Japanese Style Grilled Cheese on Homemade Cheese Bread

The aromas of baking bread fill a home with comfort and fill a tummy with homemade goodness. This cheese bread is subtle in its cheese accents. But you can always substitute a sharp cheddar for the milder varieties.

This cheese bread is a perfect candidate for the Japanese style grilled cheese. Butter sweetens the slightly pungent shiitake mushrooms which land on soft bread and cheddar cheese.

Ingredients: 

For the homemade cheese bread:
Adapted from Allrecipes.com
 

  • 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
  • 3 cups Japanese bread flour (top quality American flour is fine also)
  • ¼  cup dry milk powder
  • 1 tablespoon butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 1 ¼  cups warm water
  • 1 ½  cups shredded organic mild cheeses (Monterey Jack, Colby cheese and mild cheddar cheese)

For the grilled cheese sandwich:

  1. Softened butter
  2. 2 medium shiitake mushrooms, sliced into thin strips
  3. 2 sandwich size slices of extra sharp cheddar cheese
  4. 2 slices of homemade cheese bread or your favorite bakery bread
Directions: 

For the homemade cheese bread:

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine. Give a quick whisk. Select the White Bread setting. Press Start and prepare to have your home infused with the comforting aromas of baking bread.

For the grilled cheese sandwich:

Melt a generous tablespoon of butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Sauté the shiitake mushrooms for about a minute. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and pat dry with paper towels. Smooth softened butter over one side of each of the bread slices. Butter side down, place one slice in the pan. Arrange the cheese and mushrooms over the bread. Wait until the cheese begins to melt to cover with the remaining bread slice. Keep the buttered side up; flip the sandwich and grill for another minute. Serve with kale salad if desired.