Cheese Zombies

Growing up in the Vancouver School District, one of the staples of the school lunch program was something called a Cheese Zombie. It wasn’t till I was older that I realized just how localized this delicacy was.

Five or six years ago I wanted to make Cheese Zombies. It was a cold, rainy autumn day and the delicious combination of melted cheese baked between two layers of bread and covered with butter with a bowl of hot tomato soup sounded like the perfect dinner. So I made a couple batches of white bread dough, waited for it to rise, rolled half of it into a jelly roll pan, covered it with sliced cheddar cheese, rolled out the other half on top, spread melted butter over it and baked it until it was golden brown. It was okay, but it wasn’t the Cheese Zombie I remember, just a substandard, ultra bready imposter.

Last week, as our weather was beginning to turn (mostly in the morning, mind you, as the afternoons were gorgeous and warm) I decided to do a little more research on the Cheese Zombie, to which I found that there were other school districts in the country who claimed to have the elusive lunch item usually served on the last Friday of the month, and obviously the most common day for parents to join their children for lunch, but most of these were not the ones I was familiar with. It wasn’t until I found one that called for a French bread dough that I knew this was the information I needed. That was the key. And so, with this new knowledge in hand, yesterday afternoon I started the dough and dinner last night of Cheese Zombies and tomato soup was just what we needed on a dark and stormy night.

Cheese Zombies

Ingredients
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1½ cups warm water (about 110 degrees F)
1 pound 4 ounces flour (about 5 cups)
2 tablespoons sugar
1½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
5 tablespoons melted butter, divided
1½ pounds Tillamook Cheddar Cheese, sliced

Bread Machine: Stir the yeast and warm water into the pan and let sit for 5 minutes. Combine the flour, sugar, salt and garlic powder in a large mixing bowl and add to the bread machine pan along with 3 tablespoons melted butter, put the machine on the dough cycle and wait until it has mixed and risen, about 1½ hours.

Stand Mixer: Stir the yeast and warm water into the bowl and let sit for 5 minutes. Combine the flour, sugar, salt and garlic powder in a large mixing bowl and add to the stand mixer bowl along with 3 tablespoons melted butter. Using the dough hook, stir the ingredients for about a minute to combine then turn the speed up to medium to medium high for five to ten minutes, or until the dough is thoroughly kneaded and elastic. Remove bowl from stand mixer and cover with plastic wrap, allowing it to rise for an hour and a half.

Hand: Stir the yeast and warm water into a small mixing bowl and let sit for 5 minutes. Combine the flour, sugar, salt and garlic powder in a very large mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Pour the yeast mixture along with 3 tablespoons melted butter and slowly mix in the flour until combined before kneaded for ten minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for 1½ hours. If there isn’t enough room for the dough to double in size, halve the dough and let it rise in two separate bowls.

Using a jelly roll pan (12x18 inches with a 1 inch lip) roll half of the dough into the pan, edge to edge. If you’ve had experience with sticking bread or cookies on this pan, use a parchment liner. Add sliced cheese, make sure it is at room temperature otherwise it’ll take twice as long for the dough to do its final rise, leaving no more than a quarter inch along the edges or between the slices. Just for reference, I cut 22 slices and placed them 4 across along the 12 inch side of the pan with 5 across (4 x 5 = 20) the 18 inch side, cut the last two slices in half and put those 4 at the other end. Roll out the second half of the dough on top of the cheese, pressing the edges together. Let rise for about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Don’t be frightened if it doesn’t rise too much on this final portion, you are mostly letting the dough relax after torturing it into shape. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for a minute before brushing on melted butter, then allow it to cool for another few minutes before cutting into 12 slices. Serve with tomato soup.

P.S. – Sorry there aren’t any pictures. We couldn’t wait to start eating them. I hope you understand.