Easy, Homemade Jalapeño Cheddar Bread

Oh, are you in for a treat! This is one of my family’s absolute favorites and a regular request on the weekends.

For this recipe you’ll want to get out your dutch oven. This was a fairly new purchase and one I wish i had done sooner. I can’t believe I went so long without one. If you haven’t added this piece of equipment to your kitchen yet, I highly recommend it. Not only for this recipe but many more I’ll add to this blog. I found the Amazon Basics Enameled Cast Iron 6-quart Dutch Oven to be the best quality for the cost.

This is an easy recipe compared to many of the bread recipes out there. It doesn’t require the endless kneading of dough but does require a little bit of time. So be sure to plan ahead.

Prepare the ingredients

To start, you’ll want to prepare by chopping and removing the seeds from 2 of the 3 jalapenos. You’ll see I found a couple good size jalapenos. If the market or your garden don’t have plump peppers like these, feel free to add an additional pepper. It’s all to your liking.

You’ll notice I’ve left some of the seeds here since we like the added spice in my family. But adjust to your family’s taste.

Jalapeno spice comes from the capsaicin chemical trapped in the seeds and the ribs of the pepper.

For this recipe, the heat is in no way overwhelming. It’s very subtle.

For the final pepper, slice it into rings. You’ll set this aside until just before we put the dough into the oven. Again, we like the spice so the ribs and seeds are left on here. You could always core the jalapenos if you don’t want the heat.

Making the dough

Next, set aside 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese for the dough topping later. Now, you’ll need 2 large mixing bowls. In one bowl, mix the bread flour, salt, cheddar cheese and chopped jalapenos. until well incorporated.

Then, in the second bowl, pour the warm water and active yeast together.

Now, carefully add the flour mixture to the water mixture. Stir with a wooden or silicone spoon until dough forms. The dough should be thoroughly moist with no remaining loose flour. Then, using the spoon, start folding the edges of the dough to the center of the dough. Do this while rotating the bowl until a ball of dough forms, about 8-10 times.

Rest the dough

Set the dough aside covered with a kitchen towel for 1 hour while the dough rises and doubles in size.

Next, using the spoon, fold the edges of the dough to the center as you did earlier. Repeat this about 8-10 times as you rotate the bowl. Then, set aside again for 30 minutes.

While the dough is rising, preheat the oven and the dutch oven to 450 degrees . It’s best to place the dutch oven with the lid directly into the oven.

After 30 minutes, lightly flour a clean surface and your hands. Carefully remove the dough and transfer it to the floured surface. Flip it over, dusting off any excess flour. Fold the edges of the dough toward the center as you did earlier, rotating the dough with each fold. Flip the dough again onto a sheet of parchment paper.

Preparing the dough

Brush the dough with olive oil to help the cheese stick to the dough. Then, sprinkle the remaining Cheddar cheese.

With a sharp knife, cut an x shape into the top of the dough. Scoring the dough like this will prevent the dough from cracking or rupturing as it bakes.

You’ll now have 4 quadrants to place the jalapeño rings. Press them lightly into the dough so they stick. I use a triangular pattern with 1 ring closest to the top of the scoring and 2 to 3 rings just below.

Now, pick up the dough with the parchment paper and place into your preheated dutch oven. I like to cut any excess parchment paper from sticking out of the Dutch oven. This prevents it from burning during the baking process.

Baking the dough

Place the lid on the Dutch oven and bake covered in the oven at 450 degrees for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, remove the lid and bake an additional 20 minutes.

Cooling the bread

Carefully lift the bread out of the Dutch oven and place on a cooling rack. If you don’t have a cooling rack, that’s OK. You just want to remove it from the hot dutch oven so the bottom doesn’t burn.

The longer you let the bread cool, the easier and cleaner the bread will slice. I recommend at least 1 hour of cooling.

So many delicious options for this bread. Simply toast it up with butter and enjoy, add a slice of Cheddar for a delicious grilled cheese, top with sliced turkey and spicy chipotle mayo, or top with bacon, eggs, and cheese for a delicious breakfast sandwich.

You’re going to love it! Let me know how you enjoyed it in the comments below!