Cheese bread

I have noted this recipe to make it for a long time but it was always another one to do. But look, its time it arrived. Despite of a lot of negative opinions I've read about it I was stubborn to do it anyway.  They were pointing that the crust becomes bitter because of the burned cheese after the baking. So I was careful not to make the crust so brown and I baked it at lower temperature than normal. And the result was a success. Maybe it didn't raise so much that I would have liked but the taste of the bread was exceptional. I have tried a bite when it was still warm and I had the feeling that I was eating some cheese crackers. When it cooled down, the strong taste of cheese has diminished.



Ingredients:

Preferment (total 324g):

• 180g bread flour
• 108g water
• 36g sourdough (100% hydrated)

Final dough (total 1901g for 2 breads):

• 820g bread flour
• 492g water
• 50g olive oil
• 15g salt
• the above preferment (324g)
• 200g emmental cheese (finely grated)

Directions:

1. Make the preferment 12 hours before. Let it sit covered at 21ºC.
2. Mix the water with flour from the final dough for 1-2 minutes.
3. Autolyse for 40 minutes.
4. Add salt, oil and the preferment and mix 10 min.
5. Add the last ingredient, the cheese, and mix just to incorporate it..
6. Bulk fermentation 3h with stretching and folding twice after 50 minutes.
7. Preshape and let the dough relax for 15 minutes.
8. Shape as oblong.
9. Final fermentation in lightly floured bannetons 3h at 24ºC.
10. Bake for 15" at 250ºC with steam and then reduce the temperature at 220ºC for another 45 minutes.

This recipe was adapted from Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes - Jeffrey Hamelman, page 190-191.