Jalapeño cheddar sourdough is an easy way to amp up the flavour of a basic sourdough loaf! Eat it plain, or slathered with butter and jam.
photography by Sophie MacKenzie
We love jalapeño cheddar sourdough toasted for breakfast or for sandwiches at lunch. If you’re new to baking sourdough bread, don’t be intimidated! The hardest part of the recipe is having patience while the fermentation process works its magic.
If you’re really new to sourdough baking, consider checking out these posts before you begin:
How To Make Sourdough Starter From Scratch
Essential Sourdough Tools
How To Stretch And Fold Sourdough
How To Shape Sourdough Boules
Troubleshooting Sourdough Bread
In the description, you maybe noticed we said slather this bread with jam. Yes, jam! The sweetness of jam is a terrific compliment to the spicy jalapeños and rich salty cheese.
Also, please note that we do not include cup measurements for this jalapeño cheddar sourdough recipe (or any of our sourdough bread recipes for that matter). Making homemade sourdough requires precision. We highly highly recommend using a scale to measure ingredients by weight for best results.
Ingredients
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
Method
Tips & Notes
- We do not include cup measurements for this jalapeño cheddar sourdough recipe (or any of our sourdough bread recipes for that matter). Making homemade sourdough requires precision. We highly highly recommend using a scale to measure ingredients by weight for best results.
- For best flavour, choose an aged sharp cheddar.
- We only use one jalapeño in this recipe, but if you like heat add more!
- Fresh jalapeños are best—we don’t recommend using canned.
- We love this bread for tuna or tomato sandwiches, toasted for breakfast, or on the side of soup.
- Because of the added fat in the cheese, the bottom of this loaf may brown faster than regular sourdough—if you don’t like a thicker crust, try doubling up the parchment paper.
If you’re new to sourdough baking, check out these posts before you begin:
How To Make Sourdough Starter From Scratch
Essential Sourdough Tools
How To Stretch And Fold Sourdough
How To Shape Sourdough Boules
Troubleshooting Sourdough Bread
Substitutions
- Use bread flour in place of all-purpose if you like.
- You can try other cheeses like Monterey Jack, Havarti, or Swiss.
- Jalapeño and cheddar make a classic combo, however, you can substitute any other fresh chilli pepper you want. You can also replace the fresh jalapeño with ½ to 1 teaspoon (or more if you’re brave) of ground cayenne pepper or red pepper chilli flakes.
More Sourdough Bread Recipes
Black Pepper & Rosemary Sourdough Bread
Sourdough Bauernbrot (German Farmer’s Bread)
Cranberry Sourdough Bread With Walnuts
Apricot Sourdough With Anise
Basic Sourdough Pan Loaf
Recipe
Jalapeño Cheddar Sourdough Bread
Yield: 1 loaf
Description
Jalapeño cheddar sourdough is an easy way to amp up the flavour of a basic sourdough loaf! Eat it plain, or slathered with butter and jam.
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Banneton
- Dutch oven
- Parchment paper
- Bread lame or razor blade
- Wire rack
- Digital kitchen scale
Ingredients
- 440 grams all-purpose flour
- 320 grams water, room temperature
- 100 grams active sourdough starter
- 10 grams salt
- 150 grams old cheddar, cubed into ½-inch (1 cm) chunks
- 1 jalapeño, sliced lengthwise, chopped into half moons
Instructions
- Make The Dough (about 50 minutes)
- Add the flour, water, and starter to a large bowl. Using your hands, mix until a shaggy dough forms.
- Once the dough is mixed, cover the bowl with a tea towel. Let the dough rest at room temperature for 40 minutes.
- After the 40 minute resting time has elapsed, add the salt, cubed cheddar, and sliced jalapeño. Mix with your hands until well combined.
- Stretch & Folds (about 3 hours)
- To do this, dampen your hands lightly with water. Reach under the dough on the opposite side of the bowl from you. Pull the dough up and over towards you. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat on all four quadrants of the dough. Scoop your hands under the ball of dough and flip it over completely. This completes one stretch and fold. Do 6 more series of stretch & folds, one every 30 minutes, for a total of 3 hours.
- Shape The Dough (30 minutes plus 8 hour rest in the fridge)
- Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Remove the dough from the bowl and let it rest on the counter for 20 minutes.
- Generously dust the inside of a banneton with flour (we like a mix of 1:1 all-purpose flour and rice flour).
- Shape the dough into a boule. You want as much surface tension as possible without tearing the outside of the loaf. Once shaped, turn the loaf into the prepared banneton (top-down, seam side up). Lightly flour the exposed dough. Cover the banneton with a plate and set it in the fridge overnight, or for at least 8 hours.
- Day Two (about 1½ hours plus 5 to 6 hours of cooling time)
- The next day, place a cast iron Dutch oven in the oven with the lid on. Preheat the oven to 500°F (260ºF) (or as hot as your oven can go, but no higher than 500°F). After the oven has come to temperature, continue to preheat the Dutch oven for another 30 minutes.
- Once the Dutch oven has preheated, have a large square of parchment paper ready on a work surface. Take your bread out of the fridge. Gently invert the dough onto the parchment paper. Gently score the bread with a bread lame or a razor blade. Using oven mitts, carefully remove the Dutch oven from the oven, take off the lid, and then carefully lift the dough into the pot using the parchment paper as handles. Using oven mitts, carefully place the lid back on the Dutch oven and back into the heated oven. Reduce the heat to 450°F (230ºC) and bake the loaf for 30 minutes. Take the pot out of the oven, carefully remove the lid (be careful of steam), and bake for another 20 minutes with the lid off.
- Remove the pot from the oven. Remove the lid and carefully lift the loaf out using the edges of the parchment paper as handles. Place the loaf on a wire rack and pull the paper away from underneath the loaf (if heat makes it too difficult to extract the dough and parchment layer safely, just let the loaf cool in the Dutch oven—don't risk burning yourself). Cool the bread completely before slicing, about 5 to 6 hours.
Notes
Tips & Notes
We do not include cup measurements for this jalapeño cheddar sourdough recipe (or any of our sourdough bread recipes for that matter). Making homemade sourdough requires precision. We highly highly recommend using a scale to measure ingredients by weight for best results. For best flavour, choose an aged sharp cheddar. We only use one jalapeño in this recipe, but if you like heat add more! Fresh jalapeños are best—we don’t recommend using canned. We love this bread for tuna or tomato sandwiches, toasted for breakfast, or on the side of soup. Because of the added fat in the cheese, the bottom of this loaf may brown faster than regular sourdough—if you don’t like a thicker crust, try doubling up the parchment paper.If you’re new to sourdough baking, check out these posts before you begin:
How To Make Sourdough Starter From Scratch Essential Sourdough Tools How To Stretch And Fold Sourdough How To Shape Sourdough Boules Troubleshooting Sourdough BreadSubstitutions
You can try other cheeses like Monterey Jack, Havarti, or Swiss. Jalapeño and cheddar make a classic combo, however, you can substitute any other fresh chilli pepper you want. You can also replace the fresh jalapeño with ½ to 1 teaspoon (or more if you’re brave) of ground cayenne pepper or red pepper chilli flakes.Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 239kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 488mg | Fiber: 2g
Did you make this recipe?Let us know on Instagram @baked_theblog or tag #bakedtheblog!
olivia says
this recipe is easy (as far as sourdough goes) and is absolutely stellar! i’ve made it several times and every loaf is a smash