Jalapeño Cheese Bread with Beer

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

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 cheese bread is ideal for doing just that.

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

Why You Should Make This Jalapeño Bread

• This cheese and jalapeño bread is so tasty with strong savoury flavours of cheddar and piquant chilli evident in each bite
• The crust has a good chew and inside the loaf delivers beautifully soft white bread
• It's quick to make the dough - it's ready to prove in less than half an hour
• This recipe requires no special skills and it can be made by hand or using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook
• The bread partners well with a wide variety of supper dishes and the flavour can be customised to suit your latest whim (see my ideas further down)

Ingredients Required

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

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 pale beer.

This recipe calls for instant yeast (also known as quick yeast, quick-rise yeast or fast-acting yeast). It is very different to fresh yeast and active dry yeast as it does not need to be activated in liquid before adding to the other ingredients in a bread recipe. It's very easy to use.

Jalapeño chillis are easy to get hold of in large supermarkets these days. They are normally green but just occasionally you might spot yellow ones. These are fine to use in this bread recipe too. If you struggle to find jalapeños, pick alternative green chillis with a similar punchy heat level.

Step By Step Instructions

This easy jalapeño cheese bread recipe 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)

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

(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)

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 beer-infused jalapeño cheese bread as soon as possible (and within 48 hours), slathered with butter.

Baking Tips

This cheese and jalapeño 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

Variations

Are you ready for a long list of ideas to change things up in this recipe for cheese and jalapeño bread? Here goes:

• Add more jalapeños for a spicier loaf
• Or go milder by adding some tangy pickled jalapeños instead
• Leave the chilli out completely for a cheese bread loaf without the spice
• Vary the cheese - any cheese that is punchy in flavour and melts well is a good substitute for the cheddar in this cheesy bread recipe. Blue cheese, Red Leicester, Gruyere or Gouda are all worthy contenders
• Go a step further and add a variety of cheeses to create three-cheese jalapeño bread
• Fry cubes of bacon and incorporate into the dough for bacon and cheese jalapeño bread
• Mince 1-2 cloves garlic and knead them into the dough for garlic jalapeño cheese bread
• Add some herbs such as parsley or chives
• Dice some onion finely and fry in butter until beginning to caramelise, then let cool before kneading into the dough to make jalapeño cheese bread with onion
• Or add some finely chopped sundried tomatoes or some halved olives for a Mediterranean take on this loaf
• Instead of a large loaf divide into 8-10 even pieces, shape into balls and bake to make cheese and jalapeño bread rolls
• Alternatively give things a fancy twist and make a braided loaf

Serving Suggestions

This jalapeño cheese 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 let it accompany Spanish hash for a hearty breakfast
• Or dip slices into beaten egg and fry in butter for deliciously savoury French toast

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 pastime. This cheese and 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.

Have you made this jalapeño cheese 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.