Cheese, Garlic and Herb Quick Bread (no yeast)
Recipe video above. A bread made without yeast with swirls of herb and pockets of cheese throughout with addictive garlic flavour. Slices well and especially great toasted!Enjoy for morning tea, take to picnics, serve on the side of meals, dunk into soups and slow cooked stews! Serve warm for the best eating experience, preferably with lashings of butter.PS You can totally use homemade or store-bought pesto instead of the herb & garlic swirl. Use 1/3 to 1/2 cup. Bear in mind the flavour will only be as good as the pesto you use :)
Servings: 8 - 10 people
Calories: 271cal
Ingredients
- 7 oz / 200g block of cheese (cheddar or tasty), cut into 3mm / 0.1" thick slices, different widths for random ribbons throughout! (Note 1)
Herb and garlic swirl
- 2 tbsp fresh rosemary , finely chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley leaves , finely chopped
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 garlic cloves , crushed using garlic press or finely grated
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (halve for fine table salt)
Dry Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups plain flour (all-purpose flour)
- 1 tsp baking soda (bi-carbonate soda), sub 3 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (halve for table salt)
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt , Greek or regular (full fat, unsweetened)
- 3/4 cup milk , full fat best, low fat ok
- 2 large eggs (~50-55g/2oz each)
- 3 1/2 tbsp (50g) unsalted butter , melted
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 small garlic cloves , crushed with garlic crusher or grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (both fan and standard ovens).
- Loaf tin - Grease a 21 x 11 x 7 cm loaf pan (8.3 x 4.5 x 2.75") lightly with butter or oil spray then line with baking paper (parchment paper). (Note 3)
- Herb and garlic swirl - Mix the ingredients in a small bowl, it should be a thick dollop-able mixture.
- Dry ingredients - Whisk the Dry Ingredients in a bowl.
- Wet ingredients - Whisk the wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Combine - Make a well in the centre of the Dry Ingredients. Pour the Wet Ingredients in and mix until just combined.
- Swirls and cheese Layer 1 - Pour 1/3 of the batter into the bread tin. Dollop 1/3 of the herbs across the top then use a knife to "swirl" it into the batter up and down, and also turning the batter over (refer photo below). Use 1/3 of the cheese slices and push them randomly into the batter. Push some all the way in and leave some poking out of the batter.
- Layers 2 and 3 - Repeat twice more. Don't worry about herb mixture exposed and cheese slices sticking out the surface, looks amazing when baked!
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden. Remove from oven and cover with foil, then bake for a further 20 minutes (total baking time 50 minutes). Check to make sure the centre is cooked by inserting a skewer - it should come out clean.
- Cool in the loaf tin for 5 minutes then turn the bread out onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool for at least another 10 minutes before cutting thick slices. Butter is optional but always welcome!
Notes
1. Cheese - pre sliced can be used but they're thinner so you can't see them as well once baked. I like to cut into 3-4mm / 0.1" thick slices, half about 2.5cm/1" wide and others half that width for random cheese ribbons throughout. Rules are - there are no rules!
Shredded cheese sub - 2 cups tightly packed / 200g, just mix into the batter after combining the wet and dry ingredients just before scraping into the loaf tin.
Cheese types - colby, cheddar and tasty (popular type in Australia) are my go-tos, though you can use any you want except I don't recommend mozzarella (not enough salt or flavour for this recipe).
2. Herbs - Experiment with combinations! You can substitute the fresh herbs with 1 tbsp dried herbs. See intro above for using pesto instead (1/3 - 1/2 cup).
Blitzing option - Instead of chopping the fresh herbs with a knife, you can just blitz everything up with a stick blender. Becomes finer so not quite as green as chopping (once baked) but works perfectly and is faster. Put everything in a jug that is just big enough to fit the head of a stick blender (you'll need 1/2 cup lightly packed parsley and 1/4 cup rosemary leaves) and blitz. Don't put garlic in whole, takes more effort to blitz than herbs. You might need an extra tablespoon of oil to loosen it up.
3. Loaf pan size - Larger pan will just produce a flatter loaf, but it works fine!
Keeps 4 days in an airtight container at room temperature. Beyond this, keep in the fridge and can be toasted to freshen up.
Originally published September 2015, updated 6 June 2025 with new and improved recipe (see FAQ for details), plus a recipe video added, sparkling new photos and most importantly, Life of Dozer section added!
Nutrition per serving.
Nutrition
Serving: 104g | Calories: 271cal | Carbohydrates: 29.5g | Protein: 10.5g | Fat: 12.3g | Saturated Fat: 5.1g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 512mg | Potassium: 230mg | Fiber: 1.2g | Sugar: 1.7g | Vitamin A: 300IU | Calcium: 240mg | Iron: 2.2mg