Easy Jalapeño Cheddar Sourdough Bread Recipe

Jalapeño Cheddar Sourdough Bread has everything you love about traditional sourdough loaves, but is also crispy, cheesy and has the perfect amount of heat! It is so delicious on its own or added to a meal for an elevated spin on your classic sourdough loaf.

Once you try this jalapeño cheddar sourdough bread, you are going to be asking yourself why you waited so long to do it once you make this! It is so delicious and gives your artisan loaves such a fun spin. Don’t get me wrong, I love my tried and true rustic sourdough bread still, but there is something so beautiful and satisfying about making sourdough with these add-ins! The cheese and jalapeños by no means overpower the sourdough. You still get all of the sourdough taste and texture we all know and love! The cheddar and jalapeños added to this sourdough recipe complement the sourdough perfectly.

This jalapeño cheddar sourdough bread is perfect for sandwiches, smeared with some butter, made into croutons to serve with soup (I did this with some roasted tomato and bell pepper soup and oh my. It was incredible!), or served on the side with a bowl of chili. The options are many, but trust me when I say- this is the combination you need for your sourdough!

What goes with cheddar jalapeño bread?

Jalapeño Cheddar Sourdough is delicious on its own but can also be used as sandwich bread. It is also perfect to serve on the side with many soups, stews or chilis. It is also great to use to make spicy croutons.

Does jalapeño cheese bread need to be refrigerated?

Once jalapeño cheddar sourdough bread is baked, I do not refrigerate it if it is going to be consumed within around 4 days. I store it in a bread box wrapped in a tea towel or parchment paper. If you are concerned about the bread molding from not consuming it within several days (or you live in a humid climate) you may consider refrigerating it.

How to score cheddar jalapeño sourdough?

Since the bread has extra additions, I like to keep the scoring simple. I do an X on the top of the dough to let the air escape while it is baking. It is beautiful as it is with the jalapeños and cheddar without extra designs added.

How much jalapeño to add to sourdough?

For this recipe, I add 1/3 cup of pre-sliced nacho jalapeños. Add less for a less spicy loaf, but if you like the spice, go for the full 1/3 cups to have jalapeños spread throughout the loaf.

What cheese goes well with sourdough?

A sharp cheddar cheese goes great in this sourdough loaf. Another option is to use pepper jack or a spicy habanero cheddar for extra spice.

How to make Jalapeño Cheddar Sourdough Bread:

Tools you will need:

• Kitchen Scale
• Large Bowl – glass, ceramic or wood preferred
• Dough Whisk
• Banneton Basket

Ingredients for Jalapeño Cheddar Sourdough Bread:

• Sourdough Starter – an active starter is used in this recipe to act as the leavening agent. Make sure to use your starter at peak rise, when it has been fed about 6-10 hours prior to mixing the dough.
• Filtered Water – using clean and filtered water will ensure the dough rises and ferments as it should.
• Unbleached All-Purpose Flour – an all-purpose flour works great for this bread recipe, however you can use bread flour or experiment with adding part whole wheat for more depth of flavor. Unbleached flour is important to use when baking with sourdough as bleached or enriched flours can affect the sourdough fermentation process. I purchase organic flour from Azure Standard in bulk to save money and have plenty on hand when I need it.
• Sea Salt – use the highest quality sea salt you can afford for your sourdough bread. Avoid iodized salt.
• Cheddar Cheese – I prefer this raw sharp cheddar cheese for this recipe, but use what you like. I do recommend purchasing a block of cheese and grating it yourself as opposed to pre-shredded cheese as they cover it in anti-caking agents which doesn’t melt down as well.
• Sliced Jalapeños – pre-sliced jarred nacho jalapeños are my favorite to use in Jalapeño Cheddar Sourdough Bread. You can certainly use fresh sliced jalapeños, but these are my preference!

Instructions for Jalapeño Cheddar Sourdough Bread

Mix the Dough + Bulk Rise

Get your kitchen scale and a large mixing bowl, preferably made of wood or glass. Set the bowl on the scale and reset the weight to zero. Add in 125 grams of active sourdough starter and 300 grams of room temperature filtered water. Whisk to combine.

After that, add 500 grams of unbleached all-purpose flour. Blend it in using either your hands or a dough whisk. I find a dough whisk makes the process smoother, and then I use my hands to fully incorporate the last bit of flour. It might seem a bit dry, but that’s okay – you’ll add the remaining water shortly. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.

Once 30 minutes have passed, reset the scale again and sprinkle on 13 grams of fine sea salt and 75 grams of filtered water. Use your hands to gently knead and combine the water and salt into the dough. It should become quite wet as everything combines. Cover the bowl and let it rest for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, remove the tea towel, wet your hands, and begin the stretch and folds. Lift one side of the dough and fold it over on itself. Rotate the bowl 45 degrees and repeat. Do this four times total to cover all the sides of the dough. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rest another 15 minutes. Repeat the stretch and fold on all four sides, cover the bowl and let it rest 15 minutes. After the first two series of stretch and folds, you may mix in your cheddar and jalapeños. Repeat stretch and folds 2 more times with add ins mixed in.

*Another option is to stretch and fold the dough all four times over an hour without adding the cheddar and jalapeños. If you go this route, you will add the mix ins after the bulk rise during lamination (before refrigeration). This is a great option if you doubled the bread dough recipe and want to make one loaf plain or a variation with just cheddar or other mix ins.

Shape the Dough + Refrigerate

After all of the stretch and folds are complete, cover the dough with the damp tea towel and let the dough rise undisturbed for 6-10 hours till it has mostly doubled in size. Time for this depends greatly on temperature and maturity of the starter, so keep an eye on it if you are unfamiliar with how quickly your dough rises.

After the bulk rise, it is time to laminate and shape the dough. On a clean surface, spread a little bit of water before turning the dough out. This helps prevent the dough from sticking while you shape it.

If you haven’t added your mix ins, with wet fingers, stretch the dough out as wide as you can into a rectangle. Sprinkle a little over half of the cheddar and jalapeños over the surface of the dough. Fold one end of the rectangle towards the center, then bring the opposite side over top of that, forming one long and narrow rectangle. Sprinkle the remaining cheddar and jalapeños along the dough. Roll one end to the opposite end and push and pull the dough with the side of your hand or a bench scraper to create tension. Do this gently and only a few times to create a ball as you do not want to break the dough.

If you already added the mix ins during the stretch and folds, turn the dough out on the slightly damp surface. Gently pull the sides of the dough in towards the middle to form a ball. Push and pull the dough with the side of your hand or a bench scraper only a few times to create tension and create a ball.

Once the dough is shaped, place it into a lightly floured and lined banneton basket. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours for the slow/cold fermentation.

Score + Bake

When you are ready to bake the jalapeño cheddar sourdough bread, place a dutch oven with the lid on in your cool oven. Set the temperature to 450℉ and preheat the oven. Once the oven has come to temperature, take the dough out of the fridge. Turn it out onto the middle of a large piece of parchment paper (about double the width of the dough) or a silicone baking sling. Powder the top of the dough with a little bit of flour if you would like and score the bread with a bread lame. For these loaves, I prefer to do a simple “X” in the middle. This allows air to escape as it bakes and prevents the crust from splitting.

Carefully, pull the dutch oven out of the oven. Remove the lid and set the bread into the bowl of the dutch oven. Cover with the lid and place back into the oven. Bake for 25 minutes and then remove the lid. Bake another 20 minutes with the lid removed.

Once it is finished baking, take out of the oven and carefully remove the bread from the dutch oven. Transfer the jalapeño cheddar sourdough bread onto a wire baking rack and allow it to cool for at least 30 minutes. This is an important step as the bread is still baking internally. If cut while steaming hot, the inside may have a doughy texture.

Once cooled, slice and enjoy!

More Sourdough Recipes to Try

• Brown Butter Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Cinnamon Crunch Sourdough Bagels
• Artisan Rustic Sourdough Bread
• Sourdough Sandwich Bread
• Sourdough Croissants
• Sourdough Tortillas
• Sourdough Apple Cake
• Pumpkin Sourdough Babka

If you try this recipe and love it, I would love to know! Come back and leave a review! Tag me on Instagram @oursimplegraces!

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