With A Twist

   I had a request in the office last week for cheesy bread. There's only a few things I love more than bread and one of them's cheese. So why not put them together? You can use all-purpose flour for basic cheese bread. Add yeast, water and honey for the starter. Although my starter didn't rise nearly as much as it usually does with bread flour. I'm not sure if that was it or my water was too warm for the yeast. Sometimes if it's too hot, it will kill the yeast and your dough won't rise, but that's usually only if it's boiling. So with my small lump of dough, I added cheddar cheese, dijon mustard, cayenne pepper and some more yeast and flour. I left it alone for about 4 hours, hoping it would double in size...but no such luck. I was really bummed out! I thought I had my first "ruined" recipe. I decided to make little twists with the dough since the loaf would look kind of pathetic that small. I grabbed at the dough, pinching off chunks the size of tennis balls. I rolled each one out long and thin, and then brought the ends together, twisting them into interesting bread sticks. The amount of dough made just enough for one cookie sheet of cheesy bread twists. I covered it with plastic wrap and let them rest over night. They did puff up a little, which made me happy. By morning some of the twists were even bumping up against each other. I seperated them just a bit and then popped them in at 350 for about 25 minutes.
   Anyone who has ever ordered a cheesy bagel twist at Dunkin Donuts would say my twists look very similar. They actually tasted similar too, although the cayenne pepper and dijon mustard gave it a tiny little kick that was a perfect variation. I loved them. I did get some feedback that they need to be eaten warm. Unless I can serve them right out of the oven, I'll have to reheat (10 seconds in the microwave seems to be perfect). Also, if baking for a crowd, I would double the recipe.