Jalapeno Cheddar Dutch Oven Bread

No knead bread made in a dutch oven with cheddar and jalapenos

4.96 from 228 votes

Jalapeno Cheddar Dutch Oven Bread

Jalapeno Cheddar Dutch Oven Bread is perfectly crusty on the outside, with a soft fluffy inside, and is made using simple ingredients.

Prep Time10

Cook Time50

Rising Time2

Total Time3

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Keyword: easy bread recipe, homemade bread, no knead bread

Servings: - 10 servings (1 loaf)

Calories: 371kcal

Author: The Chunky Chef

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

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.

Video

Notes

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.

This mimics the steaming effect of baking the dough in a dutch oven with the lid on for the first 30 minutes (which is what causes the bread to rise so much), and also produces a great crispy crust.

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