Jalapeño Cheddar Artisan Sourdough Bread

Jalapeño Cheddar Artisan Sourdough Bread: It only took 12 loaves, but we did it: this right here is a winning recipe for jalapeño cheddar sourdough bread.

To be honest, anyone can whip up a quick loaf of jalapeño cheddar, no recipe required. Just throw in some diced jalapeños and shredded cheddar, and you’ll be just fine.

What I’m trying to achieve with my borderline ridiculous recipe testing is perfection. How can I elevate the humble jalapeño cheddar loaf to new heights?

I want this to be the version you whip out when you’re ready to impress.

In laws coming for dinner for the first time, pops has an inkling for heat, and they know you make sourdough? Simple recipes better step aside, because jalapeño juice, a touch of fresh serrano, and nutritional yeast are entering the chat.

Some may say this recipe is overboard, and I agree to a certain extent. But after five rounds of recipe testing (and 12 loaves), I believe I’ve nailed down a truly mouthwatering combination.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe Jalapeño Cheddar Artisan Sourdough Bread

Perfectly balanced: The mix of fresh jalapeños, serrano for kick, and a touch of candied jalapeño creates layers of flavor. It’s spicy, slightly sweet, and cheesy in all the right ways.
Cheesy in every bite: With both white and yellow cheddar folded into the dough—and extra melted on top—this loaf is loaded with flavor. Add the optional nutritional yeast, and it takes the cheesy depth up one more notch.
Not your average dough base: Instead of plain water, this dough uses a mix of water and pickled jalapeño juice, infusing every bite with a bold kick of jalapeño flavor.
Three kinds of jalapeños: Yes, you’ll need a few types—fresh, candied, pickled—but each one brings something different to the table. Totally worth the extra grocery store lap.

Ingredients Jalapeño Cheddar Artisan Sourdough Bread

White cheddar cheese: Melts into the dough and adds a little something extra. It’s less visible but brings a lot of flavor.
Yellow cheddar cheese: Adds color and that classic cheddar vibe. Also helps give the top a golden, bubbly crust when melted.
Fresh jalapeño and serrano: Fresh jalapeños give flavor and crunch. The serrano brings the heat. You can skip the serrano if you want a more mild loaf.
Candied jalapeños: Adds a little sweetness to balance the spice.
Pickled jalapeño juice: Replaces some of the water in the dough which adds tang and a jalapeño flavor right from the start.
Nutritional yeast (optional): Boosts the cheesy flavor and helps it permeate the entire loaf. You can skip it if you’re not a fan.
Caputo Americana 00 flour: A soft, high-protein wheat flour that makes the dough feel smooth and easy to work with. Don’t worry – you can swap in regular bread flour. Tips in the Substitutions section and Recipe Notes.
Water: I just use tap water. It works great in all my sourdough bakes.
Salt: I used sea salt here. Just avoid any with anti-caking agents so it doesn’t mess with the fermentation.

How to Make Jalapeño Cheddar Artisan Sourdough Bread (Step by Step)

Step 1: Make the Starter

The night before (2 nights before you want to bake your loaf), mix 10g of your sourdough starter (active or discard) with 50g of bread flour and 50g water and stir until fully combined.

This will make a little extra so you can feed the leftovers to keep your starter going or add them to your discard jar in the fridge.

Cover loosely and let sit on your counter at room temperature overnight (about 10-12 hours).

By morning, it should be peaked and ready to use.

Step 2: Mix the Dough

In a large mixing bowl, combine 180g water, 50g pickled jalapeño juice, and 86g active sourdough starter and stir to dissolve the starter.

Add 3g nutritional yeast (optional), 375g Caputo 00 flour, and 7g salt. The nutritional yeast is optional and no other adjustment is needed if you want to leave it out.

Mix the dough with your hands or a Danish dough whisk (affiliate link) until all the dry flour is mixed in. The dough will feel sticky and shaggy at this point.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Step 3: Stretch and Folds (+ Adding Inclusions)

We’re doing four rounds of dough strengthening total:

Stretch and fold
Stretch and fold
Stretch and fold the inclusions in
Coil fold

Each set is separated by a 30-minute rest.

While the dough rests after round two, prep the inclusions:

Dice the fresh jalapeño
Finely dice the serrano
Dice the candied jalapeño and pat it dry with a paper towel
Shred the cheeses
Optional: coat all of these inclusions in a few teaspoons of bread flour (I found this helps them “float” better in the dough for a more even distribution)

During your third stretch and fold, you’ll add all the inclusions in layers. The dough should feel stronger by this point.

Mix all the inclusions (jalapenos and cheeses) together in a bowl, and sprinkle about 1/4 of the inclusion mix onto the top of your dough. Stretch one side up and fold it over the inclusions, gently pressing them in.

Turn the bowl a quarter turn, sprinkle another 1/4 of the mix on top again, and stretch up and fold over again.

Repeat two more times until you’ve used it all and completed folds on all four sides. Try to keep the inclusions tucked in as much as possible to avoid poking through later.

Here’s a visual of how to add inclusions during stretch and folds:

After another 30-minute rest, do a coil fold for your final fold by lifting the center of the dough, letting it droop down, and tucking the sides under as you set it back down.

This helps build tension without over-handling the dough. If the dough feels slack, do one more coil fold after another short rest.

Step 4: Bulk Fermentation

Cover and let the dough rise at room temperature.

You want to look for visual clues to tell when it’s done. It should be jiggly and show bubbles around the edges, and easily pull away from the sides of your bowl.

Mine took about 7.5 hours, and my dough temperature was 75°F (24°C). The timing begins when you mix the starter into your dough and ends at the pre-shaping.

Step 5: Shaping

Lightly dust your surface with bread flour and gently turn the dough out onto your counter.

Note: I typically like to mist my surface with water during shaping, but the jalapeño juice in this dough makes it a tad stickier than normal. A light dusting of flour seems to help the shaping go more smoothly.

Using your bench scraper, gently coax it into a loose ball with some tension on the surface using a push-pull motion.

Let rest, uncovered, for 20 minutes so it can relax a bit. The top of the dough will also dry out slightly, making it easier to do the final shaping.

Scoop it up with your bench scraper and flip the dough over.

I like the caddy clasp method. To do this, fold the dough like a book.

Stitch up the center seam.

If you want to make a round-shaped loaf (called a boule), turn the clasped dough and repeat the clasping motion one more time. You may want to flip it back over and repeat the pre-shaping motion to round it out. Then, flip it into your banneton. I have a video tutorial in the Recipe Notes, if needed.

Step 6: Cold Retard

Dust a banneton with rice flour and place the dough inside seam-side up. Pinch the seam closed and stitch it together if needed to help keep the tension on the top of the dough.

Cover it with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and refrigerate it overnight, or for 8 to 24 hours. I don’t recommend cold proofing any longer than 4 days.

Step 7: Bake

In the morning, preheat your oven to 450°F with a Dutch oven or bread dome inside for at least 30 minutes.

Flip your cold dough onto parchment or a silicone bread sling, score the top with a bread lame, and into the oven it goes. You can throw in an ice cube if you want blistering on the crust, but that’s optional.

Bake it covered for 25 minutes, then remove the lid and top the loaf with 20g of shredded cheddar cheese and 5 neatly placed slices of fresh jalapeño.

Bake uncovered for another 10–15 minutes until your loaf is golden and that cheese on top is golden brown. The internal temp should be 205–210°F.

Transfer the loaf to a cooling rack and resist the urge to cut into it until it’s completely cooled

Substitutions Jalapeño Cheddar Artisan Sourdough Bread

White and yellow cheddar: I stuck with a blend of cheddar cheese to honor the classic jalapeño cheddar combo, but you can use virtually any type of cheese you like. Pepperjack is a crowd favorite, Gouda would be delightful, and I’d remiss if I didn’t at least mention the Cabot Wickedly Habanero cheddar cheese. That stuff packs a serious punch.
Fresh jalapeños: You can use pickled jalapeño instead of fresh with no adjustments needed. I found I preferred the freshness of the fresh peppers, but the difference is minimal.
Jalapeño juice: Feel free to omit the jalapeño juice in the dough and replace it with additional water. I found I got a loftier loaf with all water, but I severely missed the bold jalapeño flavor you get from the added juice. Decisions, decisions!
Fresh serrano: You can omit the serrano and just use fresh jalapeño if you’re not a fan of the heat.
Nutritional yeast: I was shocked at the boost of cheesy flavor this added, but it’s entirely optional. Omit from the recipe if you desire.

Prep Time: 30minutes mins

Cook Time: 40minutes mins

Resting Time: 19hours hrs

Total Time: 20hours hrs 10minutes mins

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Sourdough Starter

10 g sourdough starter (active or discard)
50 g bread flour
50 g water

Main Dough

180 g water
50 g pickled jalapeño juice
86 g active sourdough starter (that you made, from above)
3 g nutritional yeast (optional; adds more cheesy flavor)
375 g Caputo 00 Americana flour (see Notes for substitutions)
7 g sea salt

Inclusions

46 g sharp yellow cheddar (Cabot or Tillamook) | (freshly grated)
46 g sharp white cheddar (Cabot or Tillamook) | (freshly grated)
40 g diced fresh jalapeño (about 1 jalapeño)
5 g finely diced fresh serrano (about 1/2 of a serrano)
30 g diced candied jalapeno

Cheese Topping

20 g white or yellow sharp cheddar (Cabot or Tillamook) | (freshly grated)
5 slices fresh jalapeño

Instructions

Make the sourdough starter the night before. In a jar, mix 10 g sourdough starter, 50 g bread flour, and 50 g water. Stir until fully combined, then cover loosely and let it ferment overnight at room temperature (about 10-12 hours). By morning, it should be peaked. You’ll have a little more than you need (feed the leftovers or add it to your discard jar in the fridge).
Mix the dough. In a glass mixing bowl, combine 180 g water, 50 g pickled jalapeño juice, and 86 g active sourdough starter, stirring gently to dissolve the starter. Add 3 g nutritional yeast, 375 g Caputo 00 Americana flour, and 7 g sea salt. Mix with a Danish dough whisk or your hands until no dry flour remains. The dough will be shaggy and sticky – that’s normal! Cover with plastic wrap or a bowl cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
Perform a set of stretch and folds. To do this, grab one side of the dough, stretch it upward, then fold it over itself. Rotate the bowl and repeat on all four sides. Keep going until the dough resists being stretched. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
Perform a second set of stretch and folds in the same way, followed by another 30 minute rest.
Prepare the inclusions. Dice the jalapeño, finely dice the serrano, and dice the candied jalapeño. Gently pat the candied jalapeño with a paper towel to reduce its moisture. Shred the cheeses.Optional: coat all of these inclusions in a few teaspoons of bread flour (I found this helps them “float” better in the dough for a more even distribution).
Incorporate the inclusions during the third set of stretch and folds. Mix together 46 g sharp yellow cheddar, 46 g sharp white cheddar, 40 g diced fresh jalapeño, 5 g finely diced fresh serrano, and 30 g diced candied jalapeno. Add a quarter of the inclusions at a time during the third set of stretch and folds, layering them evenly as you perform each fold to ensure even distribution.
Final coil fold. After 30 minutes, perform a final coil fold to build additional dough strength. To do this, lift the center of the dough, allowing the edges to drape down, then tuck them underneath as you set the dough back down. If you feel the dough is slack or not strong enough, you can do an additional coil fold after another 30-minute rest.
Bulk ferment. Cover the dough and let it ferment at room temperature until it is puffy, jiggly, and has visible bubbles on the surface and sides. The exact amount of time this takes will vary. The temperature of your dough is the biggest factor. For reference, it took my dough about 7.5 hours at 75°F (24°C). The timing begins when we mix our dough.
Pre-shape the dough. Lightly flour your work surface with bread flour. Gently turn the dough out of the bowl. Using a push and pull motion, shape the dough ball into a round shape. We want the surface to be taut. Let rest, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, or just until the dough relaxes a bit.
Final shaping. Flip the dough and use the caddy clasp final shaping technique to fold it into a boule or batard.
Cold proof overnight. Place the shaped dough into a floured banneton (rice flour works best), cover with a flour sack towel or plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight (8-24 hours). This slow fermentation enhances flavor and makes the dough easier to score before baking.
Covered bake. Preheat your oven to 450°F (230°C) with a Dutch oven inside for at least 30 minutes. (I use convection.) When ready to bake, carefully transfer the cold dough onto parchment paper or a bread sling, score the top with a bread lame, and place it into the preheated Dutch oven. Cover and bake for 25 minutes.
Cheese topping and uncovered bake. Uncover the loaf and top it with 20 g white or yellow sharp cheddar and 5 slices fresh jalapeño. Then, bake for another 10-15 minutes until golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 205-210°F (96-99°C).

Notes

You can substitute the Caputo 00 flour for King Arthur unbleached bread flour (or an equivalent). Just add 10g additional water in the initial dough mix.
I tested three brands of cheese and found Cabot and Tillamook to be the best. Tillamook has a sharper flavor while Cabot is a little more balanced. Either is a great choice.
You can omit the jalapeño juice in the dough and replace it with additional water. You’ll lose some of the jalapeño flavor but will end up with a slightly loftier loaf.
Omit the serrano if you want jalapeño flavor without too much heat.
Substitute pickled jalapeño for fresh in a pinch. Just pat the pickled jalapeños with a paper towel before incorporating into the dough.