by I love savoury cakes and this particular recipe is a firm favourite of mine.
Given my New Year’s resolution to cook more vegetarian food, this has frequently been in the form of vegetable soups. After several days of eating rich food like Swedish Meatballs or Boeuf Bourguignon with Baguette Dumplings, a simple and soothing bowl of soup is a great way to restore the body’s balance.
But those who know me will know that I can’t just simply sit down to a mere bowl of soup for dinner. Maybe as a starter, but for a complete meal, I need something a bit more. Some bread on the side is a must, and this Rustic Bacon & Cheddar Bread is a quick and simple way to bulk up a meal.
This recipe comes from Rachel Allen’s baking compendium, aptly called Bake (or Rachel’s Baking Secrets in the US). Although it is called a bread, it is really a savoury cake owing to the absence of yeast.
A savoury cake might sound unusual to some, but I love them. Like savoury muffins, they are great at breakfast or brunch, to take along for picnics, or – my frequent choice – served at dinner to help that bowl of soup go further. They are delicious served warm and are equally good served cold.
This particular Rustic Bacon & Cheddar Bread has a mild cheesy flavour which is balanced by the piquancy of the grainy mustard, with a savoury, salty burst from the bacon throughout.
You can fiddle with the ingredients a bit, if you like, replacing the cheddar with perhaps a Gruyère (which I often do for a stronger taste), leaving out the bacon for a vegetarian option, adding some fresh or dried herbs like thyme or oregano … the possibilities are endless.
The recipe lends itself well to halving to bake in a smaller tin, or even made as muffins, in either case you should reduce the baking time accordingly.
I find that I make a lot of savoury cakes but this recipe is one I return to quite often, not just because I usually always have the ingredients to hand in the fridge and pantry, but also because it simply tastes great.
Bacon and Cheese Savoury Cake
Ingredients
- 100 g (3 ½ oz) bacon, or lardon
- 320 g (2 cups plus 3 tablespoons) plain flour, (all-purpose flour)
- 15 g (1 tablespoon) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, freshly cracked
- 100 g (3 ½ oz) cheddar cheese, grated
- 200 ml (⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoons) milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
- 60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F (without fan).
- Line a 13 x 23 cm ( 5 x 9 in) loaf tin with baking paper.
- Chop the bacon or lardon into small cubes and fry in a little oil until they are just crisp. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Place the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper into a large bowl.
- Add the cheese and bacon (or lardon), and mix well.
- Measure the milk in a large measuring jug.
- Add the eggs, mustard and oil, and whisk to combine.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until everything has just come together.
- Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Cool the cake on a wire rack and serve warm or cold.
Kitchen Notes
- OVEN TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website state temperatures for a regular oven (i.e. a conventional oven without fan). If you have a convection oven with a fan, please consult the manufacturer’s handbook on how to adjust the temperature and baking time accordingly. - CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.
Yum, lovely! I am out of milk and too lazy to go out and get some but I will definitely make this recipe tomorrow because it looks absolutely delicious! I love cheddar cheese. There is a British food stand at the Markhalle in Zürich that sells an amazing cheddar. I never fail to get some when we go there. Have you tried it? highly recommended! 🙂 Anyway, thanks for this good-looking recipe!
Hi Carole!
Is this the Markthalle im Viadukt? Near Escher-Wyss Platz? I have to admit that I haven’t been there yet … must rectify that soon if there is a British food stand! I often buy my cheddar from the cheese counter at Co-op, or I do without and just buy Gruyère instead if I am shopping at my local Migros (which is a really small one).
Please let me know if you try this recipe. Hope you will enjoy it!
I finally found the time to make this bread and just as I expected, this recipe is a keeper! Easy and quick to make and tastes absolutely heavenly…what else can you ask for!? I am eating a slice as I am writing this..hmmm so good!
Thanks for this delicious recipe!
Oh that’s wonderful to hear! I’m glad that you enjoyed this recipe 🙂 I bet it tastes really comforting on a gloomy day like today. Thanks for letting me know!
One of the Most beautiful blogs I have ever seen – your recipes are fantastics especially the fotos the fonts – everything – I would love to buy a cookbook from you ! Great work
Oh thanks, Christoph! That means a lot to me 🙂 Thank you for visiting my blog! I’m always a little nervous when close friends and family see my blog but then I get a big feeling of satisfaction when I hear how much they enjoy it 🙂 I have some Austrian recipes in the pipeline which I hope you will like 🙂 Thanh xx
Yes, that’s the one! We enjoy going there on Saturdays and do a sort of breakfast-brunch from the different food stands. My husband always enjoys the ‘tapas’ from the fishmonger. I usually have a Hungarian strudel and a piece of cheddar 🙂 The British pot pies are really good too. Last time, there was also a lady selling some delicious homemade cupcakes. There is also a stand where you can get some fresh and really good fruit juices. Even though it is not very big and it is not cheap (but then nothing is in Zürich), we always have a good time there.
I will let you know how my cheddar and bacon bread turns out..I am sure it will be great!
Oh great! Thanks for letting me know! It’s so rare that I have a local visitor to my blog so I really appreciate your foodie tips. I will definitely visit the Markthalle later this week. I must admit that, apart from the Freitag store, that area is pretty much unexplored on my part. I’m loving the sound of the Hungarian strudel! And everything else you have mentioned has really tickled my tastebuds. Hopefully the weather will pick up by this weekend so we can also enjoy the outdoors a bit. I’ve noticed that the park area around the Viadukt is really popular with kids and families. Good luck with the bacon and cheddar bread!
I love savoury cakes and it’s been way too lang since I had one. It’s gonna change soon and this recipe is on the menu for sure!
I hope you will enjoy this recipe, Denise 🙂
This looks so good Thanh – what a gorgeous yellow colour the bread comes out. I feel I’m allowed to bake bread rather than sweet stuff whilst I’m battling the weight loss demons so this is something I might just have to do soon. I’m rather shocked I’ve never even *seen* this recipe in Bake – and I call myself a big Bake fan lol!
LOL!! That’s what Carrie said as well. It’s funny the different recipes which jump out at us when we flick through the same book. This was one of the first recipes which caught my eye 🙂
Now was it my picnic bread that prompted this post?!? Lol probably not! I just made delias savoury rustic sage cheese and onion bread which i’m sure you’d also love. Its also yeastless but definitely bread like rather than savoury cake.
Yours looks lighter and really lovely. I really like savoury cakes/muffins with soup and I’ll definitely give this a go next time.
Ah I actually made this before you mentioned your sage, cheese & onion bread, but Delia’s recipe sounds delicious! I’ll have to look this up. Hope your picnic turned out well 🙂
I would call this more of a cake than a bread, but only because it is lighter and more crumbly than your usual bread. I make savoury cakes quite often and hubby also makes one which we both really love … now perhaps I can try to get the recipe out of him …
I bumped into your kitchen through foodgawker and I’m glad to found your blog. love all your works here. warm hello form Bali 🙂
Hi Ira,
Thank you for visiting my blog! Off to have a nosey at yours …
Looks so good. Very rustic!
Looks great – I wonder if you make them into savoury muffins as well instead of a loaf? I might give it a go!
Yes, you certainly can make these into muffins (I’ve mentioned it in my post ;-)) You will just need to adjust the cooking time as they will need much less than 50 minutes. Enjoy!
This sounds delicious… and NO YEAST so not scary !
Exactly my thoughts, Liz! Although it’s not a “true” bread, it’s very, very yummy 🙂
This sounds like a keeper and a must try! Savoury cakes and muffins are so great for picnic or afternoon snacks. I will host a party at my blog during may and I would love you to join. It’s called My Sweet Party:-) Please visit my blog for more details.
xxx
I hope you will get to try this recipe. Thanks for the invitation to your party … popping over to your blog now for details!
This bread is perfect for a picnic or a lunch by the sea.. or… something to munch on before dinner! :O)
I think I’ll try to do it next weekend!
great, great… you’ re great…..
This bread is definitely great as picnic food. I do hope you will try it!
I made this delicious bread, when I was bored on a Sunday. (I love baking and cooking when I’m bored).
It wasn’t hard to make the bread and it turned out great.
Thank you for putting this great recipe on the internet!!
Thank you for letting me know that you tried this recipe 🙂 I’m so happy to hear that it turned out great for you. It is a rather simple recipe, isn’t it? I think that’s part of its charm. And I agree that getting busy in the kitchen is a great way to kill boredom, and a rather productive way as well!
Right, so I finally baked this years after you first mentioned it to me. Am now proceeding to slap myself (if I can free a hand while snaffling a bite). Just too darn good. Have already had three fat slices. At this rate, it won’t see dinner time! Thanks for sharing!
I’ve never made a savoury cake and was making soup for tea the other day so decided to give this a go. This comes together in no time and the resulting bake was lovely. It indeed has a crumb as tender as cake yet the flavour is something you would expect from a homemade bread.
I think between me and my daughter (plus a very naughty cat!) it was polished in less than 2 days!!
Thank you for a very tasty, simple recipe
P.s. Don’t know if you use one regularly but if you have any good slow-cooker recipes would love for you to share : )
Hi Faye,
I’m so glad to hear that you and your daughter (and the cat!) enjoyed this cake 🙂 It’s something I love to make whenever I make a simple vegetable soup for dinner. I’ve also made this cake as muffins – I will try to post the cooking times above shortly.
As for a slow-cooker, my mum swears by it but I have never used one, mostly because our kitchen is so small that I wouldn’t know where to put it! But I have been reading about how convenient it can be for busy people … If I ever get around to buying one (and I am rather interested!), I will definitely share some recipes here 🙂 Thanks for visiting my blog!
This is an amazing loaf. Though I have to say I doubled the bacon and cheese. Everyone really enjoyed it. I’m going to try it as muffins today.
Looks very tasty! And I want to make these asap. Great recipe.
I dont have any olive oil and about to make this loaf should it make a big difference not having it?
Hi Lorraine,
You can substitute the olive oil for another mild-flavoured oil, such as vegetable oil or sunflower oil. You could also use the same quantity of melted butter. Hope this helps!
Hallo…Any substitution for mustard?
Hi Yenny,
You can omit the mustard ????
My whole family loves this recipe, and the icing on the cake is that it’s quick and foolproof plus you can switch the bacon etc for anything you prefer. Thank you!!
Hi Sandy,
That’s wonderful to hear that your family loves this recipe 🙂
Im going to try this tomorrow as I’ve got all the ingredients.
I’m thinking of adding a few chopped fresh herbs , maybe next time some chopped walnuts ?
Lots of ideas for the basic recipe.
Merci from Normandy.