Jalapeno Cheddar Sourdough is a flavorful and fun sourdough bread recipe you can easily make at home! A great beginner bread recipe with the addition of fresh sliced jalapenos and shredded sharp cheddar cheese. This bread has a beautiful crust, a soft interior, and tons of flavor!
50gramsof sourdough starter100% hydration, fed and active
350gramswatercool or room temperature
500gramsstrong white bread flour
4gramssea salt
60gramssliced jalapenoscan be fresh or pickled
120gramssharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
Prep work
Feed your sourdough starter and allow it to become active - you want it at its peak activity level, so doubled in size and nice and bubbly.
Slice the jalapenos into thin slices (remove the seeds if you want it to be less spicy). If using pickled jalapnos, make sure to drain and dry them off.
Mix the dough
In a large mixing bowl (preferably glass), mix together the sourdough starter, water, and sea salt until combined.
Once mixed, add in all of the bread flour and mix until just combined. It will be loose here and quite rough, clumpy.
Stretch and Folds
Cover the bowl with a plastic shower cap for about 1 hour. Allow to sit on the counter at room temperature (around 70 F is a perfect temp here).
Remove the cover. Grab the edge of the dough farthest away from you and stretch it up and then place it back down closest to you. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat the stretch and fold. Repeat again until you have done this a total of four times.
Recover the dough and let it sit for 1 hour.
Remove the cover. Add the sliced jalapenos and shredded cheese on top of the dough and perform the second set of stretch and folds all the way around the bowl.
Recover the dough and let it sit for 1 hour.
Remove the cover, and lift and fold the dough all around the edges for the third and final time.
Bulk Fermentation
Once you have completed 3 foldings, keeping the shower cap on, leave it in a warm place to rest for 2-3 hours, or until doubled in size.
Shaping
Place the dough onto a lightly floured counter and shape into a ball, tucking the edges under to create a ball. The outside of the dough will not be smooth because of the added jalapenos and cheddar cheese.
Flour the top of the ball.
Place it upside down in a floured proofing basket.
Final Proofing
Cover and allow to rise at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, or until it has risen about 20%.
* Recipe Note: You do have the option of placing the dough in the fridge to do an overnight cold fermentation after you place the dough in the proofing basket. This can be 12-36 hours. The longer it stays in the fridge the more pronounced the sourdough taste will be.
Baking
Preheat the oven to 450 F for 30 minutes. Place a dutch oven in the oven to preheat with the oven.
Once fully preheated, carefully turn the dough out onto a large piece of parchment paper.
Score the bread with a lame or razor.
Carefully lift the parchment paper into the dutch oven, place the cover on the dutch oven and put in the oven.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the lid from the dutch oven and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes.
Once done, remove the bread carefully from the dutch oven and place on a cooling rack. Let cool for at least 2 hours, until cooled. This step is KEY to result in bread that isn’t gummy or soggy.
Notes
*NOTE: The timing of this schedule is dependent on the temperature of your house. Dough will proof faster in a warmer house, and slower in a colder house. Watch the dough here, not the clock! For reference, the temperature of my house is 70 F.