During my stay at my family cabin in Manitoba my Grandma Irene and Aunt Karla introduced me to Furgasse bread. When they first mentioned it I thought they were talking about Fougasse bread, but they weren’t. They were talking about a super tasty enriched bread from the Onanole store. It’s wonderfully soft and studded with little bits of green onions and lots of cheddar cheese. Warm from the store, the smell is enough to make you eat it by the fistful straight from the bag while you’re still in the car.
Unfortunately, now that I’m back in Alberta, I can no longer make quick runs to the Onanole store for fresh Furgasse. So I’m making my own. And I’m making it ABi5 style. I based this recipe on their challah recipe. I reduced the amount of honey and added the cheese and green onions. Yumyumyum.
Furgasse Bread
7 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ tbsp granulated yeast
1 ½ tbsp sea salt
2 tsp ground black pepper
½ cup sliced green onions
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese2 cups lukewarm water
4 eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup honey
½ cup butter, meltedMix the flour, yeast, salt, black pepper, onions, and cheddar cheese together in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the water, eggs, honey, and butter. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry and let the dough rest on your counter for 2–5 hours.
At this point you can cover the dough and refrigerate it for up to three days, or you can bake it.
When you go to bake it, take half the dough, dust it with flour, and shape it into a rough boule. Let it rest while you grease and flour a bread pan and preheat your oven a wee little bit just to get it warm (and then turn it off). Gently shape the dough into an elongated loaf shape and place it in the bread pan. Place in a warmed (but no longer on) oven to rise for an hour.
Remove from the oven after rising and preheat your oven to 350°. Bake the loaf in a preheated oven for 30–40 minutes, until it is nicely browned and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
