It's time to elevate your classic sourdough! It's amazing how the simple addition of candied jalapeños and cheddar cheese can create such a robust and memorable flavor.

My classic sourdough recipe is infused with a unique blend of flavors that will tantalize your taste buds. With a touch of sweetness, a kick of spice, and a generous helping of savory cheddar cheese, this artisan bread is truly exceptional. Every bite takes you on a delicious journey, starting with the tangy sourdough base and ending with a burst of cheesy goodness. It's the perfect addition to your baking rotation.

Sweet and Spicy Jalapeno Cheddar Sourdough

100g active starter

320g warm water

¼ tsp active dry yeast

11g malt powder

50 g whole wheat flour

450 g bread flour

11g fine sea salt

20 g candied jalapeño liquid

120 g candied jalapeño

60 g sharp cheddar cheese, crumbled or shredded

In a large bowl, weigh out your active starter, 320 grams of warm water and active dry yeast. Mix together with your hands breaking up the starter with your fingertips, mix until yeast and starter are fully incorporated in the water. 

Next add the flours and malt powder. With your hands mix in the dry ingredients until no more dry flour remains. The dough will be very shaggy. Cover with a tea towel and let the dough rest for 40 minutes. This resting period is called autolyze and it’s an important step in the sourdough process. It ensures that the flour in the dough is hydrated by the water molecules and will aid in gluten development. 

After the resting period is over, make a dimple in the middle of the dough with your index finger. Fill the dimple with your sea salt and pour 20 grams of the candied jalapeño liquid on top of the salt. With your fingertips, you’re going to pinch the salt into the dough until it is all incorporated. Once the salt is dissolved, add your candied jalapeño and cheddar cheese. Lightly knead the dough in the bowl to get the dough to absorb any water left in the bowl and to incorporate the inclusions. Gently fold dough over on itself to create a rough ball. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. 

After 30 minutes, take the dough and gently fold it over itself. I do this by picking up the dough on one end while letting the other end fall. You will do this one more time to shape the dough into a rough ball or oblong shape. This motion will gently strengthen the gluten without knocking out all the air bubbles that your yeast are creating. After the dough is folded it shouldn’t be flat but a little ball. It takes some practice to get this motion right. When I first started working with sourdough I was a bit rough with stretching the dough and would try to force it to stretch. You never want to really force the dough. You want the weight of the dough and gravity to do all the work. 

Cover and let rest for another 30 minutes before continuing to stretch and fold again. You will repeat this process of resting and stretching the dough three more times. You want to do this five times total. I will keep track of how many times I stretch and fold so I don’t forget. You can easily forget how many times you’ve worked the dough, especially when you’re doing other things. 

At the end of the stretching and folding you will notice that the dough will become more elastic as well as smooth. This is a sure sign that the gluten has been developed properly and you’re on your way to a beautiful loaf. 

Once you have a beautifully developed dough it’s time to shape it. Dump the dough out of the bowl onto a very lightly floured counter and gently pat the dough flat to knock out some of the air bubbles. Next pull the top sides of the dough to roughly shape a T. Starting at one side of the dough, take the dough and pull the side into the middle. Continue until you have worked your way around the entire thing, all sides should be in the middle. Take the short side of your dough and fold it inward by rolling it up tightly to form a log. Tuck the ends of the log underneath. Then cup both hands on the long side and slide the dough on your work surface until the dough becomes taut and the surface is smooth. With the added jalapeño and cheddar, creating the smooth service can be a little tricky. As you make the loaf taut the inclusions will be pushed to the surface and break the smooth glutenous membrane. It’s best for this loaf not to make it too taut while shaping. I just manipulate it enough to seal the dough’s seam and then place it into the banneton. 

Prepare a basket or a banneton by lining the inside of the basket with a clean kitchen towel or if you have a banneton it should come with a linen liner. Thoroughly flour the towel so it won’t end up sticking to the dough. Now with some confidence and a bench scraper, if you have one, you are going to scoop up your loaf and place it in your floured basket with the seam side up on top. It’s ok if the seam comes a little undone for this bread, it’s so packed with flavorful inclusions that it’s bound to happen.

Once you place the dough in the basket, cover the dough with a towel and leave it to proof on the counter for 2 hours.  

After the 2 hours have past, place your loaf in the fridge to finish proofing. Leave it to chill for 8-10 hours or simply overnight. 

In the morning, preheat your oven to 500°F and place a clean baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven. When your oven is fully heated, place your Dutch oven in the oven and let it preheat for 10 minutes. When you have about 5 minutes left you can take your loaf out of the fridge. 

After the 10 minutes have past, turn down your oven to 450°F . Place a piece of parchment on the counter approximately the same size of the loaf but with a little bit extra to allow for overhang. With a quick and swift motion, dump the dough onto the middle of the parchment, just like if you were building a sandcastle with a bucket. Score your dough with a sharp razor blade or a very sharp knife. 

After you have scored your loaf, you can add some additional shredded cheese on top if you want. I just added the cheese right into my score line. I do like the additional cheddar because it does add a little bit of a toasted cheddar flavor that I think adds a nice depth of flavor to the bread. 

Once ready,  lift up the parchment and carefully place the loaf into your preheated Dutch oven. Firmly put the lid on the Dutch oven and bake your bread for 20 minutes. Putting the lid on the Dutch oven at this stage is to ensure that the bread gets steamed and bakes properly.

When 20 minutes have passed, carefully remove the lid from the Dutch oven. There will be lots of steam trapped in the Dutch oven so please be very careful when removing the lid. Your loaf should be doubled in size and beautifully baked. However, you will need to bake your loaf for an additional 10-15 minutes to develop the crust and to toast the cheese if added to the top. You want your loaf to be a lovely deep golden brown. The cheese should also look very toasted and adhered to the crust.

Once your bread is baked, shut off the oven and leave the door to the oven cracked open for 30 minutes. This step can be optional but I found it to be essential for a very crusty, crispy crust. 

After your bread has sat in the cooling oven for half an hour, you can remove the loaf from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool completely. When cooled, cut into your beautiful loaf and enjoy! 

*Notes: For the candied jalapenos, I currently do not have my recipe up on the blog but don’t fret there’s plenty of great recipes for this specific product. Also if you don’t feel like making it, you can also purchase a jar on Amazon as well as some grocery stores. But don’t worry, this kitchen will be posting their recipe in the near future.