Cooking with Xianyitang dried ingredients
Fennel seeds, softened onion and Cheddar give this round loaf a savoury aroma, a lightly crisp crust and a soft, substantial crumb. Slice it for soup, salad or a warm snack at a family lunch.
Quantities, yields and timings are adaptation estimates. Allow the soaking, marinating, cooling and chilling waits shown, overlapping only where stated. Check texture and doneness as described.
Recipe illustrations; measure ingredients using the written quantities.
Prepare the fennel according to its pack. If rinsed, drain thoroughly and stir in a dry pan over a low heat until dry. Heat the 10 ml oil over a medium-low heat and cook the onion with the 1 g fennel seeds for about 8–10 minutes until soft rather than blackened. Spread on a clean plate for about 10–15 minutes until no longer warm. Do not mix hot onion straight into the yogurt dough.
Preheat the oven to 200°C conventional / 180°C fan and line a tray with baking paper. Mix the 250 g flour, bicarbonate and salt thoroughly, then add 85 g cheese and the cooled onion and fennel. Whisk the yogurt with 80 ml milk and stir into the dry ingredients with a spatula just until combined. The dough should be slightly sticky, not pourable. Add the remaining 20 ml milk a little at a time only if substantial dry flour remains; you may not need it all.
Transfer to a lightly floured surface and fold together only a few times, without the long kneading used for yeast bread. Shape on the tray into a roughly 15 cm round about 3–4 cm thick. Cut a deep cross almost to the bottom with a knife or scraper, keeping the four sections together as one loaf. Scatter over the remaining 15 g cheese and bake immediately rather than leaving it to prove.
Bake on the middle shelf for about 30–35 minutes until golden on top and underneath and cooked through. Loosely cover with foil if colouring too quickly while the centre still needs time. Cool on a rack for at least 20 minutes, then cut through the centre and check there is no wet, sticky raw dough. Return to the oven and recheck if needed rather than relying on crust colour alone. Cut into about six slices and serve with soup or salad.
Contains wheat and milk in the cheese, yogurt and milk. For a vegetarian version, choose Cheddar clearly labelled suitable for vegetarians. The Xianyitang dried-ingredient packs state that they are packed in a facility also handling peanuts, tree nuts, sesame and soya. Check the actual labels of every brand used.
Once completely cool, keep airtight in a cool place and aim to eat the same or next day for texture; refrigerate in warm, humid conditions. Slice and freeze if keeping longer, then warm only the portions needed. This is household quality guidance, not a tested shelf life. Discard mouldy bread rather than cutting off only the visible patch.
