Spicy, creamy, and so delicious, this Cheddar Jalapeno Sourdough Bread is the perfect addition to your next charcuterie board! If you're looking for a change from your normal sourdough bread, then you have to try this jalapeno loaded bread!

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This recipe is a twist on my classic sourdough bread. The addition of spicy pickled jalapeno and creamy cheddar make this crusty bread irresistible!
This recipe is based off a recipe in Emilie Raffa's book "Artisan Sourdough Made Simple" . She is the queen of sourdough and has so many fantastic recipes that are easy to understand.
Jump to:
- What is Sourdough Bread?
- Why This Recipe Is Amazing!
- Ingredients To Gather
- Equipment You'll Need
- How To Make Cheddar Jalapeno Sourdough Bread
- Sample Baking Schedule
- Fresh Jalapenos vs. Pickled Jalapenos
- Types of Flour for Sourdough Breads
- Tips and Tricks
- How To Serve Cheddar Jalapeno Bread
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Other Recipes To Try!
- 📖 Recipe
What is Sourdough Bread?
Sourdough bread is a bread made from natural yeast, flour, water, and salt. There is no commercial yeast, only naturally occurring yeast from the environment. Sourdough bread requires a "starter" to rise the bread. A starter is filled with good bacteria and natural yeast that gives the bread that traditional sour taste.
If you are new to sourdough, make sure to check out this post on how to keep a sourdough starter.
Why This Recipe Is Amazing!
- It has so much flavor! It's loaded with pickled jalapenos and creamy cheddar. The balance of the flavors makes this bread so delicious!
- It's easy to make! Don't be intimidated by sourdough bread. It can seem daunting, but as long as you have a good, healthy starter, you can easily make tons of different types of bread.
- It's a twist on the classic! We all love the classic sourdough bread but add in some jalapenos to kick up the flavor!
Ingredients To Gather
- Sourdough starter- Your starter needs to be active and bubbly. If you plan to make this bread in the morning, the night before you should feed it and make sure it has doubled in size.
- Flour- Bread flour is recommended, but if you only have all purpose flour that would work well too.
- Salt- Salt feeds the natural yeast in sourdough. That will make the bread rise in the Instant Pot.
- Water- for hydration in the bread.
- Cheddar- Colby Jack, white cheddar, yellow cheddar, or a sharp cheddar would all work.
- Jalapenos- Pickled jalapenos are readily available in the antipasto section of your grocery store.
Equipment You'll Need
How To Make Cheddar Jalapeno Sourdough Bread
Add the water and starter to a bowl. Mix well with a fork. Top the water and starter with flour and salt. Mix everything well until a shaggy dough forms. It might get a little tough to mix with a fork, so don't be afraid to use your hands. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and allow the dough to rest for 1 hour.
While the dough rests, drain the pickled jalapenos and cut them into smaller pieces if they are too large. I found that cutting the jalapenos in half made a good size for the bread. Cut or shred the cheddar cheese and set that aside. If you want large pieces of cheddar, keep in mind that the cheddar will melt and create large holes in the bread.
Add The Cheddar and Jalapenos
When the hour is up, sprinkle the jalapenos and cheddar cheese onto the dough. Fold the dough over onto itself so the jalapenos and cheddar cheese are completely incorporated into the dough. Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel and allow it to rest for 8-10 hours. You want the dough to double in size and look bubbly at the surface.
After the 8-10 hours are up, turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Fold the top third of the dough down towards the middle of the dough and fold the bottom third of the dough up towards the middle of the dough. Flip the dough over and shape it again. Move the dough in a circular motion to tighten the dough. Place it seam side up in a kitchen towel lined bowl. Cover with a damp towel and place it in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or up to overnight.
Time to Bake!
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. After the dough has set for one hour in the refrigerator, turn the dough onto parchment paper. Place the dough and parchment paper in a Dutch oven. Score the top of the bread with a sharp knife or a razor blade. This will give the dough room to rise as it bakes.
Lower the oven to 450 degrees and place the covered Dutch oven into the oven. Bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the cover from the Dutch oven and bake for 35 minutes more. Allow the bread to cool before slicing.
Sample Baking Schedule
- Noon- Mix together flour, water, and starter.
- Bulk Rise- 1pm- Add jalapenos, cheddar and salt. Let it rest for 8-10 hours.
- 9pm- Shape the dough and place the dough in the refrigerator to rest.
- 7am- Bake for 1 hour.
Fresh Jalapenos vs. Pickled Jalapenos
If you do choose to use fresh jalapenos, make sure to use gloves when cutting them and to remove the seeds and ribs from the jalapenos. I prefer pickled jalapenos for a few reasons.
- Pickled jalapenos are already chopped up. All you need to do is run a knife through them to make them a little smaller if you would like.
- Pickled jalapenos are pretty spicy already. Fresh jalapenos can be hit or miss. You can get a pretty mild jalapeno, or you can get one that blows your taste buds away. With pickled jalapenos, they are all the same.
- There is more flavor in pickled jalapenos. You can the extra tang from the vinegar, and they are just a little salty, which adds a lot to the bread!
Types of Flour for Sourdough Breads
The best type of flour to use for bread is bread flour. Bread flour has a higher protein content, and high protein means more gluten in your bread loaf.
If you don't have bread flour handy, all purpose flour can be substituted. You won't build up as much gluten as you would with bread flour, but the difference won't be very noticeable.
Whole wheat flour can be used in sourdough bread as well, but you don't want to use all whole wheat flour. That can turn the bread very tough and it would have a bitter flavor. I like to use 50% bread flour and 50% whole wheat flour.
Tips and Tricks
- To check if your starter is ready to bake with, place a tablespoon of starter into water. If the starter floats, it is ready to bake with. If it sinks, feed it again, and make the bread the next day.
- When making bread, it is most important to weigh out the ingredients. That is the best way to get the most accurate measurements.
- To check if the bread is cooked completely, carefully tap on the bottom of the bread. It should sound hollow when you tap it.
How To Serve Cheddar Jalapeno Bread
- As a spicy sandwich with barbecue chicken.
- Dipped into your favorite chicken stew.
- Alongside broccoli cheddar soup.
- Smeared with blueberry jam for a sweet and spicy toast.
- Topped with homemade hummus.
Frequently Asked Questions
After the dough has risen for 8 hours, it's important to let the dough rest in the refrigerator. This will set the structure of the inside of the bread. You can keep the dough in the refrigerator overnight if you want to make the dough ahead of time and then bake it off in the morning.
Yes! Wrap a cooled loaf in plastic wrap and then place it in a Ziploc bag. Make note of the date you are placing it in the freezer. The bread can be frozen for 3-4 months, but to be honest, I've eaten bread out of the freezer that was there for much longer! As long as it's wrapped in plastic wrap and in a Ziploc bag it will stay good for a long time.
Once the loaf cools, place it in a Ziploc bag and it will stay fresh on the counter for 2-3 days.
Other Recipes To Try!
Did you love this Cheddar Jalapeno Sourdough Bread? I'd so appreciate it if you would give this recipe a 5 star review! That will help other hungry readers find my recipes!
And don't forget to tag me on Instagram or Facebook and share this recipe on Pinterest! Thanks for sharing this journey with me and enjoy these delicious recipes!
📖 Recipe
Cheddar Jalapeno Sourdough Bread
Ingredients
- 500 g Bread Flour
- 375 g Water
- 90 g Starter Active and bubbly
- 10 g Salt Kosher salt if possible
- 90 g Pickled Jalapenos Roughly chopped
- 90 g Cheddar Shredded or diced into small pieces
Instructions
- Add the water and starter to a bowl. Mix well with a fork.
- Top the water and starter with flour and salt. Mix everything well until a shaggy dough forms.
- Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and allow the dough to rest for 1 hour.
- While the dough rests, drain the pickled jalapenos and cut them into smaller pieces if they are too large
- Cut or shred the cheddar cheese and set that aside.
- When the hour is up, sprinkle the jalapenos and cheddar cheese onto the dough. Fold the dough over onto itself so the jalapenos and cheddar cheese are completely incorporated into the dough.
- Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel and allow it to rest for 8-10 hours. You want the dough to double in size and look bubbly at the surface.
- After the 8-10 hours are up, turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Fold the top third of the dough down towards the middle of the dough and fold the bottom third of the dough up towards the middle of the dough. Flip the dough over and shape it again. Move the dough in a circular motion to tighten the dough.
- Place it seam side up in a kitchen towel lined bowl. Cover with a damp towel and place it in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or overnight.
- When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. After the dough has set for one hour in the refrigerator, turn the dough onto parchment paper. Place the dough and parchment paper in a Dutch oven. Score the top of the bread with a sharp knife or a razor blade.
- Lower the oven to 450 degrees and place the covered Dutch oven into the oven. Bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the cover from the Dutch oven and bake for 35 minutes more. Allow the bread to cool before slicing
Notes
- If you want large pieces of cheddar, keep in mind that the cheddar will melt and create large holes in the bread.
- How long the bulk rise takes depends on the temperature in your kitchen. If it's a cold day, it might take up to 12 hours for the dough to get bubbly and double in size. If it's a hot day, your dough might be doubled in size in 6 hours. Keep an eye on the dough and check it every few hours.
- If you do choose to use fresh jalapenos, make sure to use gloves when cutting them and to remove the seeds and ribs from the jalapenos.
- To check if your starter is ready to bake with, place a tablespoon of starter into water. If the starter floats, it is ready to bake with. If it sinks, feed it again, and make the bread the next day.
- When making bread, it is most important to weigh out the ingredients. That is the best way to get the most accurate measurements.
Shelby
Hubby is in love with this, jalapenos are his favorite thing so he was so excited I made this for him!
Glenda
Wow, is this good! We love sourdough, anyway. But, when you add cheese and jalapenos ... mmmm. That's a whole new level of , "Don't you touch my plate!" lol Absolutely scrumptious. Thank you!
Sherry
OMG!! This cheddar Jalapeno Sourdough bread tastes amazing and my family can't get enough of it!! Your step by step instructions gave me the confidence to make this great sourdough bread recipe.
Emily
I am obsessed with this cheddar jalapeno sourdough bread! It's like all of the things I love in one place. This recipe KILLED it! Thank you!
lynnswayoflife
There's nothing better than jalapenos, cheddar, and sourdough!