Jalapeño Cheddar Bread made with Beer

Name: Jalapeño Cheddar Bread
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 500 g/ 4 cups Strong White Bread Flour; 1 tsp Salt; 2 tsp Fast action dried yeast; 30 g/ 1 oz Butter; 160 ml/ 2/3 cup Lager or Pale Ale; 160 ml/ 2/3 cup Water; 125 g/ 4 1/2 oz Cheddar (sharp) cheese - finely grated; 2-3 Jalapeño chillis (mine were approx 2.5 inches long) (Add more/ less to personal preferences)

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This jalapeño cheddar bread is deliciously savoury and loaded with the strong flavours of cheese and piquant chillis. The beer in this cheddar jalapeño bread recipe adds greater depth and flavour to the loaf.

Part sliced loaf of jalapeño cheddar bread with ingredients alongside

Contents hide

1 Why You Should Make This Loaf

2 Ingredients Required

3 Step By Step Instructions

4 Expert Tips and FAQs

5 Serving Suggestions

6 Jalapeño Cheddar Bread

It's hard to beat a good loaf of bread for sheer indulgence, preferably cut thickly and laden with a good lick of salty butter. And this jalapeño cheddar bread is ideal for doing just that.

If you're new to bread making but tempted by this cheesy jalapeño bread recipe then you might like to read up on my beginners tips before you get started.

Why You Should Make This Loaf

This loaf of jalapeño cheddar bread delivers the strong savoury flavours of cheddar cheese and piquant jalapeño chillis all wrapped up in slices (or chunks) of soft white bread. It partners well with a wide variety of supper dishes.

Slices of jalapeño cheddar bread stacked up with chilli and cheese alongside

If you can make a basic loaf of bread then you can make this one. This recipe requires no special skills and it can be made by hand or using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.

Ingredients Required

Ingredients for jalapeño cheese bread with text overlay

Like most bread recipes, it is essential to use strong bread flour in this recipe for jalapeño cheddar bread. This protein rich flour produces a superior loaf with a great chew.

The beer is included not to add an alcoholic flavour to this loaf (it doesn't in case you are wondering). Instead, it serves to impart a new, robust dimension to the overall flavour of this loaf. I generally use a light beer.

Step By Step Instructions

This jalapeño cheddar bread requires about 25 minutes of hands-on work, 3-4 hours for proving and 25 minutes to bake.

Step 1: Cut the chillis open, remove the seeds and dice finely. Fry in a little oil until soft, then set aside to cool

Step 2: Put the flour, salt, yeast and butter into a large mixing bowl. Mix the water and lager/ ale in a jug, then pour ¾ of it into the mixing bowl

Step 3: Stir with your hands to form a dough, adding more of the liquid as required - the dough should be soft and not flaky, but it should also not be too wet or sticky

Step 4: Knead for around 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. This can be done in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or by hand

Step 5: Put the dough into a clean, lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean tea towel. Leave to rise until doubled in size (approx 1-2 hours depending on how warm your kitchen is)

Dough before and after being left to rise in a bowl

Step 6: Knock back the dough in the bowl using your fist and return it to the bowl of the stand mixer. Grate the cheese and scatter into the bowl along with the fried chilli pieces. Mix briefly until the ingredients are evenly distributed

(If not using a stand mixer flatten the dough out to a rough rectangle on a lightly floured worktop, scatter the grated cheese and chilli pieces over it, fold it up and knead for a few minutes to distribute the additions throughout the dough)

Collage of images showing ingredients being blended into dough

Step 7: On a lightly floured worktop, shape the dough into a round or an oval. Lay it onto a floured baking sheet and put it inside a large plastic bag to prove for another hour or so until nearly doubled in size. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 220C/ 425F/ GM7 and put a roasting tin into the bottom shelf

Step 8: When ready to bake slash the top of the loaf with a very sharp knife (or a razor blade) and sprinkle with a little flour. Put the loaf into the oven and at the same time fill the baking tin with water. Cook for 20 minutes then turn the heat down to 200C/ 400F/ GM6 and bake for another 5-7 minutes until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath

Step 9: Once cooked, turn the oven off. Let the bread cool down in the oven with the door ajar

Eat this cheddar jalapeño bread as soon as possible (and within 48 hours), slathered with butter.

Expert Tips and FAQs

Tips

This jalapeño cheddar bread recipe is easy to follow but as always, here are my top tips to help you achieve the best loaf of bread possible:

Rising and proving times are approximate. Exact times will depend how hot your kitchen is. My timings assume ambient air temperature of around 20C/ 68F. If your dough hasn't doubled in size after the allocated time, leave it a while longer
On very warm days your dough will likely take less time to rise - keep an eye on it and don't let it over-prove
On cold days airing cupboards can provide a good atmosphere for proving dough
Catering to the tastes of my family, a mid-level of chilli heat is sufficient. You can ramp up the fieriness by adding extra chilli or tone it down by using a milder chilli altogether
And of course, you can chop the chilli chunky if you are looking for a blast of intense heat every few bites or chop it finely for a more uniform scattering of heat throughout the loaf
Remember to wash your hands thoroughly after handling the chilli to avoid that burning sensation if you accidentally touch your eyes later on. I've heard that rubbing hands in a little oil prior to washing them is particularly beneficial as it helps breaks down the chilli oils that cling to skin.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use A Different Cheese?

Any cheese that is punchy in flavour and melts well is a good substitute for the cheddar in this cheesy jalapeño bread recipe. Blue cheese, Red Leicester, Gruyere or Gouda are all worthy contenders.

Can I leave out the beer? How about the Chilli?

Yes and yes! Just substitute water in place of the beer and proceed with the recipe. The flavour of the loaf will not be quite so full, but a decent loaf should none-the-less result.
Similarly, you could replace the chilli for 3 tablespoons of chopped herbs. Chives or sage are my top picks.

Can I freeze it?

Yes, this jalapeño cheddar bread freezes well. You can freeze it whole, chop it in half or even slice it before dropping it into your freezer. The advantage of chopping or slicing the loaf is that you can bring out servings as they are required.
Always freeze the bread as soon as possible (once completely cool) and double wrap it to ensure no air can get to the loaf in the freezer. The fresher the bread is that goes into the freezer, the fresher the bread that comes out.
To defrost, remove from the freezer, knock off any ice that may have attached itself to the loaf, re-cover and let the bread sit at room temperature until soft

Serving Suggestions

This jalapeño cheddar bread makes a great companion to numerous dishes. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Served simply with beer and cheddar cheese as a speedy evening snack
Alongside a traditional ploughman's lunch - you know, just to add a little modern flair to proceedings
Cut into bite-sized chunks for dunking into a Cheesy Dip
With soup - especially tomato soup
or a good bowl of chilli
Sliced into chunks ready to scoop the sauce from Eggs in Purgatory
If there's a wedge leftover, accompanying Spanish Hash for a hearty breakfast

That's just a few ways to get the cheesy jalapeño bread party started. I'm sure there are plenty more.

More Bread Recipes to Try

Making bread from scratch is quite an addictive passtime. This cheesy jalapeño bread is a great way to start expanding your bread repertoire if you've only ever made a basic loaf before.

If you'd like to try out a few sweeter bread recipes my coffee, date and rye bread and my easy jam doughnuts are both are very popular with readers.

On a slightly different note, you may also enjoy my Cinnamon Cherry Tea Bread - best served with lashings of butter.

A loaf of jalapeño cheese bread on a tea towel with jalapeños alongside

Have you made this cheddar jalapeño bread? Did you know commenting and rating recipes is one of the best ways you can support your favourite food bloggers? Let me know what you thought of this recipe in the comments below and don’t forget to show me a picture of it on Instagram – use #littlesugarsnaps and tag me @jane_littlesugarsnaps.