Asiago & Sun-Dried Tomato Quick Bread

HOW TO MAKE IT :

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan with butter or nonstick spray.
2. Whisk the buttermilk and eggs together until combined.
3. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, garlic powder, sugar, salt, pepper, and basil/parsley together in a large bowl or pulse together in a large food processor. Add the cubed butter and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or by pulsing several times in the processor. Cut/pulse until coarse crumbs form. If you used a food processor, pour the mixture into a large bowl.
4. Stir in the cheese and sun-dried tomatoes until combined, then pour in the buttermilk mixture and stir to combine. Batter is thick, chunky, and sticky.
5. Pour/spread batter into prepared pan. Feel free to lightly sprinkle with additional fresh pepper and/or cheese. Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Start checking at about 47 minutes. Halfway through bake time, if you notice the top is quickly browning, tent a piece of aluminum foil over the loaf pan to help the bread bake more evenly.
6. Cool bread in the pan set on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving or cool completely in the pan.
7. Cover leftovers tightly and store bread at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Notes

1. Freezing Instructions: Baked and cooled bread freezes well up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
2. Buttermilk: Buttermilk is required for this recipe. You can make your own DIY version of buttermilk by measuring 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar in a measuring glass. Add enough milk (whole milk is best– lower fat or nondairy milks work in a pinch, but the cake won’t taste as moist or rich) in the same measuring glass to reach 1 cup. Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. The soured milk will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in your recipe.
3. Garlic: Feel free to skip the garlic powder and replace with 3 cloves of minced garlic. Add it when you add the garlic powder.
4. Do not leave out the sugar. You really need it to balance out the robust salty and savory flavors– the flavor is quite flat without it.
5. Cheese & Herbs: For other flavor options such as a replacement for the asiago cheese or if you want to use dried herbs or other fresh herbs, see details above.
6. Sun-Dried Tomatoes: Use sun-dried tomatoes that are packed in oil. No need to pat dry, but try to avoid getting a lot of excess oil in the batter. We found dry sun-dried tomatoes dried out the texture of the bread.
7. Muffins or Other Size Pans: Feel free to bake this batter in a greased or lined muffin pan to yield about 12 muffins. Prepare batter as directed, then use the same baking instructions as banana muffins. (Steps 1 and 3.) You can also bake this batter in a greased 9-inch square baking pan or a seasoned 9-inch or 10-inch cast iron skillet. Bake time at 350°F (177°C) is at least 25 minutes, but use a toothpick to test for doneness.