Jalapeño Cheddar Sourdough Recipes

JALAPEñO CHEDDAR SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix starter and water with a fork, until starter is dispersed.
• Add flours, mixing with a spatula first. Then with your hand until a shaggy dough is formed, just enough so that flour is not visible.
• Sprinkle salt on top of dough. Cover bowl with a damp cloth and let sit for 40 minutes to an hour.
• Now work the salt into the dough, as you perform your 1st set of stretch and folds. Then let rest for a half hour. Perform 2 more sets of stretch and folds, waiting the 30 minutes in between for each. In essence, you are doing a total of 3 sets of stretch and folds over the course of 1 1/2 hours.
• After you have completed your 3rd set stretch and folds, wait another 30 minutes.
• Now you will add the mix-ins. To do this, use a dough scraper to gently remove your dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Use your hands to gently stretch the dough out into a rectangle about 12 inches X 14 inches. Distribute the cubes of cheese and jalapeños over the inside of the dough, leaving about a 2 inch border. Gently pat the ingredients with your hands so that they stick to the dough.
• Using lightly floured hands, gently pull one long side of the dough out, and over 1/2 of the dough. Do the same with the other long side of the dough, so both meet in the middle. Now you'll have long cylinder like log. Gently roll the dough up so it is a round shape and put dough back into bowl. This step doesn't have to be perfect, it isn't the final shaping.
• Let the dough bulk ferment on your counter, covered with a damp cloth for about 5-6 hours if your house is around 72 degrees. It will take more time if it is cooler, or less time if it warmer.
• When your dough is about doubled in size (a little less is okay), has a glossy top and some bubbles peaking through the top, it is ready for shaping.
• Gently move the dough out of the bowl onto a floured work surface. Let the dough rest there for 10-15 minutes. Then, shape the dough. Once shaped, use a bench scraper to put the dough into a flour dusted, linen lined banneton (proofing basket), seam side of the dough facing up.
• Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise for a final time, on the counter. This will take about 2 hours, if your house is around 70 degrees. OR you can put it in the refrigerator in a garbage bag, and let the final rise happen overnight. The dough can be in the refrigerator for 8-10 hours at this stage. (If you do the final rise in the fridge, score and bake straight from the fridge. This makes it easier to score and hold its shape.)
• Preheat your oven with dutch oven inside of it, to 475 degrees F.
• Once your dough has gone through its final rise and has risen slightly and is puffy on top, you're ready to bake. You can test to see if your dough is ready by doing gently pressing a floured thumb into the dough. If it indents and gradually releases, but still holds a finger shape, you're ready. If it indents and the dough springs right back to the surface, it still needs time to rise. Let it ferment in half hour more increments, until ready.
• Wait until oven is preheated, then place parchment over the top of your dough and flip over, so that the seam side is now on the parchment paper and you are able to score the top of the dough. Score the dough with a bread lame, making sure to go at least 1/2 inch deep in a few spots so that dough can release gases. Otherwise your bread will not rise.
• Place dough on parchment paper into dutch oven, and put cover on it. Bake for 20 minutes, covered at 450 degrees F. Then remove cover, turn oven down to 435 degrees F and bake for 25 more minutes, until bread is golden brown and crackly.
• Remove from oven and place load on a cooling rack. Let cool for AT LEAST ONE HOUR before slicing. Otherwise the crumb will be squished and the texture will be gummy.

JALAPEñO-CHEDDAR SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• (9:00 p.m.)In a small bowl or jar, mix the Levain ingredients. Cover the jar and keep it at a warm temperature for 12 hours.
• (8:30 a.m)In a medium mixing bowl, add the 593g medium-protein bread flour, 132g whole wheat flour, 42g whole rye flour, and 516g water 1 and mix until no dry bits remain. Cover the bowl and let rest for 1-hour. Wash and dice the jalapeño peppers and shred/cube the cheddar cheese. Reserve until bulk fermentation.
• (9:00 a.m.)Add the honey, levain, and salt to the top of your dough already in the mixing bowl, and use a splash of water 2 (reserved water) to moisten. Mix the additions in thoroughly and if the dough feels like it can handle it, add the remainder of the water. Next, knead the dough for a few minutes either with the slap and fold technique or do folds in the bowl. For this dough, I did this for about 5 minutes until the dough begins to smooth out and become elastic. Transfer the dough to a container for bulk fermentation and cover.
• (9:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.)This dough will need 3 sets of stretches and folds during bulk fermentation where the first set starts after 30 minutes into bulk fermentation and the subsequent sets are at 30-minute intervals. During the first set of stretches and folds, add the jalapeño and cheese as you perform each stretch and fold. After the third set of stretches and folds, let the dough rest, covered, for the remainder of bulk fermentation.
• (12:45 p.m.)Lightly flour your work surface and scrape out your dough. Using your bench knife, divide the dough in half. Lightly shape each half into a round shape. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes, uncovered.
• (1:15 p.m.)Shape the dough into a round (boule) or oval (batard). Then, place the dough in proofing baskets, seam side up.
• (1:30 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. the next day)Cover proofing baskets with reusable plastic and seal shut. Then, place both baskets into the refrigerator and proof overnight.
• (The next day, bake at 9:00 a.m.)Preheat your oven with a baking surface or combo cooker/Dutch oven inside to 450°F (230°C).

CORN CHEDDAR JALAPEñO SOURDOUGH BREADS

Steps:

• Mixing & Bulk Fermentation
• In a small bowl, mix together the corn flour and boiling water. Cover and set it aside to cool and let the pericarp (bran of the corn) soften for about an hour.
• In a large bowl, mix together the flour and water. Cover and set aside to let the gluten strengthen for about 30 minutes.
• Add the sourdough starter, salt, jalapeños, and corn porridge to the dough. Mix thoroughly, cover, and let rest for 20-30 minutes. The dough will feel quite sticky and weak, especially if you're making the whole wheat version.
• Stretch and fold the dough and then cover and let it rest another 20-30 minutes.
• Add the cheese to the dough using the laminating technique: Dampen your work surface, remove the dough from the bowl and stretch it into a thin rectangle, place about 1/3 of the cheese pieces down the center of the rectangle, and fold one side of the dough over the cheese. Layer on the second third of the cheese and fold the other side of the dough over it. Now put the remaining cheese on half of the dough and fold the other half over it. Return the dough to the bowl, cover, and let it rest 20-30 minutes.
• Perform one last round of stretching and folding on the dough, then cover and let it continue to ferment for several hours. My dough needed 6-7 hours at 77F from when the starter was mixed in for it to get a lot of air pockets visible through the sides of the bucket. Because of the heavy additions in this dough, it doesn't expand very much and gauging readiness is more difficult.
• Pre-shape, Bench Rest & Shaping
• Scrape the dough out onto a floured countertop. Flour the top of the dough and coax it into a boule shape using heavily floured hands or a bench knife.
• Let the dough rest uncovered for about 20 minutes.
• Create a thin layer of bran flakes in the intended shape of your bread on your countertop, on a floured tea towel, or in your proofing basket (spray the basket with oil so the bran sticks). I like how the bran absorbs some of the cheese oil, but you can simply flour your proofing basket if you prefer.
• Shape your dough into a boule, batard, or oblong loaf. Shaping videos can be found here.
• Using a bench scraper, flip the shaped dough onto the prepped bran flakes and roll the dough a bit from side to side to get the bran to adhere to the dough surface. Then place the dough in your banneton. The bran-covered top of the bread should be face down.
• Final Proofing & Baking
• Cover and proof the dough at room temperature for 1-2 hours, or in your refrigerator overnight for 8-14 hours. The dough will puff up and expand a little in the basket, but the heavy additions will prevent a large expansion of the dough.
• Preheat your oven and baking vessel to 500F for 30 minutes.
• Gently flip the dough out of the banneton and score it. This can be done directly into the bottom of your baking vessel or onto parchment paper first for an easier transfer. Cover the baking vessel and return it to the oven.
• Bake at:
• 500F for 20 minutes lid on
• 450F for 10 minutes lid on
• 450F for 10 minutes lid off
• The internal temperature of the bread should be at least 205F when it's done.
• Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool a minimum of 2 hours before cutting.
• Food safety guidelines say to refrigerate cheese after 4-8 hours at room temperature, with hard cheeses (like cheddar) being at the longer end of the time frame. My custom, and that of many other bakers I know, is to leave the bread at room temperature for about two days, and then slice and freeze anything that hasn't been consumed by then. The pepper and cheese additions do make the bread more likely to spoil/mold, but I haven't had issues with the two-day timeline.

INSANELY AMAZING JALAPENO CHEESE DIP

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Combine jalapeno peppers, Parmesan cheese, Cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, and green chilies in a bowl. Cut the top off of the sourdough bread and hollow out the center to create a bowl. Fill the bread bowl with the jalapeno mixture.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.