Jalapeño White Cheddar No Knead Bread
An easy no-knead bread recipe with white cheddar and jalapeño's that comes out crusty on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside.
EQUIPMENT
Ingredients
- 3-1/4 cups bread flour or all purpose flour
- 2-1/2 tsp instant yeast
- 1-1/2 tsp salt
- 2-1/3 cups shredded white cheddar cheese divided
- 2 jalapeños divided. (One finely diced, and the other thinly sliced in to rounds.)
- 1-1/2 cups warm water
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, salt, 2 cups of the white cheddar, and the diced jalapeño.
- Drizzle in the warm water and stir with a large fork until combined. (It will look pretty shaggy.) Feel free to dig in with your hands if it is easier.
- Cover with plastic wrap, (I throw a towel over the top too), and let it sit for 12-24 hours in a non-drafty place. (I keep mine in the empty microwave.) The dough will double in size and have tiny bubbles all over the top.
When ready to bake:
- Sprinkle some flour on a large cutting board or dough mat.
- Turn your dough out on to the floured surface, keeping as much of the dough in the middle as you can.
- Flour up your hands, (if your dough feels really loose, sprinkle a little flour on the top), then fold the dough into itself while rotating to create a ball. Flip it over so the smooth side is on the top and use your hands to complete shaping in to a ball.
- Move your ball of dough in to the center of a large piece of parchment paper.
- Cut an X in the top of the loaf with a sharp knife, cover loosely with plastic wrap or an all cotton towel, and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place a Dutch oven pot in the oven with the lid on and preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Let the Dutch oven sit in there and heat for the 30 minutes the bread is resting.
- Brush or spray your loaf with warm water, then sprinkle the optional additional cheese (if desired) over the top and decorate the loaf with your thinly sliced rounds of jalapeño.
- Carefully remove the Dutch oven from the oven and remove the lid. (Make sure to use your pot holders!)
- Pick up the ball of bread by the corners of the parchment paper and carefully lower the entire thing in the hot Dutch oven.
- Replace the lid, (don't forget how hot it is), and place the Dutch oven back in the oven.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Open the oven, remove the lid and bake an additional 5-15minutes, or until the loaf is as golden brown as you like it.
- Remove the Dutch oven from the oven and transfer the bread to a cooling rack. (I use the parchment paper again to lift it out.)
- Try to let it cool at least at least an hour before slicing with a serrated bread knife. (However, if you can leave it at least 2-3 hours it will set up better!)
Notes
A couple of tips for this recipe:
- I like to remove the seeds and white pith from the inside of my jalapeño's so the bread isn't too spicy.
- You can use sharp orange cheddar for this bread instead of white, I just love the taste of the white so much more.
- How long to wait to cut fresh bread is a sticky subject in my house. Technically, you should at least wait 2-3 hours and let that bread set up before slicing in to it. However, my family are hopeless - if I can get to 30 minutes without them cutting I'm lucky. Just be aware, cutting in to it early can affect the inside of the bread and make it collapse as it cools. (If you are like my fam and eat the whole loaf BEFORE it cools, then this is not an issue.)
- To make sure your bread is completely cooked you can check it with an instant read thermometer! Bread should read about 190 degrees C when taking the temp of the center of the loaf! :) If it is not registering at least 190 after you have uncovered and browned it up, replace the lid and cook for an additional few minutes until it does!