Asiago Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomato Quick Bread

My family is very fond of soda bread and I really like Asiago cheese, basil and sun-dried tomatoes. When I found this recipe was the June Baking Challenge for one of my favorite baking websites, Sally's Baking Addiction, well, I knew I had to bake it. And soon.


Here's today's cast.


I didn't have buttermilk so I did the usual mixing of white vinegar with milk. It never takes long for the curdling to begin.


I had nice, large leaves of basil that I rolled into a cigar.


A rough chiffonade and then I did an additional quick chop so the pieces weren't too big.


I have a weird relationship with tomatoes. I love cooked tomatoes a lot but raw tomatoes can be hit or miss depending on how they are presented. Sun-dried tomatoes are great--it's like they take all the things I like best about tomatoes (the sweet tartness) and magically eliminate the stuff I don't (the pulpy seediness and occasional blandness) into a sweet, chewy, and more intensely flavored fruit. It's what all raw tomatoes should aspire to. Unless they aspire to be tomato sauce. That works, too.


Dry ingredients are whisked together in a large bowl or in the bowl of a food processor.


The eggs were whisked into the buttermilk.


Cold, cubed butter was worked into the dry ingredients until...


The crumb stage!


I made an error and added the buttermilk and eggs next but I was supposed to add the shredded cheese, basil and tomatoes. Oops.


I don't think it mattered much--mix just till incorporated.


Then into a greased loaf pan.


I sprinkled some extra cheese and black pepper on top.


Into the preheated 350F oven for about 45 minutes. 


The recipe said to cool the loaf in the pan for about 10 minutes before turning it out onto a rack. The recipe also said it could be sliced and served or cooled completely. I definitely recommend cooling it longer--the coarsely shredded cheese I put on top made it crusty and a bit harder to slice. Since the bread was hot, the first slices crumbled a lot.


It is absolutely delicious! The Asiago is definitely the star of the show but the occasional chew from the tomatoes was lovely, too. The basil was really just a color addition here; the cheese refused to allow the herb to come through. It really didn't matter though. The crumb was surprisingly light and it was oh, so flavorful! The loaf was a huge hit with the guys. Even Tom was unstinting in his praise; that hardly ever happens! It didn't even need the butter I put out. Definitely a make-again!

Here's the promised link:


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