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.
Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!
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.
Suzanne says
Delicious!!! My crowd doesn’t like the peppers so I leave them out. I have always made bread that rests all night…but this recipe comes out beautifully with the short rise
My daughter told me about this recipe and it was one of her first breads. When she was talking about the bread and rise time, I said I need this recipe. It looks beautiful and the texture is amazing.
Go for it!!!
Wei Yee says
My active dry yeast says to add 2 1/4 tsp of active dry yeast into 1/4 cup of water, add 1 tsp of sugar, let stand for 10 mins and wait for it to double in volume. Would I still need add the 2 cups of warm water into the flour mixture as per your instructions?
The Chunky Chef says
I would reduce the amount of water by 1/4 cup, since you’ve already used that.
Chrissy says
It’s easier to just take the entire 2 cups of warm water from the recipe, put a small amount of sugar or honey into it and stir to dissolve the sugar/honey and yeast into the water, let it sit for 5 minutes until foamy and then proceed with the recipe as written, rather than splitting it into 1/4 cup and then 1 3/4’s cup, that’s what I do any it works like a charm, especially since separating out the two amounts of water can lead to temperature differences between the sets of water, and one being too warm or too cold when they mix can kill the yeast.
Christy Wright says
Absolutely wonderful tasting bread! Very easy to make. Same issue in getting into a ball shape before baking. I’ve skipped this method and just pour it into my parchment paper lined Dutch oven and spray with olive oil and it turned out perfectly. Everyone Absolutely loves this bread made 5 batches so far. Thank you Amanda for this recipe.
Lynb says
Our family loves this bread! Whenever I make spaghetti and meatballs, I lake this as well. Goes great with broccoli soup, too!
Helene says
WOWSA!!!!! Wish i could send a photo….but no need…..it turned out exactly like the recipe pic! Hope it tastes as good as it looks. I just made this for the first time in my brand new 3.3 qt. dutch oven…rose right to the top so i have a nice tall round loaf. Followed the bake time instructions exactly, but the temp. Was 200 degrees….so possibly a little overbaked???? I agree….it was a stick mess, but I carried on…had to use my scraper utensil to help lift into pan and could not score it bc the dough kept filling right back in. But turned on beautiful. Next time i will try no parchment now that i feel confident. Thankyou!!!!!
Helene says
I am making this now…..Do you have to use parchment or can you just oil the dutch oven well?
Amanda says
I’ve only made it using parchment, but I know a few other readers have dusted the bottom of the pot with cornmeal.
Sue Koury says
This turned out awesome! Easy to make and so delicious! Definitely a keeper!
Bobbie Walker says
Have you tried this recipe on an open fire?
Amanda says
I’ve only tested this recipe as written. So without testing and retesting it myself, I can’t say for certain how that would work and/or what the alterations would be. It certainly sounds delicious though! If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out!
Susie says
Great recipe! Making it for a third time in 2 weeks. Thank you!
Bonnie says
Made this bread lots of times! Delicious! Everyone wants the recipe!
Linda says
Delicious and easy to make!
Linda says
Best bread I have ever made!!!
S Ray says
This was easy to make and very good. Next time I would add garlic, and more cheese and jalapeños. Perfect Sunday baking activity
Janie M. says
How fortuitous that you recently posted this recipe, Amanda. For many months, I had been buying a jalapeno cheddar boule I bought from my local grocery store’s bakery. Went there a few days ago and was advised by a clerk in that dept. they had discontinued it and that other customers were asking for it also. Maybe they’ll bring it back, don’t know.
Diana says
I’m having the same problem I’ve seen some others said they had. My dough is so sticky it just sticks to my hands and won’t roll into a ball. It spreads out and I’m not even gonna try slicing an “x” in it cause I know it won’t work. The raw dough smells good though and I’m waiting now to put it in the oven. Just wish it wouldn’t be so sticky so I could actually roll it in a ball
Amanda says
Since this is high hydration dough, it won’t hold it’s shape the way a standard bread dough would. This stickiness is characteristic of those types of doughs and completely normal. Did you watch the video of this recipe? You’ll see what it looks like, and how it’s doing exactly what you’re describing. That hard-to-handle-ness is what makes this bread have a beautiful crispy crust and soft tender inside 🙂
Shawn says
I would consider myself an Amateur Family Chef but have never attempted bread making before. All I have to say is WOW! This recipe is simple but the results were impressive. Going to try this again but would like to try Cinnamon and raison! If anyone has ideas how to do this please advise!!
Valerie says
I started my bread, and all went well till I found my oven decided not to work.
My husband came to the rescue and heated up our heavy duty BBQ. He preheated BBQ to 450° With Dutch oven inside. I put bread in with parchment paper and continued with cooking instructions. The bread came out fabulous!
Savannah says
This reminds me of the cheese bread Walmart used to make in the bakery! I’m just having a problem when I go to put the dough on the floured surface it just sticks bad and I ended up covered in sticky dough. What am i doing wrong? It doesn’t roll into a ball it just sticks to my baking mat thing. Love the recipes tho. My bread turned out great just a little hard. I also don’t use jalapeños I just make it cheese bread.
Bread Baker says
your comparing homemade bread to Walmart?? Sacrilege!
Emma says
We have had this for dinner with the cheese burger soup was delicious coming across your recipes is a treat been looking for some new things to try
Vacchie says
Easy to make! Very tasty 🤤
Carolyn says
This bread is so tasty. I really like it and will make again soon.