Cottage Cheese Bread {Bread Machine}
This easy bread machine cottage cheese bread recipe is a soft, sliceable high-protein bread you can bake at home with just a few minutes and the press of a button. The family-friendly white bread texture is a budget-friendly bread you'll feel much better about using for sandwiches and toast.
It seems everyone I know is looking for high protein variations of everything they eat these days. Walk down any aisle at the grocery store and you'll see marketing messages touting "High Protein" on all the packages you pass.
One of the easiest and most wholesome ways to eat more protein is to use egg whites and cottage cheese blended into recipes. They blend right in to my make-ahead egg bowls, but did you know this trick also works for homemade bread??
This easy bread machine cottage cheese bread is a modern spin on an old fashioned recipe simplified for busy home bakers. Measure everything into the bread maker pan and press a button.
Your from-scratch, homemade bread that tastes better than anything from the bagged bread aisle at the grocery store will be ready to enjoy in just a few hours.
Why This is the Best Recipe
- Easy Prep: This bread recipe takes a little more prep work than other bread machine recipes do but once you've got all the simple ingredients in the bread pan it's as easy as pressing START.
- Soft and Tender Texture: Each bread slice is soft and springy, it's one of my favorite homemade bread textures!
- Easy to Customize: You can make the plain base recipe or spice things up by mixing in flavor packets with no extra effort.
Love bread machine recipes? You need...
The Ultimate Bread Machine Cookbook
These aren't your mama's recipes! Enjoy everything from bakery-style loaves to breads featuring unique fruity fillings, savory mix-ins and streusel swirls. With just a handful of ingredients and the press of a button, you can make delicious, freshly baked bread a daily occurrence, no matter how hectic your schedule is.
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Ingredients
This simple list of wholesome ingredients come together quickly in your bread maker:
- Egg Whites: I cracked whole eggs and separated the whites. You could also use prepared egg whites from the grocery store.
- Cottage Cheese: I used 4% milkfat cottage cheese, fat-free cottage cheese is more watery and could affect the final texture of the bread.
- Bread Flour: This will give your bread a better shape and texture but if you don't have any on hand you can substitute all-purpose flour.
- Active Dry Yeast: You do not need to use one specifically labelled "bread machine yeast."
- Kosher Salt
- Lukewarm Water
- OPTIONAL: Dried Onion Soup Mix for flavor: See the recipe card below for a homemade mix if you prefer to keep this fully from scratch.
Prepare the Egg Whites and Cottage Cheese
It is very important that you weigh the egg whites, especially if you're using whole eggs and separating the whites.
Use a food scale to measure 250 grams of egg whites. When I cracked my eggs, 7 egg whites were not enough and 8 egg whites were too many. By using the food scale, you can spoon out just enough to get the measurement correct.
Then measure the cottage cheese right in the same bowl of egg whites by pressing the TARE button to zero-out the scale.
You can scrape the egg whites and cottage cheese into a blender to puree until smooth. However, I just grabbed my immersion blender and pureed them right in the bowl.
Scrape the mixture into the bread machine pan fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the water.
Add the Dry Ingredients
Then add the flour, salt, and yeast to the bread pan. Dig a shallow well in the top of the flour and place the yeast there like shown in Step 1 of the photo below.
Place the bread pan into the bread machine.
Choose the BASIC/WHITE program and select the setting for a 2-pound loaf. Press START.
The program will take about 3 hours to complete. Remove the bread from the bread pan and allow it to cool completely before slicing.
Make Ahead Tips
You can measure the egg whites and cottage cheese in advance and store them in an airtight container in the fridge for easy prep work of your loaf on another day.
This bread would also freeze well after it's been baked. Just be sure to cool it completely before packaging so steam doesn't get trapped in the bread bag.
You can keep the baked bread stored on the counter for a couple days.
Variations
The plain white bread is delicious all by itself but it also works as a blank palette for a couple of fun flavor twists:
- French Onion Bread: Add a packet of dried French Onion Soup Mix to the flour before baking.
- Dried Herbs: Use 2 teaspoons of your favorite dried herb mix added to the flour. I love Italian Herb or Mediterranean Herbs with rosemary and garlic.
Serving Suggestions
When you bite into a slice of this soft and fluffy bread, you'd never guess that it is packing so much protein. It is so much more delicious than the processed breads at the grocery store.
You could use slices in any of your favorite sandwiches, it would hold up well to a griddled sandwich prep like grilled ham and havarti sandwiches or grilled turkey apple cheese sandwiches.
It also makes a great base for toast with your favorite peanut butter for even more protein or homemade jam. I love mine lightly buttered and served with scrambled eggs and veggies.
If you plan to serve it alongside a pot of soup, I recommend trying one of the flavor variations! The French Onion bread would taste great with beef and barley soup.
More Bread Machine Recipes
If you're just getting started with your bread machine, you'll want to check out my favorite bread maker recipes. Here's a sample to get you going:
📖 Recipe
Bread Machine Cottage Cheese Bread
Ingredients
For the Cottage Cheese Bread:
- 7 - 8 egg whites from large eggs should weigh about 250 grams total
- 1 cup (255 g) cottage cheese see notes
- 1/3 cup lukewarm water
- 4 2/3 cups (582 g) bread flour
- 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt see notes
- 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
Easy French Onion Bread Variation:
- 1 packet dried onion soup mix optional, add on top of the flour if using and omit the added kosher salt
Instructions Start Cooking
- Blend the egg whites and cottage cheese together until smooth. You can use a blender, food processor, or an immersion blender in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
- Pour the egg mixture into the bread pan fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the water.
- Add the flour, salt, and yeast right on top of the wet ingredients.
- Place the bread pan back into the bread machine. Select the BASIC/WHITE program, the 2-pound loaf size, and your desired darkness level. Press START.
- The program will take about 3 hours and 30 minutes to finish. Remove the loaf from the bread pan and let it cool completely before slicing.
Recipe Notes
A Note on Salt:
If you buy salted cottage cheese, use only the 1/2 teaspoon salt as listed in the recipe card. However, if you buy low-sodium cottage cheese with less than 100 mg sodium per 1/4 cup, use 1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt.Homemade Onion Soup Mix:
If you want the flavor of the onion soup mix but want to control the sodium, you could also use:- 3 tablespoons dried minced onion
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt: This is the only salt needed for the recipe if you use the DIY herb blend. Unless you use low-sodium cottage cheese, then add 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.
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Can this recipe be cut in half with good results?