Jalapeño Cheddar Artisan Sourdough Bread
Equipment
- Oval banneton (5% off with code TSG5) | Size I'm Using: Oval – Spiral MD
- Dutch oven ($15 off with code REBEKAH15)
Ingredients
Sourdough Starter
- 10 g sourdough starter (active or discard)
- 50 g bread flour
- 50 g water
Main Dough
- 180 g water
- 50 g pickled jalapeño juice
- 86 g active sourdough starter (that you made, from above)
- 3 g nutritional yeast (optional; adds more cheesy flavor)
- 375 g Caputo 00 Americana flour (see Notes for substitutions)
- 7 g sea salt
Inclusions
- 46 g sharp yellow cheddar (Cabot or Tillamook) | (freshly grated)
- 46 g sharp white cheddar (Cabot or Tillamook) | (freshly grated)
- 40 g diced fresh jalapeño (about 1 jalapeño)
- 5 g finely diced fresh serrano (about 1/2 of a serrano)
- 30 g diced candied jalapeno
Cheese Topping
- 20 g white or yellow sharp cheddar (Cabot or Tillamook) | (freshly grated)
- 5 slices fresh jalapeño
Instructions
- Make the sourdough starter the night before. In a jar, mix 10 g sourdough starter, 50 g bread flour, and 50 g water. Stir until fully combined, then cover loosely and let it ferment overnight at room temperature (about 10-12 hours). By morning, it should be peaked. You'll have a little more than you need (feed the leftovers or add it to your discard jar in the fridge).
- Mix the dough. In a glass mixing bowl, combine 180 g water, 50 g pickled jalapeño juice, and 86 g active sourdough starter, stirring gently to dissolve the starter. Add 3 g nutritional yeast, 375 g Caputo 00 Americana flour, and 7 g sea salt. Mix with a Danish dough whisk or your hands until no dry flour remains. The dough will be shaggy and sticky – that’s normal! Cover with plastic wrap or a bowl cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Perform a set of stretch and folds. To do this, grab one side of the dough, stretch it upward, then fold it over itself. Rotate the bowl and repeat on all four sides. Keep going until the dough resists being stretched. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Perform a second set of stretch and folds in the same way, followed by another 30 minute rest.
- Prepare the inclusions. Dice the jalapeño, finely dice the serrano, and dice the candied jalapeño. Gently pat the candied jalapeño with a paper towel to reduce its moisture. Shred the cheeses. Optional: coat all of these inclusions in a few teaspoons of bread flour (I found this helps them “float” better in the dough for a more even distribution).
- Incorporate the inclusions during the third set of stretch and folds. Mix together 46 g sharp yellow cheddar, 46 g sharp white cheddar, 40 g diced fresh jalapeño, 5 g finely diced fresh serrano, and 30 g diced candied jalapeno. Add a quarter of the inclusions at a time during the third set of stretch and folds, layering them evenly as you perform each fold to ensure even distribution.
- Final coil fold. After 30 minutes, perform a final coil fold to build additional dough strength. To do this, lift the center of the dough, allowing the edges to drape down, then tuck them underneath as you set the dough back down. If you feel the dough is slack or not strong enough, you can do an additional coil fold after another 30-minute rest.
- Bulk ferment. Cover the dough and let it ferment at room temperature until it is puffy, jiggly, and has visible bubbles on the surface and sides. The exact amount of time this takes will vary. The temperature of your dough is the biggest factor. For reference, it took my dough about 7.5 hours at 75°F (24°C). The timing begins when we mix our dough.
- Pre-shape the dough. Lightly flour your work surface with bread flour. Gently turn the dough out of the bowl. Using a push and pull motion, shape the dough ball into a round shape. We want the surface to be taut. Let rest, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, or just until the dough relaxes a bit.
- Final shaping. Flip the dough and use the caddy clasp final shaping technique to fold it into a boule or batard. See the Notes section for video tutorials.
- Cold proof overnight. Place the shaped dough into a floured banneton (rice flour works best), cover with a flour sack towel or plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight (8-24 hours). This slow fermentation enhances flavor and makes the dough easier to score before baking.
- Covered bake. Preheat your oven to 450°F (230°C) with a Dutch oven inside for at least 30 minutes. (I use convection.) When ready to bake, carefully transfer the cold dough onto parchment paper or a bread sling, score the top with a bread lame, and place it into the preheated Dutch oven. Cover and bake for 25 minutes.
- Cheese topping and uncovered bake. Uncover the loaf and top it with 20 g white or yellow sharp cheddar and 5 slices fresh jalapeño. Then, bake for another 10-15 minutes until golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 205-210°F (96-99°C).
Notes
- You can substitute the Caputo 00 flour for King Arthur unbleached bread flour (or an equivalent). Just add 10g additional water in the initial dough mix.
- I tested three brands of cheese and found Cabot and Tillamook to be the best. Tillamook has a sharper flavor while Cabot is a little more balanced. Either is a great choice.
- You can omit the jalapeño juice in the dough and replace it with additional water. You'll lose some of the jalapeño flavor but will end up with a slightly loftier loaf.
- Omit the serrano if you want jalapeño flavor without too much heat.
- Substitute pickled jalapeño for fresh in a pinch. Just pat the pickled jalapeños with a paper towel before incorporating into the dough.
