Cranberry Cheesecake Soft European Bread

Let's first make the cranberry cream cheese filling. Since today's dough only requires one fermentation, the filling needs to be prepared in advance. I always use Dômefresh cream cheese; one block is just enough for 6 buns. It has a rich taste, strong milky flavor, and is a reliable big brand that children especially love. So, I always use room-temperature softened cream cheese, put it into a bowl, add granulated sugar and chopped cranberries. The cranberries you buy should be chopped before use. Mix and press evenly with a spatula, then refrigerate for later use.

Next, knead the dough. Put high-gluten flour, milk powder, fine granulated sugar, and yeast into the dough machine, then add eggs, milk, and other liquid ingredients.

Set the dough kneading machine to the 'Western' mode and set the time for 15 minutes.

Pause the mixer after kneading the dough for five minutes and check the dough's status. It should be about 70-80% developed (Figure 1). At this point, add room-temperature softened butter and continue kneading with the mixer. The butter quickly incorporates into the dough. After kneading for another 8 minutes, pause the mixer and check the dough again. The dough should now form a windowpane (Figure 3), which indicates it is ready for bread making. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl, shape it into a round, and it should appear fine, smooth, and glossy (Figure 4). You can also judge from the dough's appearance that it is ready to make bread.

Divide the dough into 6 equal portions, roll each portion into a ball and flatten it. Roll it out with a rolling pin. Put the cranberry cheesecake filling into a piping bag, cut a large opening at the tip, and squeeze the filling into the center of the dough. Lift the edges of the dough and pinch them together into a triangle, making sure to seal the edges tightly, and place it with the seal side down.

Place it in a baking tray for fermentation. You can use a fermentation box, the oven's fermentation function, or ferment at room temperature, depending on your actual situation. Set the machine to a fermentation temperature of 37°C, with a fermentation time of about one hour, until the dough has risen to about 1.5 times its original size. Fermentation is complete when a small dent made with your finger slowly bounces back. Sift high-gluten flour on the surface, use a bread scoring knife to make patterns, preheat the oven to 180°C, place on the middle rack, and bake for about 18 minutes, covering with foil halfway through if needed based on browning.

Take the freshly baked tray out of the oven and tap it to release the steam, then place it on a wire rack to cool.

Let it cool until it has just a trace of warmth and is almost at room temperature, then place it in a sealed bag for storage. It can be frozen but not refrigerated, as refrigeration will make the bread hard.

A whole chunk of cream cheese stuffed inside, it's simply paradise for cheese lovers, and taking a bite is incredibly satisfying!