Caramelized Onion Bread

Last dinner party, I made Mozzarella Basil Bread with much success. I knew I wanted to use the same recipe somehow, just wasn't quite sure what. When I was browsing appetizers, Caramelized Onion Dip struck my fancy, but I didn't want to do a dip for my dinner party, so Caramelized Onion Bread was born. I replaced the mozzarella with a more onion friendly cheddar and the basil was swapped out for sweet bits of caramelized onions. I prepped the onions the night before and then baked the bread the day of the party. The whole house smelled amazing for 24+ hours.

Caramelized Onion Bread

2 large yellow onions
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon yeast
1 tablespoon salt
5 cups bread flour, or as needed
1 cup shredded cheddar
¼ cup milk
1 tablespoon melted butter

Cut the onions in quarters and then slice them into 1/8-inch thick slices. (You will have about 3 cups of onions.) Heat the butter and oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions, salt, and pepper and sauté for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 more minutes until the onions are browned and caramelized. Allow the onions to cool.

Mix warm water with sugar in the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the paddle until the sugar has dissolved. Sprinkle yeast over the surface of the water, and let stand until the yeast begins to form a creamy layer on the water. Stir the yeast into the water. Stir in salt, and 1 cup of bread flour, and beat the flour in to form a loose batter. Stir in 1 more cup of flour, and mix in the cheese, cooled onions and milk. Mix in the remaining 3 cups of flour in ½ cup additions. Swap the paddle for the dough hook and knead for 6 minutes. Form into a ball, coat with olive oil, cover and allow to rise for one hour.

Punch down the dough and turn out onto a well-floured work surface, and knead the dough just long enough to eliminate the remaining bubbles in the dough, about 1 minute. Cut the dough into 2 equal pieces, and form each half into a round ball. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray, and place the balls onto the baking sheet. With a sharp knife, slash an X into the top of each loaf. Cover the loaves with a towel, and let rise until doubled, about 25 minutes. Brush each loaf with the melted butter.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bake the loaves until browned, about 25 minutes. To serve, cut each loaf into 8 wedges.

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