Jalapeno Cheddar Dutch Oven Bread is perfectly crusty on the outside, with a soft fluffy inside, and is made using simple ingredients. Deliciously savory with a bit of spice, it’s perfect with a pat of butter, or for grilled cheese! Plus, this dough doesn’t have to sit overnight, so you don’t have to plan ahead to have great bread.
This Jalapeno Cheddar Dutch Oven Bread is one of those recipes that is so fun to make. We also love easy bread recipes like my original No Knead Bread and Honey Beer Bread. This is one of my Bread Recipes I know you’ll want to keep on hand!
DUTCH OVEN BREAD RECIPE
Are you a fan of those breads from the bakery, you know, the one’s with that deliciously crunchy crust and soft, fluffy inside?
Yep, this bread tastes just like that. Except with plenty of sharp cheddar cheese and jalapenos!
All the nooks and crannies are just BEGGING for some creamy salted butter. Although my favorite thing to make with this bread… is grilled cheese! Seriously, it’s amazing.
I have another suuuuuuper easy no-knead bread on my website, but it requires a really long rise/rest time… so you have to make it the night before you want to bake the bread.
It tastes amazing, but I wanted to tweak that recipe to see if I could make a no-knead dutch oven bread that DIDN’T require a rise overnight.
Like most breads, it does have to rise two different times, however, it’s virtually hands-off, since you just fold the dough with a rubber spatula in between the rises… you don’t even have to get your hands dirty!
Let’s break it down… it may sound complicated, but I promise you it’s not, and I took step by step photos to show you.
HOW TO MAKE DUTCH OVEN BREAD
These steps correlate to the picture collage above!
- Add flour, salt, cheese and jalapenos to medium mixing bowl. Bread flour gives the best texture and rise for this bread, and I find shredding my own cheese helps it melt better.
- Add warm water and yeast to large mixing bowl – then add flour mixture. The water should be warm to the touch, but not hot. Like a baby’s bath water.
- Stir together and fold dough in on itself. Fold the dough from the outside of the bowl towards the center, turning the bowl a little each time, until you’ve folded the dough in on itself 8-10 times.
- Cover and let rise 1 hour. Picture 4 is what the dough will look like after this first rise.
- Fold dough in on itself again. Same method as before, although you’ll notice the dough looks and feels a bit more elastic, like in picture 5.
- Cover and let rise again for 1 hour. Picture 6 is what the dough will look like after this second rise. A little looser and more wobbly than the first time.
- Halfway through this rise time, preheat oven to 450°F with your dutch oven inside it. Let it preheat the full 30 minutes.
- Turn out dough and shape into a rough ball. Lightly flour your surface and your hands, then flip dough over and fold the corners of the dough in towards the center, about 6-8 times, until a rough ball is formed. Flip the dough over onto the piece of parchment paper.
- Use a sharp knife to score the dough, spray with cooking spray (so the toppings stick), then add more shredded cheese and sliced jalapenos.
- Use parchment to transfer dough to dutch oven.
- Bake dough with the lid on for 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake 20 minutes. This creates a steamy environment for the bread to bake and rise, then when the lid is off, it let the bread brown and crisp nicely. Picture 8 is right when I removed the lid, after it had been baked 30 minutes.
- Remove bread from pot and parchment paper and let cool for 1-2 hours.
ADDITIONAL COOKING TIPS
- FLOUR – All purpose flour may be used instead of bread flour, but may result in a denser loaf.
- PEPPERS – Canned or jarred jalapenos may be used instead of fresh.
- YEAST – Active dry yeast may be used instead of instant, but when you add the yeast to the warm water, you want to stir to dissolve it and let it sit a few minutes before adding the flour mixture.
- POTS – Other sizes of dutch ovens can be used, although I wouldn’t go any smaller than 3.5 quarts, as this bread will be right up to the top of the dutch oven. Keep in mind, the wider the dutch oven, the wider and flatter your loaf of bread will be. It will spread out to be the size of the bottom of the pot.
VARIATIONS OF THIS RECIPE
- MILDER – for a jalapeno flavor, but very mild spice level, try using pickled jalapenos. The jar I buy from the store says “tamed” jalapenos.
- SPICIER – feel free to add additional jalapenos to this bread, or even mix in some serrano peppers.
- CHEESES – I opted for a classic sharp cheddar, but you can use any shreddable cheese you like. Colby, PepperJack, mild cheddar, etc.
- GARLIC – sometimes I like to add a teaspoon of garlic powder to this bread to give it a different flavor profile.
MAKING DUTCH OVEN BREAD AHEAD OF TIME
Freshly baked breads, like this one, taste best when they are fresh. While your bread will still taste good 1-2 days after it’s baked, it will always best the day of.
STORAGE
Bread should be kept at room temperature. Refrigerating bread actually causes it to go stale quicker (at least with homemade breads), so keep it out of there for best results.
I like to store my baked bread that hasn’t been sliced, just out on the counter.
Once it’s been cut, I like to add the bread, cut side down, to a paper bag.
FREEZING
Baked bread freezes very well! You can either freeze the entire loaf, or pre-slice the loaf and freeze it that way.
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT FOR THIS RECIPE
- Dutch Oven – this is the dutch oven I used, and LOVE, but it’s certainly pricey. I’ll link a more affordable one below. Bottom line is, this 3.5 quart size is the PERFECT size for a nice round loaf of bread.
- Affordable Dutch Oven – at more than 1/4th the price of the dutch oven linked above, this one is still a great quality pot, and it’s a 3.5 quart size.
BE SURE TO SCROLL DOWN TO CHECK OUT OTHER READERS’ COMMENTS FOR TIPS AND REVIEWS.
AND DON’T FORGET, IF YOU’VE MADE THIS RECIPE, LEAVE A COMMENT AND PLEASE GIVE IT A STAR RATING LETTING ME KNOW HOW YOU ENJOYED IT!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
TO A MEDIUM MIXING BOWL
- 3 1/2 cups bread flour
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 large jalapeno diced
TO A LARGE MIXING BOWL
- 2 cups warm water
- 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast (1 standard .25oz packet)
FOR THE TOPPING
- 1/3 - 1/2 cup shredded cheddar
- 10 round slices jalapeno (or more, to taste)
Instructions
- ** just a note; this is a high hydration dough, which means it's SUPPOSED to be looser and not nearly as "shape-able" as a traditional bread dough! There are step by step photos and a video in the post above this recipe card. **
- To a medium mixing bowl, add bread flour, salt, 2 cups cheddar cheese, and diced jalapenos. Stir and set aside.
- To a large mixing bowl (pretty large - your bread will be rising in this bowl), add the warm water and yeast. Water should be warm, but not hot (like a baby's bath water). Add flour mixture to the yeast and water, using a rubber spatula to stir it all together until no flour streaks remain.
- Use spatula to fold the dough from the outside of the bowl towards the center, turning the bowl a little each time, until you've folded the dough in on itself 8-10 times.
- Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, use the rubber spatula to fold the dough in on itself again, 8-10 times. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 more hour.
- Halfway through this second rise, add your dutch oven, with the lid on, to your oven and preheat it to 450°F. Let it preheat for a full 30 minutes. Set out a piece of parchment paper large enough to go inside your dutch oven with a bit of overhang.
- Lightly dust a counter or cutting board with flour, and flour your hands as well. Turn out the dough onto the floured surface. Flip the dough over and brush off any excess flour.
- Fold the corners of the dough in towards the center, about 6-8 times, until a rough ball is formed. Flip the dough over onto the piece of parchment paper.
- Use a sharp knife to carefully score the dough (I like to make an "X"). Give the dough a quick spray with some cooking spray (or brush with oil), then sprinkle with set aside 1/3-1/2 cup of cheese and add sliced jalapenos.
- Use oven mitts to remove hot dutch oven from your oven and remove lid. Carefully use the parchment paper to transfer the dough to the dutch oven. Put the lid on, and return to the oven.
- Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on, then remove lid and continue baking another 20 minutes.
- After you've removed the dutch oven from the oven, tilt it slightly and use the parchment to sort of slide the bread and parchment out of the pot. It will come out easily.
- Remove parchment paper and let bread cool on a wire rack for 1-2 hours before slicing. Texture is best when bread is completely cooled before slicing.
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Chef Tips
** Just a note to avoid some confusion; this is a high hydration dough, which means it's SUPPOSED to be looser and not nearly as "shape-able" as a traditional bread dough! There are step by step photos and a video in the post above this recipe card. **
- All purpose flour may be used instead of bread flour, but may result in a denser loaf.
- Canned or jarred jalapenos may be used instead of fresh.
- Active dry yeast may be used instead of instant, but when you add the yeast to the warm water, you want to stir to dissolve it and let it sit a few minutes before adding the flour mixture.
- Other sizes of dutch ovens can be used, although I wouldn't go any smaller than 3.5 quarts, as this bread will be right up to the top of the dutch oven. Keep in mind, the wider the dutch oven, the wider and flatter your loaf of bread will be. It will spread out to be the size of the bottom of the pot.
- For a nice warm spot, run the microwave for about 30 seconds, then turn it off and add the bowl to the microwave. Preheating the oven for about 2 minutes then turning it off will work as well.
NO DUTCH OVEN?
- Boil about 1 1/2 cups of water.
- Add to a metal or ceramic pan (I like to use my 8x8 baking pan) on the bottom rack in the oven.
- Add parchment paper with shaped and topped dough to a baking sheet, and add to the middle oven rack.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes, checking for doneness.
Video
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Recipe tweaked from my own recipe and Tasty’s.
Sarah says
Thank you for your delicious recipe! So easy and full of flavor! I added a tablespoon of everything bagel seasoning and it was perfect!
BARB PORTER says
My loaf of Jalapeno Cheddar Dutch Oven Bread is cooling right now and it is almost impossible to resist cutting into it! It was so very easy to follow this recipe and then it came out just like your pic. Thanks for this gem!!!
Linda says
This is NOT “SOURDOUGH” bread…not sure why you ‘advertise it as that. It’s just regular, yeasted bread. It still LOOKS amazing, though, but sourdough has completely different health benefits.
The Chunky Chef says
I literally didn’t say anything about sourdough in this recipe or post… at all. I’m well aware of what sourdough bread is, and what it isn’t.
Tiffany says
Wonderful bread!! I made this today and it was a hit! I don’t have a Dutch oven but followed the modified version and it was perfect! It did spread out a bit but it was crispy crust and soft in the middle. I will be making this again. 😊
Katrina Mckerlie says
In Australia we have different cup measurements to America so do you have the amount in grams of flour so that I can weigh the flour and get the recipe right?
The Chunky Chef says
I would just do a google conversion from cups to grams and it should give you the amount 🙂
Chrissy says
Use around 500 grams for AP flour, roughly 480 for Bread flour, and that should be good. I’ve tried it with both AP and bread flour and they both worked out extremely well at those gram measurements. That’s for the actual recipe amounts though, you’ll need more for sprinkling before the ‘forming’ of the dough on the cutting board.
Katrina Mckerlie says
Hi I’m trying this recipe now is the temperature for the oven fan forced or regular?
The Chunky Chef says
My oven is a standard electric oven.
Melissa says
Hello Amanda,
I just made this recipe for the first time today I have never made bread before and the first time using my new dutch oven it turned out great !!! looked exactly like the picture. Thank you so much we loved it.
Definitely a keeper.
Carrie Jones says
Hi! If I wanted to double the recipe and bake the doubled recipe in a large Dutch oven, how long would I bake it?
The Chunky Chef says
You could certainly double it and bake it in a large dutch oven, I’m just not sure on the exact baking time. I’d try 45 minutes with the lid on and 25-30 minutes with the lid off and see how that works? It’s totally an estimate though.
Lana-Lisa says
I followed recipe exactly. My very first time & it turned out out perfectly! I would most definitely make again. I used the bread to make grilled cheese sandwiches the next day. Divine!
Erica says
This is one of my favorites! I’ve made it several times now. I find using the larger holes of the shredder give you better gooey cheese pockets. I even use the base recipe and add my own things like rosemary, garlic and chunks of parmesan. Total keeper!!
Amie says
My bread sank and was super moist. On the bottom of the bread it seemed doughy. But dense. What did I do wrong? My cooking times were fine and my oven is fine as well.
The Chunky Chef says
Oh no! Was your dutch oven preheating in your oven for the full 30 minutes? If it wasn’t hot enough, it could definitely contribute to the bottom of the bread being a bit doughy. All your ingredients were fresh?
Kim says
Easy to make and delicious; crispy outside soft and tender inside. Made one with chopped peppers and one with just cheese both turned out wonderful.
Sandra says
This was my first attempt at making bread so I was nervous about using up all my bread flour.. but this recipe was FANTASTIC. The bread comes out light, soft, and packs a nice kick of flavor from the jalapenos. Definitely making this again!
Jerry Thomson says
My first attempt at ever making any kind of bread – and it came out perfect!! I love the flavor of the bread and will definitely make it again.
Jill P. says
I just made this and have it cooling.. BUT, not only does plain bread smell wonderful baking, this smells divine with the bread, cheese and jalapenos! My stomach is growling just smelling it waiting for it to cool. I plan to make tuna melts with it for dinner. It was so easy to make, thanks so much for the recipe!
Deseree says
I can’t wait to make this bread and enjoy it as the outer layer of a delicious grilled cheese.
Laure says
Wow! This bread came out amazing! I don’t have a Dutch oven so I really had low expectations and boy was I surprised! Thank u for including the instructions for those of us without a Dutch oven!
Jacque Hastert says
This bread really packs some heat! I loved it and can’t wait to bake it again!
Catalina says
I am drooling over this bread. It looks heavenly!
Amber says
Do you use fresh jalapeños or the one from the jar?
The Chunky Chef says
You can use either one 🙂 Normally I use fresh jalapenos.
Renee says
Would this recipe work in a cast iron Dutch oven?
The Chunky Chef says
Yes 🙂
Cathy says
YESSS this is our new favorite bread for soups!!
Allyson Zea says
I made this yesterday and it couldn’t have been easier! It’s intimidating to make bread, but this wasn’t hard at all. My main problem is I THINK my yeast may have been dead because it didn’t rise so well, and then also it’s a little cold in my kitchen. I put the bowl next tot he fireplace and that helped it rise more. I recommend you put the dough in a warm warm space to get maximum rise! Even after all that, the bread baked up to a delicious bread! We will be making this again for sure! Thank you!
Jen says
This bread goes along perfectly with BBQ! Love the flavor with a little bit of heat.
Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert says
This Jalapeno Cheddar Dutch Oven Bread looks absolutely delicious! Yummy!
Dorothy Reinhold says
I love that I don’t have to have my life together enough to make this the night before. 🙂 Dreaming of all the ways I am going to use this!