To broil bread halves, place, cut side up, on broiler pan; broil 6 to 8 inches from heat for 5 minutes or until lightly toasted. Remove bread from broiler. Spread cheese mixture evenly on cut sides of bread. Return to broiler, cheese mixture side up; broil an additional 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese mixture bubbles and begins to brown.

Smoked Cheddar has a sharp, smoky flavor produced by cool-smoking the cheese over hardwood smoke, or with smoke flavoring. Look for smoked cheddar at the deli, at the grocery store near the cut deli or gourmet cheeses, or in a cheese shop.

The distinctive tangy flavor of sourdough bread is the result of slow fermentation. Sourdough is leavened with a starter – a mixture of flour, water and yeast which is allowed to rise and develop several times before being used for bread dough. Sourdough breads have a moist chewy interior full of large holes and excellent flavor.

For extra flavor, add 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh sage leaves to each half of loaf. Garnish loaves with whole sage leaves.