Cheesy Gochujang Star Bread

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to become a loaf and watch old episodes of Grey’s Anatomy until 2025. We had the unfortunate experience of having our car window get smashed while staying in Downtown Cleveland a few days ago… so that was not awesome. Thankfully, nothing important was stolen and we got the window fixed in a few hours. Just another reminder that 2020 is a raging dumpster fire we all need to move on from. Now, we’re back in the comfort of the suburbs, where I’ve baked enough cookies to last us for the remainder of the year. I’m feeling some separation anxiety from our house (in California), but I’ll be reunited with all my knives and bald fig tree soon.

In the meantime, I’ll be calming my nerves with carbs and cheese. It goes without saying that the holiday season comes with a personal uptick in cookie, bread, and cheese consumption. So far, I’ve check off all those boxes. It’s been a while since I baked some bread because I took a much needed break from it after finishing up my cookbook (which includes A LOT of milk bread). It felt good to knead again and feel the elasticity of well proofed dough between my fingers with every twist.

I’ve always wanted to make a star bread because it looks so fun and festive to make! I think it’s nice to have a little break from all the sweet cookies and cakes, so a savory bread ladened with cheese and ample spice sounded extra good to me! This Cheesy Gochujang Star Bread will be the star of your holiday and most likely won’t last very long!

Cheese and Gochujang

Gochujang is a Korean spicy fermented chili paste. I love it dearly and always have a container of the fiery paste in my fridge. It’s treated as both a condiment and a main flavor component for countless Korean dishes. I particularly love it in tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes 4EVER) and I’ll add a spoonful of it into soup or a package of instant ramen broth. It’s spicy, peppery, with a hint of sweetness!

The combination of cheese and gochujang is quite common! Tteokbokki is often topped with melty cheese for a baked casserole or lasagna effect and spicy ramyum often comes with the option to add a slice or two of Kraft American singles on top. The cheese mellows out the spice and adds wonderful creaminess.

For this star bread, I made a sauce with gochujang, hoisin, honey, water, and a little sesame oil. I literally could have drank the sauce out of the cup. It would be delicious tossed with crispy tofu or roasted vegetables. I also think it would make an excellent glaze for chicken or salmon - the honey will caramelize beautifully! To compliment the sauce, I used Roth Grand Cru cheese! Grand Cru is new to me, but has quickly become one of my favorite cheeses! It’s an alpine-style cheese, mild in flavor with rich nuttiness, and melts sooooo beautifully! If you’re looking for serious cheese pulls, THIS IS THE CHEESE. You can find it at most major grocery stores! Find the closest store!

Forming the Star Bread

The three main components for the star bread are: dough, cheese, and sauce. Obvious, I know. The photos make it look like you’re assembling giant Lunchables, and honestly… it’s just about that easy to form a star bread.

First, prepare your dough. I made a honey whole wheat enriched dough as my base because I love the flavor a little whole wheat flour adds and the honey plays well with the subtle sweetness of the sauce. You can by all means replace the whole wheat flour for equal parts regular bread flour if that’s what you prefer!

• After the first proof, divide the dough into 3 equal portions. Roll out each piece into a 10” to 12” round.

• Place one round on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread half of the sauce over the dough and top with half of the shredded cheese.

• Place another round of dough on top and add the remaining sauce and cheese. Place last round of dough on top.

• Press down around the edges to seal.

• Place a 2” to 3” cup down on the center of the dough to create an indent. Cut 16 equally distanced cuts around the indent (leaving that part intact). The easiest way to cut evenly is start by dividing the dough into quarters (north, south, east, west), then cut into 8ths, and then finally into 16ths.

• Grab two segments of dough and twist the dough 2 to 3 times (either towards each other or opposite each other, just needs to be consistent), and pinch the ends of the dough together tightly until they stick.

• Cover the dough and allow it to proof until doubled in size.

Bake and Serve!

Once the bread has doubled in size, I like to give it a light egg wash so it bakes up with nice color and the crust stays soft! Mix an egg and a tablespoon of water together and brush over the dough. For an additional topping, I sprinkled sesame seeds and some chopped green onions over the center. This is optional and you can choose other toppings if you like! Bake at 350 until golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes! Let the bread cool for a few minutes, but I highly recommend tearing into the bread while it’s still warm to take advantage of those cheese pulls!

Cheesy Gochujang Star Bread

Makes 1 large loaf

For the dough:

2 1/4 tsp (1 envelope) active dry yeast 
170g (3/4 cup) warm water 
50g (1⁄4 cup) granulated sugar and a pinch
135g (1 cup) wheat flour (i used white whole wheat, either is fine)
375g (3 cups) bread flour, plus more for dusting
1 tsp kosher salt 
2 large eggs 
105g (1/2 cup) canola oil 
80g (1⁄4 cup) honey

For the bread:

1/4 cup gochujang
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp hoisin
1 tsp sesame oil
1 6oz piece Roth Grand Cru cheese, shredded

egg wash:

1 egg
1 tbsp water

Sesame, optional topping
Chopped green onion, optional topping

1. In a small bowl, whisk to combine yeast, warm water, and pinch of sugar. Allow the yeast to proof until bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes.

2. In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine sugar, wheat flour, bread flour, salt, eggs, oil, honey, and yeast mixture. Mix on low speed until shaggy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium high and continue until a smooth and slightly sticky dough forms, 8 to 9 minutes. From the dough into a smooth ball.

3. Brush a large mixing bowl with oil and turn to coat the dough. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and allow to proof until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

4. While the dough is proofing, mix your sauce: In a small bowl, whisk to combine gochujang, water, honey, hoisin, and sesame oil.

5. Once proofed, punch down the dough to deflate it and transfer to a floured work surface. Divide the dough into 3 equal portions (with a digital scale if you have one) and form each portion into smooth balls. Cover and let the dough rest for another 15 minutes (this makes the dough easier to roll out into rounds).

6. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Working with one portion of dough at a time, roll out the dough into a 10” to 12” round. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. Spread 1/2 of the sauce over the surface of the dough. Sprinkle 1/2 of the cheese over the sauce. Roll out another portion of dough and layer. Repeat with remaining, sauce, cheese, and dough. Press down on the edges of the dough to seal.

7. Gently press a 2 1/2”to 3” cup into the center of the dough to act as a guide. With a sharp knife or pastry wheel cutter, cut 16 equal radial cuts around the center (leaving the center intact). The easiest way to cut evenly is to cut the bread into quarters and then continue to cut those portions in half. Grab two adjacent portions of dough and twist them towards each other 2 or 3 times and pinch ends of the dough together until they stick. Repeat with remaining sections of dough. Cover the dough and let it proof until doubled in size, 45 to 60 minutes.

8. Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Make egg wash by whisking egg and water.

9. Brush the egg wash over the bread. Sprinkle sesame seeds and green onions over the center of the dough. Bake until golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes. Allow the dough to cool on the pan for 10 minutes before serving.

recipe notes:

To knead the dough by hand, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix with a flexible spatula until shaggy. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and rest for 20 minutes. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead by hand until smooth. Continue to dust the counter with bread flour, only when too sticky. A bench or dough scraper comes in handy when kneading by hand to get the dough off the counter.

Thank you, Roth Cheese, for sponsoring this post!