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This homemade cheddar jalapeño bread recipe is simply addicting! You will not believe that it came out of your own oven. All you need is a dutch oven and a few basic ingredients to make your own delicious loaf of homemade bread.
We couldn’t believe how delicious this was, and it will rival any bread from a bakery. Keep reading to learn how to make your own!
What we love the most is the texture of the bread. It has a beautiful crispy crust, yet with a chewy interior that is not dry at all. It truly is an amazing bread and you will wow all your guests!
EASY JALAPEÑO CHEDDAR BREAD RECIPE
This bread is a variation on our classic country bread recipe, but with the addition of delicious cheddar and jalapeño peppers.
INGREDIENTS
BREAD FLOUR
Bread flour and all-purpose flour are not interchangeable. What is the difference? Bread flour contains a higher amount of protein, and it is the protein in flour that forms gluten in your bread dough.
Higher gluten levels will result in a more elastic, stronger dough. The resulting bread will be lighter and chewier! We prefer King Arthur Bread Flour (link to Amazon).
A kitchen scale is optional, but we do recommend weighing the flour for the most consistent results. If you don’t have a kitchen scale or don’t want to get one, we recommend spooning the flour into your measuring cups and then leveling off with a knife.
If you simply dip the entire measuring cup into your flour bag and level it off, there will be much more flour (by weight) this way, and it will change the texture of your bread.
DRY YEAST
We use Red Star Quick-Rise Instant Yeast for this recipe. Be sure to check the expiration date though and make sure it’s not expired, otherwise you will be disappointed in your final product!
COLD WATER
We love this recipe because we don’t have to bother with measuring the temperature of the water to proof the yeast. We simply use cold water and time will be on our side to make sure your yeast is activated.
SEA SALT
You can use any fine salt, even table salt, but we love using Baleine Fine Sea Salt. Avoid using coarse salt.
CHEDDAR CHEESE
Choose your favorite cheddar cheese and shred your own for best results. You can use pre-shredded cheddar cheese for ease if you’d like. You can use either mild cheddar or sharp cheddar. Whatever you prefer!
JALAPEÑO PEPPERS
We used pickled jalapeños in this recipe. We haven’t tested using fresh jalapeños, but it would probably be just fine! The pickled, spicy jalapeños really add a yummy touch to your cheesy loaf.
KITCHEN TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT
DUTCH OVEN
This is the only special piece of equipment that you need. The good thing is that you can use it on your stovetop as a normal pot for your cooking and they will practically last forever. AND, they’re fabulous for bread making.
For this recipe we use a 4.5 quart Le Creuset dutch oven, but a 3.5 quart dutch oven also works well! You can use any other brand as well.
Why use a dutch oven? You will be partially baking this cheddar jalapeño bread in a hot dutch oven with the lid on. This creates steam which will result in a beautiful dough rise. Once you take the lid off and finish off the baking, a nice, crispy crust will form.
MEASURING CUPS
You’ll need a set of measuring cups to measure out the flour. And a 1 cup or 2 cup Pyrex Prepware measuring cup to measure the water. No kitchen should be without these!
MEASURING SPOONS
You’ll need a set of measuring spoons to measure the dry yeast.
PARCHMENT PAPER
You’ll need one piece of parchment paper. We like to use unbleached parchment paper sheets. You can buy the rolls too, but it’s so easy to just take a sheet out.
KITCHEN SCALE (OPTIONAL)
A kitchen scale is optional, but is well worth the very small investment. If you weigh out the exact amount of flour needed for this recipe, your breads will be consistent every time.
If you don’t have a scale, simply spoon the flour into a measuring cup and level with a knife.
HOW TO MAKE JALAPEÑO CHEDDAR BREAD
MIX YOUR INGREDIENTS TOGETHER
Into a medium to large bowl, weigh 525g of bread flour. If you’re not using a kitchen scale, measure out 3 1/2 cups of flour. Spoon in the flour into the measuring cups and level off with a knife.
Into the same bowl, add 1 1/2 teaspoons of fine sea salt and 1/2 teaspoon of Red Star Quick-Rise Instant Yeast.
Add 1 3/4 cups of cool water.
Combine all the ingredients with a fork and keep stirring until all of the flour is almost all incorporated. If you’d like to use a stand mixer instead, you can make everything in the bowl of a stand mixer and use the dough hook attachment.
Next, add 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese and 2 tablespoons of chopped jalapeño peppers. You can use fresh or pickled jalapeño peppers. We really like using pickled peppers in this recipe.
Keep stirring until the cheddar and peppers appear to be evenly incorporated into the dough, and the flour is all incorporated.
ALLOW DOUGH TO RISE
Now it’s time for the first rise of the dough. Loosely cover your bowl with a piece of plastic wrap. If you are planning on making this bread the same day, start early in the day and let it rise for 8-10 hours on your kitchen counter.
At this point, it should have risen and approximately doubled in size.
EASY PEASY TIP #1 – You can make the dough the day before you plan on baking it. Simply place your covered bowl in the refrigerator overnight until the next day whenever you are ready to bake it.
Please note that if you refrigerate the dough overnight, you would do this INSTEAD of letting it sit on the counter for 8-10 hours. As soon as you’re done combining the ingredients, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it into the refrigerator overnight (let it sit in there for about 12-14 hours).
If you do decide to refrigerate the dough overnight, just make sure that you take it out of the refrigerator and let it sit on your kitchen counter for 45 minutes or up to 2 hours, to allow the dough to get to room temperature before proceeding to the next step.
FOLD YOUR DOUGH
Place your dutch oven, with the lid on, right onto the middle rack of your oven. Preheat your oven to 450°F (232°C). Make sure that your dutch oven has a lid handle that is heat safe. Most are, but verify!
Grab the edge of the dough ball, pull it up a few inches.
Then press it into the middle of the dough ball.
Turn your bowl 90 degrees, and keep folding. Do this about a total of 8 times.
Next, you can either leave the dough in the same bowl, but it may be easier to transfer to a new, clean bowl. Sprinkle some flour in a new bowl. Gently scoop the dough ball with both hands and set into the floured bowl.
SECOND RISE
Cover the bowl again with plastic wrap and let the dough rest and rise on your kitchen counter for 45 minutes.
PREPARE FOR BAKING
Take a sheet of parchment paper and place your dough ball right in the middle. You can simply turn your bowl upside down and it should come out easily onto the parchment if you’re floured the bottom of the bowl. Use your hands to dislodge the dough ball if it is sticking a little.
Sprinkle some bread flour lightly on top of the dough ball.
This step is optional, but you can take a sharp knife and make 3 shallow cuts on top of the dough ball. This will give the final baked loaf a pretty design. Make the cuts a few inches long, and pretty shallow (about 1/2 inch deep or so).
Take a few jalapeño pepper slices and gently press them onto the top of the loaf wherever you desire.
BAKE YOUR BREAD
Grab each of the four corners of the parchment paper and pinch them together so that you can carry the dough ball to the oven.
Open your oven door, use oven mitts to remove the lid of the hot dutch oven that you preheated, and drop the parchment paper with the dough ball inside the dutch oven.
Adjust the parchment paper so it’s not covering the dough ball.
Place the dutch oven lid back on, and close the oven door.
Set a timer for 30 minutes. Once the time is up, remove the lid to the dutch oven. Here is what the bread looks like at this stage.
Leave the lid off of the dutch oven, close the oven door and allow your bread to bake for another 15 minutes without the lid. The bread should have a beautiful golden brown crust.
Take the dutch oven out of your oven. Gently grab the corners of the parchment paper and lift the loaf out. Slide your loaf off the parchment paper and let the bread cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
STORING YOUR BREAD
This bread is best eaten fresh the same day, but it makes amazing toast too! You can store it in the refrigerator for a few days and slice it up for toast.
Easy Peasy Tip #2 – This bread freezes beautifully and you can take it out whenever you need it. Make sure the bread is completely cooled before freezing. Cut into quarters or thirds, place in a freezer bag, and place in your freezer.
When you are ready to reheat your frozen bread, take the bag out of the freezer and let it sit for about an hour on the kitchen counter. Preheat your oven to 400°F.
Take the bread out of the bag and place it right on a middle rack of your hot oven for about 10 minutes. You may want to place a piece of aluminum foil on a lower rack in case any cheese melts and starts dripping.
Jalapeño Cheddar Bread Recipe
A perfectly crusty, cheesy jalapeño bread with a chewy interior.
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups (525g) King Arthur Bread Flour
- 1/2 tsp Red Star Quick-Rise Instant Yeast
- 1 3/4 cups cool water
- 2 tbsp chopped jalapeño peppers (pickled or fresh)
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, weigh out 525g of bread flour, or use measuring cups to measure out 3 1/2 cups. Spoon the flour into the measuring cups and level with the edge of a knife.
- Into the same bowl, add 1 1/2 tsp of fine salt, 1/2 tsp of the yeast, and 1 3/4 cups of cool water.
- If you have a stand mixer, use the dough hook attachment and mix on low to medium speed until the flour is almost all incorporated. Or you can simply use a fork to stir.
- Add in the grated cheddar cheese and chopped jalapeño peppers. Mix until evenly incorporated and there is no visible flour left.
- Cover the top of the bowl loosely with plastic wrap. If you want to make the bread the same day, make the dough in the morning and allow it to rise for 8-10 hours. You can also prepare the dough the day before you want to bake it, and let it slowly rise in the refrigerator overnight. If you want to refrigerate the dough, as soon as you're done mixing the ingredients together, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight for 12-14 hours.
- If you've left the dough to rise on the counter for this first rise, you can start folding the dough right away. If you've refrigerated the dough overnight, take it out and let it sit on the kitchen counter for 45 minutes or up to 2 hours. To fold the dough, grab the edge of the dough ball, stretch it up a few inches, and press it into the center of the dough. Turn bowl 90 degrees and keep folding until you've done it about 8 times.
- Place your dutch oven (with the lid on) onto the middle rack of your oven, and preheat your oven to 450°F.
- Right after you've folded your dough, it's easiest if you transfer the dough ball to another bowl. Sprinkle some flour on the bottom of the new bowl. Gently lift the dough ball with both hands and place it into the floured bowl. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap, and allow it to rise for 45 minutes on your counter.
- Next, take a sheet of unbleached parchment paper, tip the bowl over gently and let the dough ball plop to the middle of the parchment paper.
- Sprinkle some flour on top of the dough. If you'd like, you can take a sharp knife and make 3 scores on top of the dough ball. Make each cut a few inches long, and about 1/2" deep or so. This will make a pretty design once it is done baking.
- Grab each corner of the parchment paper, pinch them together over the dough ball, and carefully carry it to the oven. Open the oven, lift the dutch oven lid off (with oven mitts!) and set the dough ball into the dutch oven, parchment paper and all. Spread the 4 corners of the parchment paper open so it's not covering the dough ball, and set the dutch oven lid back on. Close your oven door and bake for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove the dutch oven lid, and allow to bake an additional 15 minutes.
- Take the dutch oven out of your oven. Carefully remove the bread from the dutch oven by lifting it with the parchment paper. Slide the bread off the parchment and onto a wire rack. Allow it to cool to room temperature before slicing.
Notes
For the parchment paper, we like to use half sheets of unbleached parchment that are 12x16 inches or 13x16 inches. You can use rolls too, but the sheets really come in handy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 122Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 231mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 5g
Nutrition values are merely estimates and aren't always accurate.
We hope you have enjoyed this recipe for jalapeno cheddar dutch oven bread. It would go beautifully with a bowl of soup, our turkey chili with veggies, or even for grilled cheese sandwiches! And this bread makes AMAZING croutons. Check out our easy, oven-baked crouton recipe.
If you’d like to try one of our sweeter breads, check out our amazing recipe for cinnamon raisin bread.
Jeanne
Saturday 3rd of February 2024
Thank you for this delicious bread recipe ! This is only the 4th Dutch oven bread I’ve made since getting my Dutch oven and it will definitely be a repeat. I may have left it in the oven for a bit too long because it’s pretty dark on the outside but it tastes so so delicious ! I read somewhere that the interior of the loaf should reach 200 degrees F so next time I won’t extend the time it sits in the oven. Thank you for your great video !
Two Peas in a Kitchen
Monday 19th of February 2024
You're very welcome Jeanne! We also learned that the temperature on the inside will reach that maximum temperature even before it is done baking! Just be careful of that. We like to knock on the bottom of the loaf. If it sounds hollow, it is done. You can also try placing cookie sheet on the oven rack below the rack where the dutch oven is. This will help prevent burning. Give this a shot and let us know!