Dilly Bread

Here's what you need:
 

• 1 1/4 cups whole milk cottage cheese slightly warm
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp butter melted
• 2 tsp dried dill
• 1 Tbsp everything bagel seasoning (I used 1 1/2 tsp everything bagel and 1 1/2 tsp Somethin' for Everything seasoning from B.T.Leigh's)
• 1 large egg
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 tsp (1 packet) instant yeast
• 1/4 tsp baking soda

Warm the cottage cheese (not hot!) and blend with immersion blender or in food processor until mostly smooth.

Add the cottage cheese, egg, honey and melted butter to a bowl and whisk to combine until smooth. Add your seasonings, flour, baking soda and yeast. Using a large fork, mix together to combine into a shaggy dough. Mix until the dough just starts to come away from the sides of the bowl. Form into a ball and drizzle with a neutral oil. Cover and allow to rest for 1 hour.

After one hour, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. The dough does not have to double in size, it just needs to rest and rise a bit. Punch down and knead the dough into a ball. Transfer the ball to a parchment lined dutch oven or large Pyrex bowl. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

After 3o minutes, use a sharp knife to cut an "X" in the top of the bread. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 40-50 minutes or until it's deep golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from oven and cool in the bowl for 5 minutes. Finish cooling on a wire rack.

This bread is delicious served with butter or used for a tuna fish salad, BLT, or ham and cheese sandwich. The options are endless! Enjoy!