When I found myself with less than a half bottle of Pinot Noir and a chunk of Muenster cheese after a party, my Eastern European frugality forced me to find a tasty use for them. A jug of wine, a wedge of cheese and wow! This has to be the easiest, tastiest, best-looking round bread I've made in a while.

Don't be afraid to shake things up a bit. Try white wine with jack cheese or Swiss, or pair a Merlot with Bulgarian kashkaval cheese or Georgian sulguni or any cheese that has good melting qualities. Experimentation is strongly encouraged.

Here are more Eastern European cheese bread recipes:

• Easy Kielbasa-Cheese Bread Recipe
• Easy No-Knead Dill Cheese Bread Recipe
• Georgian Khachapuri Cheese Bread Recipes
• Romanian Easter Bread with Cheese Recipe
  
• Bulgarian Cheese Bread Recipe
  
• Bulgarian Bird of Paradise Cheese Bread Recipe
  
• Savory Bacon-Cheese Quick Bread Recipe
  

See Also

11 Eastern European Rye Bread Recipes

16 Eastern European Quick Bread Recipes

Top Lithuanian Bread Recipes

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup Pinot Noir or other red or white wine
• 4 ounces butter or margarine
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 6 ounces cubed Muenster cheese or other melting cheese

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes

• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 1 loafWine and Cheese Bread

Preparation

1. In a large bowl, stand mixer or food processor work bowl, combine the flour and dry yeast.
    
2. In a heatproof bowl, combine wine, butter or margarine, sugar and salt and heat in a microwave (or in a saucepan on the stovetop) just until warm (115 to 120 degrees), and the butter or margarine is almost melted.
    
3. Add to dry ingredients along with eggs. Beat (or process) until well blended. Scrape down sides. Beat or process at high speed for 3 minutes. Stir in the cheese cubes by hand and add additional flour if dough is too slack.
    

1. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease surface. Cover and let rise in warm place until dough has doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
    
2. Punch down dough. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into an 8-inch round loaf. Place in a well-greased 9-inch pie plate (make sure the pie plate is well greased because the melted cheese has a tendency to make the bread stick to the pan when it's time to transfer it to a wire rack), cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 40 minutes.
    
3. Sprinkle top of risen loaf with a little all-purpose flour. Bake in a heated 375-degree oven for about 40 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer registers 190 degrees, covering with foil after the first 20 minutes of baking.
    
4. Remove from oven. Remove from pie plate and cool completely on a wire rack.