Must Have Cheddar Jalapeno Sourdough Bread
I dont know why I haven’t shared this recipe yet! I make at least one loaf every day! We love cheddar jalapeno sourdough bread at our house and I think its time I share my recipe with you!
With the flavor of sharp cheddar cheese and sliced jalapenos this bread has a wonderful flavor. I use my original dutch oven sourdough bread recipe which is so easy to customize and add inclusions.
Tips
- Use bread flour, not all purpose flour. Having a higher protein content in your flour will make a positive difference in your bread.
- Chop up your jalapenos for a more even distribution of jalapenos. I find my kids like it better when they are big slices.
- Experiment with different cheeses. Sharp cheddar cheese is our favorite, but try pepper jack or white cheddar!
- Carefully shape your dough so that you dont rip it. This will help prevent the inclusions from leaking out as well.
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Cheddar Jalapeno Sourdough Bread
Ingredients
- 625 grams bread flour about 4 cups
- 100 grama active sourdough starter about 1 cup
- 10 grams salt about 1 3/4 teaspoon
- 450 gram water about 1 1/2 cup
Add Ins
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or cut into small cubes 1 cup per loaf of bread
- 1/2 cup bottled jalapenos or fresh jalapeno slices I prefer to use bottled because i always have them and they are slightly less spicy.
Instructions
- To begin this bread, you need to set aside about 1 hour at least to take the time to knead and let the dough rest. The rest of the time will be more passive time.
- This recipe only has a small amount of active effort. You need to let the dough sit and take its time. You also need to plan time for this bread. It needs at least 12 hours in the fridge and at the least 3 on the counter.
- Here is my schedule: What I like to do is to start this dough in the afternoon around 1. I can get all the kneading in by 1:30 and then it needs some rest time. After that it will be sitting in the fridge overnight.
- FIrst, put your water and flour in a large mixing bowl. Use a wooden spoon or dough spoon to mix the ingredients together.
- It will begin to be too sticky and dense to manage with a spoon. Use your hands. Cover. Let this sit for one hour. This is the autolyse stage. Once the hour has passed you will add the sourdough start and the salt and mix in well.
- Now you will do your first set of stretch and fold or coil fold. There are two different options. You can stretch and fold which means you pull the dough up from one corner and stretch it and then fold it over the top fo the dough, rotate and do the same action 4 times for the dough.Coil fold is where you lift the dough from underneath with two hands, pulling the dough up and then folding it down in half on itself as you let it back down. I You then rotate the bowl and repeat this 3 more times rotating the bowl each time.`
- Let the dough rest another 30 minutes and repeat the coil fold or stretch and fold. (having wet hands makes this so much easier)
- Repeat this 3 -4 more times. You can do up to 6 sets of stretch and folds.
- Once you are at this point you will notice the dough has a very different texture and should be very jiggly and smooth.
- Now its time to do your bulk fermentation or a bulk rise. Cover it and let it sit for about 4-6 hours. Once it has almost doubled in size, its time to shape your dough and add your inclusions. Inclusions are the ingredients you add to the dough right before shaping.
- Laminate your dough. This means to stretch it into a rectangle shape. You will thin out the dough as well. You want a rectangle about 12-16 inches. Sprinkle some cheddar and jalapenos on the surface of the rectangle. Dont use all the inclusions.yet. Take one side of the rectangle and fold it in thirds over the dough. Add more inclusions to that 1/3 of the dough. Fold the other third over the top of that and add the remaining cheese and jalapenos.
- You should now have a long skinny rectangle. Start at the skinny end and roll it up until you have the dough in a ball. Pinch the ends to close them up and keep the ingredients inside. Carefully shape the dough into a ball, pull it towards yourself as you rotate it. This will help create some surface tension to the dough which you want.
- Let the dough sit and rest for a couple minutes.
- While it rests, its time to get a bowl ready. You can use a regular large mixing bowl, but it is recommended to use a bread banneton proofing basket.
- If you use a bowl, line it with a towel, and flour the towel heavily to prevent the dough from sticking. I like to use rice flour for this because it tends to not absorb into the dough.
- If you use a bread banneton basket, flour its as well with rice flour.
- Take the shaped dough and lift it up, flip it over and put the seam side up. Cover with plastic wrap and use a rubber band to secure the plastic wrap around the bowl.
- Put the bowl in the fridge and let it sit in there for at least 12 hours. You can go as far as 24 hours.
- When you are ready to bake, preheat to 450 degrees. Put your dutch oven in the oven to preheat with the oven. You want your pan to be hot.
- Lay out a piece of parchment paper, and take the dough gently out of the bowl and flip it over so the smooth side of the dough is on top. Lay it on the parchment paper.
- Cut some slits or designs to the top of the dough to allow for more of a rise in the oven. You want to make a large cut to help the bread not tear as it rises. You can use a scoring lame, razor blade or a sharp knife.
- Immediately take your hot dutch oven out of the oven and take hold of the parchment paper with the dough. Put it inside the dutch oven and carefully place the lid on and put it in the oven to bake.
- If you want, you can add a couple ice cubes on the outside of the parchment paper between the pan and the paper. This will give the crust a bubbly surface and allow more of a rise!
- Bake the dough for 25 minutes. You can take the top off of the pan and let it bake if the top is not golden brown. Cook with the top off for another 15-20 minutes.
- Take it out of the oven when it is done and let it cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.
- This bread makes the most amazing toast, grilled cheese sandwiches, or even add cream cheese like you would for a bagel!
The little pockets of cheese and jalapeรฑo peppers are so lovely to come across as you eat this bread. The flavors are amazing and just the right balance. If you like this jalapeรฑo cheddar sourdough bread recipe, make sure to check out all the other amazing bread recipes below!
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