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.
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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.
Marie says
Delicious bread, but mine didn’t rise properly. The dough was on the wet side. And after baking, like the other viewer have mentioned, it went flat. And I did use bread flour as well.. abit burnt at the bottom too. Next time maybe I will add less water and let it rise abit longer. And maybe turn down the heat and as well. Otherwise this bread is delicious
Jenny says
Hi! I was wanting to make this for Thanksgiving tomorrow and was wondering if I could do all of the steps today and then the actual baking tomorrow? Thanks
The Chunky Chef says
Without testing and retesting it myself, I can’t say for certain if that would work. If it were me, I wouldn’t try it… yeast can be finicky, and it’s best to stick to the recipe. If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out!
Kip says
What is the inner diameter of your 3.5 quart Dutch oven?
The Chunky Chef says
It’s between 7.5 – 8 inches.
Kip says
Not sure you received this, as it disappeared unaccountably from my screen. If you did, SORRY! No need to post it again. But we hope you can help!!
Our first attempt at this bread made the best jalapeño grilled cheese sandwiches we’ve ever eaten. But the next three attempts were dismal failures. We followed the same procedure exactly each time, and after coming out of the oven the crust was brown and crisp, the internal temp was above 200 degrees, and the bread thumped resoundingly. But each loaf collapsed as it cooled, and when sliced open, we found that the crumb was stodgy, with a dense, wet, doughy layer at the bottom. Unfortunately, we can’t remember whether or not we used bread flour (King Arthur) for the first loaf, but for the failures we know we used AP flour. You do say that AP flour will produce a denser loaf, but our loaves were more than dense–they were inedible. Still, could that have been the problem? One of us is so traumatized by the three failures that he says he’s done with this recipe; I’d be willing to give it one more go with bread flour if you think AP flour was the issue.
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Kip, all comments have to go through moderation (we get a lot of spammy comments, unfortunately), which is why yours didn’t show up after clicking 🙂 I can certainly understand your frustration! It drives me bonkers when a recipe doesn’t work the same in subsequent makes. The AP flour could have been the issue, as could any ingredients that are a bit past their prime. To me it’s sounding like your bread was a bit underbaked, as the cause for most yeast-breads to collapsing during the cooling process is the bread not being fully baked. Personally, I’d try it once more with bread flour, as that higher protein content really aids in gluten development. I’d be happy to try and trouble-shoot with you some more, if you’d like to shoot me an email at amanda@thechunkychef.com
Jeffrey says
3.5 cups of flour is about 420g and 2 cups of water is about 472g. This bread has over 100% hydration??? The portions don’t sound right to me. Can anyone clarify?
The Chunky Chef says
I can’t speak to the gram amounts, as I only make this recipe as written, and it works 🙂
Chrissy says
I’ve made this recipe a couple times both with AP and Bread flour, AP flour you’ll need at least 500 grams, possibly a little more, and for Bread flour no less than 480 grams, otherwise it won’t have enough gluten development to hold up the bread itself let alone give it the ability to rise.
Keirsten says
I didn’t use have fresh jalapeño so used canned. I also threw ice cubes on a sheet pan the last 20 minutes of cooking. Husband said it was the best bread he’s ever had!
Mo Davies says
This was delicious! I love making bread! This was so easy. I used sun-dried tomatoes and chilli flakes as I didn’t have any jalapeños. It went really well with my Italian sausage pasta!
Ana says
My dutch oven is 6 qt and I don’t want my bread to be too flat. Would you recommend I double the recipe?
The Chunky Chef says
Without testing it myself and seeing the dimensions of your dutch oven (some are wider, some are taller, etc), I can’t say for certain that it would work. If you try it, let me know how it goes!
Patty says
I want to make this bread to take on a road trip. Can you tell me how long it will stay fresh? I will not have a toaster which is always handy with giving bread another days life 😋
The Chunky Chef says
Ours never lasts long around here, since we love it so much… but I would say 1-2 days.
Therese Costeniuc says
Made this yesterday and it was so delicious! The crust was crispy and the inside airy and fluffy. Thanks so much!
Andrea says
Currently rising and I realized that I don’t have parchment paper! Can I do without or use a silicone mat?
The Chunky Chef says
If your silicon mat can handle the high oven temp, then that would work 🙂 You could also sprinkle a little cornmeal in the bottom of the preheated dutch oven, and just drop the ball of dough right in there. The cornmeal should help it not stick to the pan.
Nez says
Can I use regular table salt instead of kosher salt?
The Chunky Chef says
You can, but you’ll need to use less, as table salt has more sodium than kosher salt.
JANET PEARCE-EULA says
I’ve made jalapeño cheese bread several times already and plan to make it on a regular basis. It is so very delicious.
Thank you for this recipe.
I find that canned diced jalapeños make it much better than fresh.
Rhonda Walker Hansen says
Best bread recipe I’ve made. My family loves it.
Jessica says
I made this a few weeks ago and it was delicious! I’m wanting to make it again, but split it into two loaves to gift. Do you have any recommendations? Should I put them in their own parchment and bake them together in the dutch oven or bake them separately? If separate, for how long?
The Chunky Chef says
So glad you enjoyed the bread! I would bake them separately, otherwise they may end up squished together oddly in the same dutch oven. I’ve not baked two smaller loaves at the same time before, so I can’t say for certain :/
Kurt Dodge says
First bread I have ever made. It looks great and smells awesome the 2 hr. wait time to cut it, is the hardest part of the recipe.
Mark Belcher says
One word! Fantastic
Rachel says
This was my first time making bread in Dutch oven. This is the best bread I have ever made it was crusty on the outside but flaky not hard. The bread itself was fluffy and delicious. Amaaaazing.
Karen W says
This is a fantastic recipe. This was my first Dutch oven bread experience. So easy. Added extra flour and way more jalapenos. I used a 6 quart and it came out perfect.
Whayevrr says
This recipe is from Tasty. You should acknowledge that this is from another website and not your personal recipe!!!!
The Chunky Chef says
I believe you missed the part where I DO mention that it’s a combination of a recipe from them, and my OWN recipe for dutch oven bread. When a recipe is inspired by another, I always give credit where credit is due (unlike certain other websites you mentioned). Have a wonderful day.