A jalapeno cheddar sourdough bread recipe that’s loaded with flavor. A beautiful crust, soft interior, and sharp cheese and spicy peppers combine for a loaf you won’t forget.
If you love the idea of a sourdough bread with mix-ins, try lemon zest and blueberry sourdough too!
The eternal problem with sourdough bread is that your starter has to be fed and discarded all the time and you are forced to bake bread constantly. And sometimes…. your favorite recipes get a little… boring.
And the antidote to boring bread? Adding cheddar cheese and jalapenos!
The best part of this bread is that its just as easy as to make as regular artisan sourdough bread. The cheese and jalapenos don’t do anything to hurt the rise of the bread or anything like that. If you have a made successful loaf of sourdough bread, this recipe is going to turn out great.
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Helpful tools and special ingredients
- A kitchen scale. This is helpful any bread baking, but almost essential for sourdough. It is more accurate, less messy, and totally worth the cost.
- Bread flour! Don’t be tempted to substitute all purpose flour. Bread flour will give a chewy, crusty loaf and the hydration of this recipe is calculated using bread flour. If you can’t find it at your grocery store, you can order it online.
- A Dutch Oven with a tight fitting lid. This helps create a mini oven and lets the load bake in a steamy environment, which helps it rise. If you don’t have a Dutch Oven, you can simply preheat a rimming baking sheet on a lower rack and pour a cup of water on it to create steam.
- A proofing basket with a cloth liner. This will help your loaf keep its shape as it proofs overnight in the fridge. If you have a bowl that’s the right shape, you can line it with a tea towel. But the proofing baskets are pretty!
- Rice flour. This makes a HUGE difference if you are having trouble with your loaf sticking to the proofing basket.
Step by step jalapeno cheddar sourdough
We being with an autolyse stage. Don’t be alarmed. It just means to stir the bread flour, water, starter, and sugar together and let them sit in a bowl. This is not a very high-hydration recipe, so it might look a little rough and somewhat dry. Just use your hands to combine everything into one mass. Cover it with a clean tea towel and let them rest at room temperature for thirty minutes.
Once the dough has rested, it’s time to add in the salt, cheddar, and jalapeno. Dump it right on top of the dough and knead it in. You’ll want to knead by hand for a few minutes to make sure that everything gets incorporated well.
Now that the mix ins are worked in well, it’s time to let the dough rise. Put it in a clean, lightly oiled bowl and cover it with greased plastic or a damp tea towel.
The first rise will take about three to four hours at room temperature. But every hour during this rise, you will need to reshape the dough back into a ball. When the next hour passes, the dough will have relaxed again into the shape of the bowl, like this:
You want to build up structure in the dough and fold it back up like this:
After three folds, you can move on the next stage. It’s time for the second proof, which is a cold proof in the fridge, overnight.
Place the ball of dough into a well-floured proofing basket and cover it with plastic wrap. Pop it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, it should look like this:
In the morning, take the dough out of the fridge and preheat your oven to 450 degrees with a rack in the middle.
Turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper and slash with a lame. One slash down the middle is fine, or you can get fancy!
Place the paper and the dough into a Dutch Oven with a lid. Bake for 25 minutes with the lid on, 25 minutes with the lid off. Then (this is optional), remove the loaf from the Dutch Oven and the paper and bake directly on the oven rack for five more minutes. This helps to brown and crisp the crust all over.
Let cool for at least 3 hours, and slice and serve. Now since this is a jalapeño cheddar sourdough with tons of flavor, I like it best with something plain, like making a turkey sandwich or serving alongside a roast chicken. But of course, you can serve it however you like.
Here’s the recipe!
If you love this recipe, please give it five stars!
Jalapeno Cheddar Cheese Sourdough Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups bread flour 450 grams/ 15.85 ounces
- 1 1/3 cups lukewarm water 300 grams/ 10.6 ounces
- 3/4 cup mature well fed sourdough starter (165 grams/ 5.85 ounces)
- 3/4 tablespoon white sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1/3 cup diced jalapenos fresh or pickled (about 2 whole)
- 1 cup diced sharp cheddar
Instructions
- Combine the flour, water, sugar, and starter in a large bowl and stir. Use your hands to incorporate any dry bits. Cover with a clean, damp tea towel and allow to rest at room temperature for 3o minutes.
- After the rest period, add the salt, cheddar cheese, and jalapenos and knead for a minute or two until everything is thoroughly mixed in. Cover with damp towel and allow to rise in a warm place for three hours, reshaping the dough into a ball once per hour.
- Heavily dust a banneton with rice flour. When it is time to shape the dough the third time, place the loaf into the banneton and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to proof overnight in the fridge.
- In morning, preheat oven to 450 with rack in the center. Remove dough from fridge and turn it out onto a sheet or parchment paper, trying to have it land in the center. Slash the top with a lame or very sharp knife. Place the parchment paper and dough into a lidded Dutch Oven and put the lid back on top.
- Bake for a total of 55 minutes: 25 minutes covered, 25 minutes uncovered, and then remove from the Dutch Oven and bake directly on the rack for 5 minutes to brown the crust. Bread should be 200-210 internally when it is done.
- Remove from Dutch Oven and remove parchment paper. Allow to cool on a wire rack 3 to 4 hours before slicing. Will keep at room temperature, tightly wrapped, for a few days.
Notes
Nutrition
Want more bread recipes?
- Dutch ovens make the best, crusty round loaves. Check out my favorite Dutch Oven bread recipes here.
- Jalapeno cheddar sourdough is not an everyday bread but these sourdough rolls are something you will always want on hand in your kitchen.
- And if your sourdough starter is taking over your life, don’t forget you can use your sourdough discard for all kinds of things
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This is terrific! Appreciate the tutorial and video about reshaping. Delicious on its own and just made sandwiches. Will make again for sure.
Love this recipe! May I know where to find your cranberry walnut recipe?
hi i havent actually posted that recipe yet! i bump up the sugar to 3 tablespoons and keep everything else the same as this method. (I use dried cranberries)
This is my favorite sourdough recipe. Make it all the time
yay! thank you for letting me know, scott!
Dear Katie, Oops, I did it again!! The cheddar/jalapeño bread was so delicious that I had to try a sweet batch. This one I did two loaves at the same time. I did use two different bowls for the dough so I could keep them apart for volume. This time I added dried tart cherries, 1 cup, chopped pecans, 1/2 cup, and chocolate chips 1/2 cup. I decided to try baking one batch in my Breadtopia oblong ceramic cloche. Each one was in a basket for the night in the refrigerator. There was no need for the extra 5 minutes baking after removing from pans. These were brown enough. I did put the Dutch oven onto a cookie sheet in the oven to help prevent too much bottom heat with the fruit and chips in it. Thank you again for a fabulous recipe.
Just made this recipe. It is delicious.
Hands down one of the nicest loaves that has come out of my kitchen, thank you for your great recipe!
I have made your recipe as written 4 times now and it is hands down the easiest most delicious sourdough I have ever made! Today, I used your recipe but made roasted garlic/kalamata instead. It too was fantastic!! Thank you for your recipe.
Wish I could post pictures:)
hi, id really like to try this recipe out, but can i omit the sugar? what difference will it make? is it necessary..thanks a lot
hardly any difference! go for it!
Amazing recipe. My favourite by far.
I’m looking forward to trying this! I just put the loaf in the fridge to proof- but it is 1pm. Should I plan to cook the loaf tonight instead of in the morning? Can I leave it out for a few hours instead of an overnight proof?
I’d like to know that as well! Thanks for asking the question.
I did let mine sit on the counter in the “basket” for several hours because I didn’t have room in the fridge. It expanded over the container so I poured out and baked as directed. Been on the sourdough adventure for two weeks and this is the best bread. Light and airy, crunchy and chewy. Perfect!
I’m a little concerned… I just did the first 3 hours and put it in the fridge. But it hasn’t risen at all in that 3-hour time frame. Should it be rising during that time?
I’m afraid I screwed it up somehow!
Ashley, yes it should have risen! is your starter active? did you have it in a warm place?
What if i only have shredded cheddar? I saw in your above comment that its just not as visible. Will this be an issue for me??
you just won’t see the pieces, no big deal!
What size Dutch oven did you use??
Hello. I just baked this recipe for the first time. Judging by the amount of flour, three cups, plus the cheese and peppers, four cups, I decided to use my smaller Dutch oven, a four quart. It has fairly straight sides and from experience, I knew it would raise higher instead of spreading out in a bigger pot. The overnight proofing in the refrigerator gave the sourdough a nice start to a good oven spring. Putting the dough into the pot without preheating was the best. I was able to get the loaf centered on the parchment paper really nicely before lowering it into the pot. For my preference, the crust was perfect. Chewy, but tender. The inside was amazing with great sourdough holes and tight crumb. I will use the very same recipe and add different items to the dough.
patricia i’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! if you search my site i have a lemon blueberry bread using this same base recipe. it feels very cheerful and springy!
Wow this recipe is a keeper. Love it.
So delicious and easy!
I make this loaf on a weekly basis and get consistent results every time. In my case I leave the lid on my dutch oven for 10 minutes more than stated, but keep within the allotted baking time. Thank you for a wonderful recipe that is easy to follow. A family favourite!
Gillian I’m so glad the recipe is a hit! thank you for the comment 🙂
I love this recipe and I have made it many times, everyone loves it!
I just have a question: what happens if I only have the thick shredded sharp cheese?
I guess I’ll find out tomorrow because I’m getting ready to start making it again:)
Giselle sorry I’m just getting back to you now! it will be fine! just not as visible inside the loaf. 🙂
This recipe is perfection! Thank you!!!
Have you ever done a loaf with fruit and nuts in it? That’s my next “project”!
yes! cranberry walnut! the process is pretty much the same but I add a little more sugar.
Hooray!!! I’ve got dried cherries and pecans just waiting to be baked into a loaf. Thank you!
This bread has such a lovely texture. My jalapeño loaf only lasted 2 days!