Chive and Dill Bread

Is there any meal as wonderful as the feast of soup and bread? I'm all for holiday dinners and big meals when you are out on the town, but deep down, part of me always just wants the simple, soul-satisfying nourishment of good soup and bread.

So it's no surprise that I've completely fallen for Beatrice Ojakangas's (Minnesota shout-out!) The Soup and Bread Cookbook. I prefer her book over Moosewood's Daily Special soup cookbook because, to be honest, the recipes are better. I love her cookbook's seasonal orientation, and Minnesotans understand that we don't really do mussels in the upper Midwest (man, how many Martha Stewart mollusk recipes have we had to endure?), but a great recipe for walleye chowder will always be a hit. Plus, every soup recipe is paired with a bread recipe! The Type A in me love love loves this.

Last weekend we got our first real spring rain - a welcome change from snow (although we got some of that later, too) - but the grey, overcast day called for soup and bread. I made Ojakangas simple spring potato and pea soup in my big red Dutch oven with a squeeze of lime and a little yogurt and cilantro on top, and headed out to the garden to snip a few chives for this beautiful little loaf of chive and dill bread. I had two bowls of soup, countless chunks of bread, and settled in with my little one on a drizzly day, basking in the contentment of a full tummy and happy heart.

Chive and Dill Bread
My bread didn't rise right away, so I gently warmed the oven on very low heat, then turned the heat off and let the loaf sit in there to rise before baking. Worked like a charm. 

1 package (1/4 ounce) or 1 scant Tablespoon active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105-115 degrees F)
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
1 and 1/2 Tablespoons dried dill
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup cottage cheese
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour

Grease a standard loaf pan (or 1 and 1/2 quart casserole or souffle dish) generously with butter and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the yeast, warm water, sugar, salt, chives, and dill. Set aside until the yeast begins to foam, 5 minutes.

Add the butter, cottage cheese, egg and 1/2 cup of the flour. Beat on low speed until well mixed.

Add the remaining 1 and 1/2 cups flour and beat to make a stiff batter. Cover and let rise for 10 minutes.

Transfer the batter to the loaf pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake until golden and a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean and dry, 35-40 minutes. Let set for 5 minutes, then remove loaf from pan and place on a rack to cool.