Jalapeño cheddar sourdough
Jalapeño cheddar sourdough is the perfect cheese sourdough bread recipe. It is spicy, tangy, cheesy, and savory bread, ideal for all occasions. The pickled jalapenos give it the spice and tang. And how can you go wrong with cheddar in bread!
Ingredients
For making Levain
- 6 g active sourdough starter
- 36 g bread flour
- 36 g water
For making jalapeno cheddar sourdough bread
- 400 g Bread flour
- 75 g Levain
- 8 g Salt
- 285 g Water
- 120 g Sharp Cheddar cheese (1 cup (shredded))
- ⅓ cup Pickles jalapeno (thinly chopped)
Instructions
Making the levain
- Take 6 g of the starter and add 36 g of water. Mix it well. Then go ahead and add 36 g of flour and mix. Clean the edges and level the levain. Let it double or triple, whatever the peak of your sourdough starter looks like.
Making the dough
- In a large bowl add the flour and water. Retain about 5 g of water.
- Mix well to combine the flour and water properly so that no dry flour patches are left. Now clean the sides of the bowl and cover it with a cling wrap. Let it autolyze for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Incorporate sourdough starter and salt into the dough
- Add levain to the dough. Incorporate the levain well into the dough, either use the poking method or the pincer method. When combined, cover the dough and let it rest for about 40 minutes.
- Then sprinkle salt over the dough and pour the retained water. Start by first poking it into the dough and then stretching and folding the dough to a point where slat is well combined into the dough. Now let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
Stretching and folding
- Conduct four sets of stretching and folding spaced at about 40 minutes apart. Wet your hands slightly and grab the dough by putting your hands under and stretching it outwards. Now fold it under the opposite side of the dough. Rotate the bowl, 45 degrees, and repeat. Conduct three more stretching and folding to complete a set.
Incorporate the cheddar cheese and jalapeno
- Spread the cheddar cheese and jalapenos on the surface of the dough. Then, go ahead and grab the dough from the bottom and fold over them. Now add more cheddar and jalapenos and fold. Repeat until everything is incorporated.
Bulk rise
- Now let the dough bulk rise at room temperature for 2-3 more hours maybe more hours depending upon your kitchen ambient temperature and the vigor of your sourdough starter. Look for a stage when the dough has risen by 75 percent.
Shaping the jalapeno cheddar sourdough bread
- Invert the bowl on a lightly flour-dusted workstation and let the dough fall onto the surface.
- Start by dusting the hands with the flour and start stretching the dough to make it into a square. Then, Stretch the right side and bring it to the center, and seal. Now, stretch the left side and seal while bringing it to the center. Similarly, stretch the bottom side, and while sealing it, roll the entire dough so that the seams face down.
- Now, cup your hands and place them at the farthest end of the dough (away from you). Pull the dough toward you so that the surface of the boule tightens, and tension is built. Let it stay on the workstation with its seam facing down for 5 minutes.
- Now gently lift the shaped jalapeno sourdough batard into a flour-dusted oval banneton.
Proofing the jalapeno cheddar sourdough
- Now let the dough proof in the fridge till it is ready to bake. I like to proof mine overnight. And always do a poke test to confirm if the dough is proofed right.
Scoring and baking
- Preheat the oven to 500 0F with the Dutch oven placed inside it.
- When the oven is ready, flip the banneton basket over a flour-dusted parchment paper to release the dough. Use a sharp scoring blade, to score an inch-deep slash on the cheese sourdough bread.
- Bake the jalapeno cheddar sourdough bread in a Dutch oven for 20 minutes at 500 0F and then reduce the temperature and bake uncovered at 450 0F for the next 22 minutes or more depending on how dark you like your sourdough crust.
- Let the jalapeno cheddar sourdough cool for at least half an hour before slicing.
Notes
- Choose a transparent jar to prepare the levain. It enables us to monitor the growth of the sourdough starter and know when it is ready. It is a good idea to mark the level of the levain in the jar with a rubber band so that you would know when it has doubled and is near its peak.
- Chop the jalapenos into fine pieces, so that they are easy to incorporate.
- You can also use the pincer method to combine the levain and salt into the dough.
- Shape the jalapeno cheddar sourdough the way you want. You can shape it as a round boule or a bâtard (football-shaped). Also, you can make it form of a sandwich loaf in a loaf pan. There is no firm rule regarding the shape.
- It is crucial to judge the right stage when the dough has proofed. Neither under-proofed nor over-proofed! use finger poke test to judge
- My recommendation is to preheat the oven with the Dutch oven inside for at least 1 hour. It will ensure that the temperature of the Dutch oven reaches about 500 0F.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition
Calories: 174kcal
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