Cheese Bread Recipe

Stilton and Pecan Twist Recipe - Paul Hollywood

Amazingly for me, I'm still into baking, I seem to have got the bug since the Kenwood Chef Elite arrived.

This post may contain affiliate links, as an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases but of course, at no extra cost to you.

Of course, the Kenwood Chef does far more than just mix, knead and whisk - so far I've made Banana Bread and a Christmas Pavlova Wreath.

I've also made a birthday cake and a Christmas cake for which I made my own marzipan, check me out. Baker Jan lol

I'm loving Paul Hollywood's book 'How to Bake' and had a go at his Stilton and Pecan Twist. I have slightly altered it though; just don't tell him! I decided it would be even better with a mix of white and wholemeal flour.

I must say I know very little about baking but when I read the water had to be cold I thought it was a bit odd. But if you take time to read the beginning of the book (page 13) as I did, there's a very interesting bit about water temperature.

Top Tip from Paul Hollywood!

He says, 'although it's true that warm water helps the dough rise quickly but it means you will lose flavour'.

Slower-rising dough grows and forms pockets of carbon dioxide in exactly the same way but as the fermentation process is longer the bread will taste better. How very interesting!

Anyway besides water temperature there's loads of other amazing baking information in his book too.

Gather and weigh out the ingredients. Tip the flour into the mixing bowl and add the salt to one side of the bowl and the yeast to the other and fit the dough hook. Add the butter and three-quarters of the water and set the machine to a medium speed.

Of course, you can do all this by hand it's just a lot easier with a mixer.

Continue adding the rest of the water until all the flour has been picked up from the sides of the bowl.

Let the machine do most of the work for you by setting it to speed 3 or 4 for a few minutes.

Now coat the work surface with a little olive oil and tip the dough onto it. Knead it by hand for a few minutes to get it nice and smooth and silky.

You don't want the dough too wet, just soft and not soggy so if you need to add a tiny bit more flour or water.

Put the dough into a large lightly oiled mixing bowl and cover the bowl not the bread with clingfilm. Put it in a warm place until it has doubled in size. It will take an hour at least but you can leave it longer even up to 3 hours. The important thing is not to be in a rush or your bread won't be nice.

Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Add half the Stilton and half of the pecan halves to the dough and work them in well.

This is probably best done by hand. Now add the rest and work that into the dough.

Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into two. Roll each piece into a sausage about 30cm (12 inches) long.

Now twist the two together - hold them together at one end and spin them says Paul Hollywood! But with that said I managed to kind of do it, so give it a go, it does work. Then tuck each end under so it doesn't come undone.

Cover the tray lightly with clingfilm and leave to prove for an hour or until the dough is at least double in size and springs back when you gently prod it with your finger.

Heat the oven to 220°C/430°F

Dust the twist with flour and bake for 30 minutes. When it's ready it will sound hollow when tapped on the base. Cool on a wire rack.

The Kenwood Chef Elite is a fantastic machine and has certainly got me into making loads more than I usually would.

Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating in the recipe card below!

stilton and pecan twist bread, paul hollywood recipe, cheese bread recipe,

baking, bread

English

Yield: 1 loaf

Author: Jan Bennett

Stilton and Pecan Twist

Of course, you don't have to have a mixer to do this but it is a lot easier.

Prep time: 27 MinCook time: 30 MinInactive time: 3 HourTotal time: 3 H & 57 M

Ingredients

• 350g strong white bread flour
• 150g strong stoneground wholemeal bread flour
• 10g salt
• 10g instant yeast (sometimes called easy bake)
• 30g unsalted butter - softened
• 320g cool water - 15°C
• Olive oil for kneading
• 200g Stilton - crumbled
• 150g pecan nut halves

Instructions

1. Tip the flour into the mixing bowl and add the salt to one side of the bowl and the yeast to the other and fit the dough hook.
2. Add the butter and three-quarters of the water and set the machine to a medium speed.
3. Continue adding the rest of the water until all the flour has been picked up from the sides of the bowl.
4. Let the machine do most of the work for you by setting it to speed 3 or 4 for a few minutes.
5. Coat the work surface with a little olive oil and tip the dough onto it. Now, knead it by hand for a few minutes to get it nice and smooth and silky.
6. You don't want the dough too wet, just soft and not soggy so if you need to add a tiny bit more flour or water.
7. Put the dough into a large lightly oiled mixing bowl and cover the bowl not the bread with clingfilm.
8. Put it in a warm place until it has doubled in size. It will take an hour at least but you can leave it longer even up to 3 hours.
9. The important thing is not to be in a rush or your bread won't be nice.
10. Line a baking tray with baking parchment.
11. Add half the Stilton and half of the pecan halves to the dough and work them in well.
12. This is probably best done by hand. Now add the rest and work that into the dough.
13. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into two. Roll each piece into a sausage about 30cm (12 inches) long.
14. Now twist the two together - hold them together at one end and spin them says Paul Hollywood!
15. But with that said, I actually managed to do it, so give it a go it does work. Then tuck each end under so it doesn't come undone.
16. Cover the tray lightly with clingfilm and leave to prove for an hour or until the dough is at least double in size and springs back when you gently prod it with your finger.
17. Heat the oven to 220°C/430°F
18. Dust the twist with flour and bake for 30 minutes. When it's ready it will sound hollow when tapped on the base. Cool on a wire rack.

Did you make this recipe?

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Disclosure: I did not receive payment for this post but I did receive a Kenwood Chef Elite. I truly love this machine and use it almost every day. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not required to write anything positive.