Jalapeño Cheese Bread is cheesy, crusty, and has a delicious spiciness. It is a no-knead bread and super easy to make. We can savor this bread as it is or make a sandwich with our favorite filling.
This No-Knead Easy Jalapeño Bread has a crusty and crispy exterior with a soft and fluffy texture inside. The bread is filled with cheese and jalapeño peppers.
About Jalapeño Cheese Bread
Making this bread is easy, and we get a delicious, crusty, and cheesy loaf. This type of bread is often made in a Dutch oven. But it can also be baked in a cast-iron casserole pot.
The Dutch oven and casserole pot will work the same way to make this bread. So you can bake this bread using either one.
Jalapeño Cheese Bread is stunning and delicious and, simultaneously, straightforward to make. Simply toast this bread, have it for breakfast, or create a crispy grilled sandwich with your favorite fillings. To make it kid-friendly, make sure to remove the jalapeño seeds, and they will love it.
Why You Will Love This Jalapeño Cheese Bread
- The bread has a crispy crust with a soft and chewy interior.
- It is a no-knead bread recipe, and the dough comes together quickly.
- It is a one-bowl recipe.
- Jalapeño Cheese Bread is cheesy, spicy, and delicious.
- It is super easy to make, and even a beginner can bake this bread.
- This bread is great for making various types of sandwiches.
Ingredients and Notes
- Flour: I have used all-purpose flour to make this bread. But we can also make it with bread flour. Bread flour will make the bread softer and chewier. I have tried the recipe using both flours, and the bread tastes delicious with either flour.
- Yeast: We can make this bread using active dry or instant yeast.
- Sugar: Sugar is essential to activate the yeast, and instead of sugar, you can also add honey.
- Water: The water should be warm; hot water will kill the yeast, and cold water will not activate the yeast.
- Oil: I have used olive oil, but you can also use butter or any other cooking oil of choice.
- Salt: Do not add salt to the yeast mixture; add it only with flour.
- Jalapeño Peppers: These peppers are very spicy if they are used with the seeds. So I removed the seeds from the peppers. But I kept the seeds of the pepper rings used for topping. So if you want the bread very spicy, do not remove the seeds; to make it mildly spicy, remove the seeds and ribs.
- Cheese: I have used cheddar cheese, which goes well with jalapeño peppers. But you can also use a blend of cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese.
How To Make Jalapeño Cheese Bread
Making The Dough
- Take warm water into a measuring cup or in a bowl, add oil, sugar, and yeast.
- Stir lightly and set aside.
- Add the flour, chopped jalapeño peppers, salt, and cheese in a large mixing bowl.
- Mix well.
- Add the yeast mixture into the flour mixture and mix with a wooden or rubber spatula.
- Mix until everything is well combined and a soft, sticky dough is formed.
- The dough should be sticky and pull away from the sides but not wet; add a little more flour if it is wet.
- Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and place it in a warm place for an hour or until the dough is double in size.
- After an hour or when the dough has doubled, pull it from the sides and fold it into the center using a spatula.
- This way, the air will be removed from the dough, and a rough dough ball will be formed.
- Cover the bowl again and place it in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Baking The Bread
- Now, preheat the oven to 425° F, and place your cast-iron casserole or Dutch oven with the lid into the oven.
- Let it preheat for 30 minutes while your dough rises for the second time.
- After the second rise, lightly dust the clean surface with flour and transfer the dough onto it.
- Flour your hands, pull the sides of the dough into the center, and seal them by pinching them.
- Make a rough dough ball and carefully transfer it onto a large piece of parchment paper with the seam side down.
- Top the dough with shredded cheddar cheese and jalapeno pepper rings.
- Using the oven mitts, carefully remove the hot casserole or Dutch oven from the oven.
- Remove the lid, place the dough with parchment paper into the casserole, and cover it with the lid.
- Then, return it to the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese on the top is golden brown.
- Remove the Dutch oven or casserole from the oven and carefully pull out the bread by lifting the parchment paper.
- If that is not convenient, tilt the casserole or Dutch oven slightly and slide the parchment paper with the bread.
- Remove the parchment paper and let the bread cool down completely on the cooling rack.
- Then, slice the bread and enjoy.
Storing and Serving Suggestions
You can keep the bread at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
If you still have leftovers, refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Jalapeno Cheese Bread tastes very delicious and fresh the same day, and we can enjoy it as it is.
For the warm and crispy bread slice, toast it and spread butter on top.
Jalapeno Cheese Bread is great for making crispy grill sandwiches.
For a change, serve this bread instead of a dinner roll with your main course.
Frequently Asked Questions
A Dutch oven or casserole conducts the heat evenly, which bakes the bread consistently and evenly. Also, steam is released from the bread traps inside by closing the lid, making the bread crusty but not tough.
But too much steam is not good either, so we remove the lid after 30 minutes and continue cooking for 10-15 minutes more.
Yes! We can use a large baking tray for baking this bread. However, we don’t need to preheat the tray. Instead, line the baking tray with parchment paper and transfer the bread dough ball onto this tray.
But we still need to create steam to make the bread crusty. We can do that by placing a small baking tray of water underneath the baking tray.
So the baking tray with bread dough will go on the middle rack of the oven and the water-filled small tray in the bottom rack.
After 30 minutes of baking bread, remove the water-filled pan and continue baking it for 10-15 minutes or until it becomes golden brown.
More Bread Recipes
Recipe Card
Jalapeno Cheese Bread / No-Knead Easy Jalapeno Cheese Bread
Video
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups warm water
- 2¼ teaspoon active dry yeast or instant yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or other cooking oil
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 2 Jalapeno peppers deseeded and chopped
- 1 Jalapeno pepper cut into rings for topping
- 1½ cups cheddar cheese + ½ cup more for topping
Instructions
Making The Dough
- Take warm water into a measuring cup or in a bowl, add oil, sugar, and yeast. Stir lightly and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, take flour, chopped jalapeno peppers, salt, and cheese. Mix well.
- Add yeast mixture into the flour mixture and mix with a wooden or rubber spatula. Mix until everything is well combined, and a soft, sticky dough is formed.
- The dough should be sticky and pull away from the sides, but not wet; if it is wet, add a little more flour.
- Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel, and place it in a warm place for an hour or until the dough is double in size.
- After an hour or when the dough is double in size, using a spatula, pull the dough from the sides and fold it into the center. This way, the air will be removed from the dough, and a dough ball will be formed.
- Cover the bowl again and place it in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Baking The Bread
- Now pre-heat the oven to 425° F, and place your cast-iron casserole or Dutch oven with the lid into the oven. Let it preheat for 30 minutes while your dough is rising for the second time.
- After the second rise, lightly dust the clean surface with flour and transfer the dough onto it.
- Flour your hands, pull the sides of the dough into the center, and seal them by pinching it. Make a rough dough ball and carefully transfer it onto a large piece of parchment paper.
- Top the dough with shredded cheddar cheese and jalapeno pepper rings.
- Now using the oven mitts, carefully remove the hot casserole or Dutch oven from the oven. Remove the lid and place the dough with parchment paper into the casserole and cover it with the lid.
- Return it to the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking for 10-15 minutes or until cheese on the top is golden brown.
- Remove the Dutch oven or casserole from the oven, and carefully pull out the bread by lifting the parchment paper. If that is not convenient, slightly tilt the casserole or Dutch oven and slide the parchment paper with the bread.
- Remove the parchment paper and let the bread cool down completely on the cooling rack. Slice the bread and enjoy.
- You can keep the bread at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Jalapeno Peppers: Jalapeno peppers make this bread spicy. So I have removed the seeds from the jalapeno pepper, which goes into the dough. And I have kept the seeds in the jalapeno rings for the topping of the bread. But do not remove the seeds if you want to keep your bread very spicy.
- Dutch Oven: I don’t have a Dutch oven, but my enameled cast-iron casserole works perfectly fine to make this bread. I have used 5.6 Qt casserole, and the minimum size you can use is 3.5 Qt to make this bread. But if you have a Dutch oven, you can use that.
- When you preheat the oven, fill the small baking pan with 1-2 cups of water. Next, place the tray with water onto the bottom rack of your oven. This way, we can create the steam necessary for baking this bread.
- Line the baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone mat, and after a second rise, transfer the dough ball onto the tray.
- Place the tray in the middle rack of the oven (the bottom rack will have a water-filled baking pan), and bake for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, carefully remove the water-filled baking pan from the oven. And continue baking the bread for 10-15 minutes or until it is golden brown.
Teresa says
I made this tonight and it was delicious!
Jigna says
Hi Teresa, I am happy that you like the recipe! Thank you so much for your feedback.🤗
Jennifer says
I tried it and loved it! Really easy. I soaked the jalapeños to get the heat out because most of the family can’t handle the heat. The flavor was there and was a huge hit at Christmas! Will definitely do this again! Thank you so much for sharing!
Jigna says
Hi Jennifer, thank you so much for your feedback. I am very glad that you like the recipe!😊
Ruby says
Hi Jigna. Could I use pickled Jalapeños for this recipe? Would the vinegar affect the yeast and cause it not to rise?
Looking forward to trying this recipe!
Jigna says
Hi Ruby, yes, you can use pickled Jalapenos for this recipe. However, drain them completely from vinegar, gently pat them dry with a paper towel, and then use them for the recipe.
I hope this will help!
Allie Schieffer says
Since I don’t have a Dutch oven or a cast iron, I used the pan of water suggestion. My log was already browner than your pictures after the first half hour but I still baked it for the additional minutes without the water pan. My loaf ended up looking okay on the outside but still seemed to have a doughy texture inside. Any recommendations to fix that problem?
Allie Schieffer says
I used the water pan method suggested in the notes because I don’t have a Dutch oven or a cast iron. The crust seemed to be darker than your pictures even after the first 30 ‘minutes of baking. I still baked for the additional minutes after removing the water pan. The outside still looked okay just darker than your pictures but the insides was still quite moist and had a doughy texture. Any suggestions to fix that?
Jigna says
Hi Allie, the oven temperature could be a reason for a loaf to be browned too early. Maybe, your oven tends to run a little hot.
So, in this case, you can bake the bread at a lower temperature, 380 or 400 degrees F. And if the bread is still getting brown too quickly, you can loosely cover it with aluminum foil and continue baking.
Lynda Lamaster says
OMG this recipe is so easy and so good!! I made 9 mini loaves cooked them for 30 minutes with the steam pan in the oven and they turned out great!!
Jigna says
Hi Lynda, that’s nice to hear! I love the idea of mini loaves. Thank you so much for your feedback.
Alexa says
This is a perfect recipe for beginners and those who might be intimidated by baking homemade bread and would be an excellent place for those who want to begin baking their own bread to start.
I made this for the first time last night, the first no-knead bread i have attempted since starting to make homemade bread, and it didn’t disappoint…it was absolutely delicious! Great flavor and perfect texture with a crisp exterior and pillowy soft interior. I lightly toasted and buttered a few pieces to eat alongside buffalo chicken spaghetti squash. This would make a great sandwich bread as is and an even better bread to use for grilled cheese, paninis and other hot (toasted) sandwiches. My husband even commented it might be the best bread he’s ever had. Needless to say, we are done buying storebought bread.
Does this particular loaf freeze well? I would like to make several loaves to throw in the freezer to have on hand but wasnt sure if and how the texture would be affected after thawing or for how long they can remain frozen for.
Can different inclusions and add-in ingredients be used by using the “base” of this recipe? I’d love to make a rosemary and parmesan loaf, a plain loaf and experiment with some other flavors.
Jigna says
Hi Alexa, I am glad that you enjoyed this bread! Thank you so much for your feedback.
I have not tried freezing this bread, but it should work and can be frozen for a month. You can try freezing several slices to see if it works.
You can also use this recipe as a base and add your choice of cheese, herbs, and other flavors.