25 g unsalted butter, melted
• ▢ 225 ml tepid water
• ▢ Olive oil , for greasing pan and kneading

Instructions

 

• Lightly brush Olive oil on the inside of a 10" loaf pan.
• Fill a roasting tin with water and pop in the bottom of your oven (to create steam in the oven when baking the bread).
• Put the flour, salt and yeast into a bowl and stir together.
• Make a small well in the center and add the melted butter and tepid water.
• Mix until the ingredients together until are all combined and the dough is soft.  You may need a little more water, 225 ml seemed fine for this amount of flour.
• Add the chopped walnuts and the grated Gruyère cheese and combine into the dough for another minute or two.
• Tip the dough onto an oiled surface and knead for 5-10 minutes (or use an electric mixer with a dough hook for 2 minutes) until the dough has a nice soft, smooth skin.
• Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with cling film. Leave to prove/rise for 1 hour until doubled in size.
• Take the dough out of the bowl and knock back the dough (punch the air out).
• Give the dough a little knead, pull it up and in on itself, then mould the dough into a ball again.
• Pop the dough into a lightly oiled tin (I like a round loaf) and covered with a plastic bag or cling film, then prove for another hour.  The dough should be doubled in size again.
• Dust the top of the loaf with flour and put two cuts in the dough.
• Bake in a very hot oven, 200ºC/gas 7 for 30 minutes.
• Cool the loaf for a few minutes then take out of the tin and cool on a wire rack.

Recipe Notes

Serving: It's best to wait until the bread cools before slicing.

The 3 hour total time includes the proving of the dough.

Course Bread

Cuisine American

Calories 132kcal

Nutrition Facts

Walnut and Gruyere Loaf

Amount per Serving

Calories

132

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

3

g

5

%

Saturated Fat

 

1

g

6

%

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

2

g

Cholesterol

 

4

mg

1

%

Sodium

 

196

mg

9

%

Carbohydrates

 

21

g

7

%

Fiber

 

1

g

4

%

Protein

 

4

g

8

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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*Nutritional data is provided as a courtesy and is accurate to the best of my knowledge. You can verify it using the nutrition calculator of your choice. All data is based on net carbs, without sugar alcohol: Swerve, Erythritol, Monk Fruit or Allulose.

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