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
- 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
- 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.
Jody Tanata says
So good! Easy and clear instructions.
Kelly Campbell says
Yummy! That’s all! 😊
Douglas Walton says
This is great! I doubled the recipe and baked it in a 7 qt Dutch oven. I cubed the cheese, used shredded for topping, and cut all the peppers in rings. Baked with lid on for 40 minutes and lid off for 20 minutes. Great crumb and flavor. Will be making this again soon.
Rhiannon Savage says
After the second rise before parchment paper it’s so sticky for me? I add flour and it’s just a mess. Any suggestions?
The Chunky Chef says
Did you watch the video or look at the step by step photos? That will show you the texture it should be. It’s supposed to be a relatively sticky dough, as it’s a no-knead bread.
Summer says
Mine was runny! And after baking it’s falling pretty quick in the center. I’m not a new bread maker so this was just disappointing. I’m hoping it tastes okay because this was so much product!
Bob says
This recipe is fantastic! I’ve made this at least half a dozen times and it comes out great every time! I always add more jalapenos and cheese and cut half my cheese into chunks. So good!
Thank you!
Isabel says
This turned out great! Ratios were perfect, the texture came out amazing!!!! Trust the process. Will definitely keep this in the rotation. I am not a baker, but this was easy even for me! Thanks, Chunky Chef 😊😊
Deana westman says
This recipie its self is tasty but all wrong the flour and water are wrong I have used many bread recipes and I tried your recipe and I was skeptical on the flour water ratio. It is a gooey lobby mess.It is wrong. I understand no need bread needs to be sticky, but not a gooey blobby mess. I recommend to anybody that is making this recipe use 3 cups of flour to one and a half cups of water you don’t need to do them separately either you can add the water to your dry mix. The yeast goes in your dry mix. I don’t understand how you explain in your recipe that we can fold it over and fold it over. No you cannot. It is a sticky blobby mess and so the results of cooking it. It’s dough on the inside and extra crispy on the outside. It should be fluffy on the inside. It also is so wet it won’t form a ball
The Chunky Chef says
Just because something isn’t what you’re used to, that doesn’t mean it’s “wrong”. It’s unfortunate you didn’t have a good experience with this recipe, but as you can see by my step by step photos and the video, it’s a loose dough, but it has enough structure to be folded loosely with a spatula (not your hand). It sounds like you might have needed more flour than called for (due to elevation and/or humidity where you live, or how you measure your flour). Best of luck to you.
Susan says
Love this! I tried the sourdough version but struggled to get a good crumb and rise. This bread is amazing and great for breakfast with fried or scrambled eggs on top!
Fiona says
Absolutely the most delish bread I have ever made!
Thanks for the recipie!
Hmm next time might be sea salt and rosemary !!
Brandie says
I’m following your direction, yet my loaves have a gummy lining (on the bottom) between the hard crust and center.. am I not cooking long enough? What am I messing up? Thank you!!
The Chunky Chef says
Sounds like it might need a little longer in the oven. All ovens cook a little differently, and some aren’t calibrated, so the temperature you set it to, may not be the temperature it actually is, unfortunately.
Natalie says
I try and follow everything to a T but for some reason the last part my dough is never solid enough in the ball to scour it with an x. What am I doing wrong?
The Chunky Chef says
You’re likely not doing anything wrong… this dough is a very loose and wet dough. It won’t be solid like a traditional loaf of bread. Did you see the step by step photos in the post above the recipe? If your ball of dough looks like mine does in step 7, then you’re good to go. If not, then you might want to add a bit of extra flour (since the exact amount of flour needed will vary from person to person, depending on how they measure it, the humidity, the elevation, etc).
B K says
I have a larger Dutch oven do you think the recipe could be doubled so that the loaf won’t flatten as much do to size?
The Chunky Chef says
I want to say yes, but I haven’t tested it, so I can’t say for certain. If you do some experimenting, I’d love to know how it turns out 🙂
Ashley S says
First time ever making bread & this was a success! So easy and so delicious. I will definitely be attempting this again with some garlic & herbs. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Ashley S says
Hoping to try this recipe this weekend! If using jarred sliced jalapeños instead, how much would you use to be equivalent to one fresh? Thank you!
The Chunky Chef says
I would use about 2 Tbsp, but it’s really up to you and how much you love jalapeños 🙂 Hope you love the bread!
Stefanie Puiras says
My entire family is obsessed with this bread! So absolutely delicious.
Gigi says
I’m going to bake this in the coming week, but I wanted to double check that it bakes at 450* the entire 50 minutes. Thank you!
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, the baking temperature and time listed are correct. Enjoy!
Sally Hill says
Thank you for sharing this. I made it twice and it was loved by all. My question can I let it rise overnight for its second rise? Thank you
The Chunky Chef says
So glad you enjoyed it! I’m tempted to say yes, but I haven’t tested it, so I can’t say for certain.
Dani says
Yes I did it just didn’t rise as tall but descent
Kelly says
The recipes here are PHENOMENAL! I’ve made this bread twice in 2 weeks! I currently have one baking in my oven now for my parents, and will make another tomorrow (once I get more bread flour). I was born with one arm, and sometimes have a difficult time making breads. This recipe is so easy to make and SUPER DELICIOUS! I highly recommend this recipe. Also if you need a good Mac & Cheese recipe, you must make The Chunky Chefs Mac & Cheese!
Christi says
This is my favorite “Go To” for entertaining. It’s always a big hit!
Janet says
I so want to try this recipe. But has anyone baked it on a regular pan etc? Does the baking time change? Did it hold together and turn out well or did it flatten?
The Chunky Chef says
There are non-dutch oven instructions right below the recipe, however this is a dough that doesn’t hold it’s own shape, and will spread out into whatever pan/pot you’re using.
Gena says
Oh my word! I made this today (first time ever attempt at making bread), and it came out SO delicious!
I will definitely be making this bread again! If I can do it, anyone can do it! 😂