Gazing out the Cottage window at the "still meadow" that is our front yard in summer, I like to picture Mrs. Taber doing the same, back in the 1940s, at her "colonial farmhouse" in New England. Perhaps, even, while working on one of her books. I hadn't baked this Cheese Bread in years, although I don't know why. Crusty on the outside, tender on the inside, and full of cheesy goodness, it's a truly tasty and simple to make bread!
The Cheese Bread recipe resides on page 263 of Gladys Taber's Stillmeadow Cook Book, just above Cheese Shortbread (but that one's a recipe for another day). The copy of this cookbook we have here at Moonbeam Cottage is a third printing from 1965, with an original copyright year of 1947 (and the book still has its original paper dustjacket!).
Trivia Tidbit - Gladys Taber may have been one of the inspirations for the character of Elizabeth Lane in Christmas in Connecticut (1945)! Although in real life, Mrs. Taber was a great cook, as opposed to the fictional Elizabeth Lane, who is not. This film is a holiday favorite for the Moonbeams.
And now, on to the recipe with my ingredient notes in parentheses:
CHEESE BREAD
1/4 cup shortening (I used room temperature softened butter)
1/3 cup sugar (we prefer less sweet bread, so I reduced this to 1 tablespoon)
3/4 cup milk, or a little more (here I used buttermilk powder & water as I was low on regular milk)
1 egg
1 cup grated American or Cheddar cheese (Oh, Gladys, is that really a choice? Cheddar - always!)
2 cups flour, sifted with:
3 teaspoons baking powder
Dash of salt
Cream shortening and sugar. Beat the egg and add with the cheese. Mix well. Then add the sifted flour, baking powder, and salt alternately with the milk to the first mixture. Turn into a greased 5" x 9" loaf pan and bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees F) for about an hour, or until a straw inserted in the center comes out clean.
Mrs. Taber's Recipe Notes: If the cheese is very dry, you will need to add a little extra milk. The dough should come easily from the bowl, but not runny as pancake batter. Toasted, this is excellent for Sunday brunch with scrambled eggs. It makes fine sandwiches with deviled ham or crab-salad filling. It keeps well, and is good to have on hand.
We, here at the Cottage, highly recommend Mrs. Taber's Cheese Bread recipe - do give it a try and let us know what you think!
Cheers!
Andrea
Moonbeam Cottage on Martini Cove
July, 2024
This is awesome! 😃 Congrats on your new blog and first post which was a great read. I so want to try out that bread recipe and I shall be putting Christmas in Connecticut on the Christmas viewing list! 😊
Great job, Mr. and Mrs. Moonbeam! 😃💖