Polenta bread with cheese

Can you make bread with polenta? Absolutely! Not only bread but one of the best breads in the world.

This polenta bread combines a fluffy, moist texture enriched with yogurt and delicious white feta cheese. It’s so quick and easy to prepare, taking only 30 minutes from start to finish.

Minimal effort yields a rewarding and delicious outcome – ideal comfort food for busy days when you want something homemade and quick. And it tastes so good that I’m sure you’ll make it again!

JUMP TO RECIPE

Projara inspired polenta bread

Our polenta bread recipe was inspired by the traditional projara, an old Serbian bread that has recently boldly climbed on CNN’s list of 50 of the best breads in the world.

Projara is a simple, unleavened bread made from a mix of cornmeal, plain flour, eggs, yogurt, and cheese. It’s often served with soups, stews, or sauces but can also be enjoyed as regular bread, spread with cheese or other savory toppings.

Many times, projara is enriched with bacon, pickles, peppers, sausage, zucchini, or spinach.

In this recipe, we replaced cornmeal with instant polenta (yes, you heard it right) for a moist, airy texture and added fresh white cheese to enhance the taste and make it richer.

And guess what? It works perfectly! Projara-inspired polenta bread quickly became my favorite bread. Besides kljukusa, lazanki, and ricet, it’s one of my most cherished Slavic food recipes.

This polenta bread is irresistible

We’ve tried making many breads, but this polenta was addictive. Actually, I was searching for a recipe for cornbread, but since we didn’t have any cornmeal at home, being too lazy to go to the grocery store, I was thinking, hmm….let’s see if I can use instant polenta instead.

Surprisingly, the result was soooo tasty that I had to make it over and over again.

Here are a few reasons why this bread is going to win your heart instantly:

It’s delicious. The yogurt makes it soft and tender, and the combination of cheese and polenta is absolutely mouthwatering.

It’s fluffy. The polenta creates a light and airy consistency, giving each bite a lovely softness that just melts in your mouth.

It requires no kneading. We have a delicious buckwheat bread recipe, but this bread is much quicker when whipped up with baking powder. It does not need kneading, resting or proofing – just mixing all the ingredients together, that’s all.

It’s versatile. This bread is perfect as a side dish for soups and stews or enjoyed on its own with butter or spreads. Moreover, it can be made with almost anything you wish: cottage cheese or hard cheeses, or you can pop in some smoked bacon and mix it with vegetables, fried onions, chilies, or spices.

And lastly, it’s really easy and quick to make. Ready in just 30 minutes, this recipe is perfect for those who need delicious bread without spending hours kneading and baking.

Ingredients you’ll need

POLENTA – This is the main ingredient of our bread. We used an instant polenta package in the recipe, which works great. When combined with flour and yogurt, the addition of polenta helps create a fluffy, moist, and tender crumb. Its quick-cooking nature makes it ready in less than 30 minutes.

ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR – The gluten in the flour delivers the necessary elasticity and potency to hold the bread together, ensuring it rises well and maintains a great texture. It allows the bread to have a light and airy crumb while still being sturdy enough. There’s considerably less of this flour in our bread than polenta.

YOGURT – It works great combined with polenta and flour; it adds moisture, a delicious taste, and a bit of tanginess that truly brings out a great flavor.

CHEESE – We used fresh white cheese, although you can use feta cheese, any hard cheese you find or cottage cheese. Polenta bread with cottage cheese is an absolute winner, too!

EGGS – The recipe calls for four large eggs. These work as a binding agent, helping to hold the ingredients together and providing structure. The proteins in eggs affect the texture, giving the bread a light and fluffy crumb.

OIL – Oil in the batter enhances the crust, making it really crunchy and baked to a perfect golden color. This contrasts beautifully with the moist, cheesy interior. Sunflower oil was used in the recipe, but you can also use olive il if you wish. 

BAKING POWDER – We used two teaspoons of baking powder (around 8 grams). It can be replaced with 1/2 tsp of baking soda.

SESAME SEEDS – Sprinkling sesame seeds on top provides a nutty taste with a slight crunch that complements the savory cheese and tangy yogurt. We all want that visually appealing, rustic and appetizing look. You can replace these with other seeds like pumpkin, sunflower, chia, poppy or flax seeds.

SALT – If your cheese is already salty, make sure you don’t add more than a teaspoon of salt. It’s best to try the batter before baking.

How to make polenta bread with cheese

MIXING THE BATTER

STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 200° C (392° F). First, you’ll mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, quickly whisk four eggs. Add oil, yogurt, milk and a teaspoon of salt. Mix everything together until thoroughly combined.

STEP 2: Now, you’ll continue with the dry ingredients. Mix the polenta into the batter and carefully blend it. Add a half cup of all-purpose flour to the polenta mixture and ensure it’s blended thoroughly.

STEP 3: Dice the cheese into small cubes and slowly add it to the batter. Gently mix with a spatula until evenly incorporated.

STEP 4: Prepare a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper with oil. We used a 7 x 12 inches (2o x 32 cm) baking pan; if you’re using a round one or one of a different size, adjust the amount of ingredients accordingly.

STEP 5: Slowly pour the batter into the prepared pan. Shake the pan to evenly distribute the batter, or use a spatula to help spread it.

STEP 6: Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Make sure they are sprinkled evenly all over the batter.

BAKING

STEP 6: Bake at 200° C (392° F) for 25 minutes. If you’re using a fan oven, you might want to cover the bread with parchment paper for the last 10 minutes of baking to prevent burning at the top.

When fully baked, the bread should have a golden-brown crust. The top will be slightly crisp, especially if you’ve sprinkled seeds on it. If you’re unsure, insert a toothpick into the center; it should come out clean, indicating the bread is cooked.

STEP 7: Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, slice it and serve it; it tastes best when freshly baked and still warm.

Top it with cream cheese, your favorite savory spread or smoked bacon. Or serve it alongside soups, stews, or salads for a hearty meal.

Polenta bread pairs great with almost anything you can think of, as long as it goes well with the cheese. Enjoy!

Tips for baking polenta bread

• The oven should be hot. Make sure the oven is fully preheated before baking. Otherwise, the bread may take longer to bake, leading to a denser texture and a potentially soggy center. Additionally, the crust may remain pale, and the bread may have an inconsistent texture, with some parts overcooked and others undercooked.
• Use farmer’s eggs. Organic eggs from free-range chickens will give the bread a more intense yellow color, not to mention they are healthier and much more tasty.
• Grease the pan. Before baking, the parchment paper should be greased with oil to make the bread’s bottom crunchier and more delicious.
• Cover the bread. For the last 10 minutes of baking, cover the bread with parchment paper to prevent it from burning at the top.
• Check to see if it’s done. Use a toothpick to test the center; it should come out clean when the bread is fully baked.

Polenta bread variations

Use cottage cheese. Cottage cheese mixed with polenta and yogurt creates a delicious, tender, fluffy version of bread. Its taste is amazing and truly unbeatable. You can also try other cheeses, like parmesan or mozzarella.

Add bacon or ham. Small pieces of smoked bacon, smoked sausage, or cooked ham enhance the bread’s savory taste.

Add herbs and spices. Fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, or basil add aromatic flavors, while a pinch of paprika, garlic powder, or chili flakes can add a true spicy kick.

Add vegetables. Mixing in smaller pieces of vegetables like red and green peppers, zucchini, or fresh spinach will transform your polenta bread into a colorful, delicious treat. For sweetened corn flavor, add cooked yellow corn to the mixture. 

Storage

Make sure the bread cools down to room temperature. Then, wrap it tightly in plastic or aluminum foil to keep it fresh. Place the wrapped bread in an airtight container to maintain its moisture and flavor.

This way, it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days. You might want to reheat it before eating it; it tastes best when it’s slightly warm.

For longer storage, you can freeze polenta bread for up to 3 months. A great way to store it is to portion it before freezing. Wrap the portions, store them in an airtight container and freeze them.

Thaw at room temperature and heat it up in the oven or microwave.

Polenta bread FAQs

Slavic food you might like

Buckwheat bread with walnuts

Cottage cheese rolls

Lazanki

Kljukusa

Ricet

Sataras

Polish beef goulash

Filo cabbage pie

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