This Easy No Knead Jalapeno Cheese Artisan Bread is the BEST savoury bread for sandwiches! It’s packed with spicy pickled jalapeños and real cheddar cheese, and it’s SO easy to make!
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This No Knead Jalapeno Cheese Artisan Bread is a savoury version of my Easy No Knead Artisan Bread that I shared as one of my very first recipes on this blog! One of my favourite variations of that recipe is this No Knead Jalapeno Cheese Artisan bread – it’s SO cheesy and spicy, and it’s GREAT For sandwiches!! And the best part? It’s SO easy to make it’s almost embarrassing, so anyone can do it! And with my pro tips below, you’ll be a total Artisan Bread pro!
Pro tip#1: Pre-heat your Dutch Oven pot before baking.
This bread is baked in an oven-safe Dutch Oven pot which traps in steam, making the crust of the loaf extra crispy and golden brown! If you’re looking for a great Dutch Oven pot, I will tell you that it’s one of the best investments you can ever make for your kitchen – mine is a total beauty from Le Creuset (affiliate link) and I use it multiple times a week throughout the year for soups, stews, sauces, curries, and of course for baking this bread (if you want my original Dutch Oven Crusty Bread recipe, get it HERE!). A pot like this one is definitely a financial investment, but considering how much I use mine and considering its high quality, it’s definitely a worthy investment that will last you for 10 or 20 years. I’ve also used similar cast iron pots from other brands, like THIS ONE from KitchenAid and THIS ONE from Lodge Cast Iron (both affiliate links) if you’re looking for something a little less expensive but still high quality – they’re both great!
Pro Tip #2: Shape your loaf firmly but gently and dust the top of the loaf with flour.
Creating a round shape will help the loaf bake evenly and dusting the top with flour will create that gorgeous, bakery-style appearance that everyone loves!
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Pro Tip #3: Let the loaf cool completely (or almost) before cutting into it!!
Resist the urge to slice the bread while it’s hot. Did you know that after removing a loaf of bread from the oven it continues to bake inside as it cools?? Slicing into this gorgeous loaf too early will cause the inside of the loaf to be under-cooked and gummy. Letting the loaf cool completely before slicing ensures the perfect fluffy texture when you slice into it!
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I hope you love this No Knead Jalapeno Cheese Artisan Bread as much as we do! Let me know in the comments below, what’s your favourite homemade bread recipe? I’d love to know!
KITCHEN PRODUCTS I RECOMMEND:
Looking for even more delicious bread recipes? You’ll LOVE these:
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Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins
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Easy No Knead Artisan Bread
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Easy No Knead Cinnamon Raisin Artisan Bread
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Recipe Video
Watch the video below to see exactly how I make this quick snack. You can find more delicious recipe videos on my YouTube channel
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Easy No Knead Jalapeno Cheese Artisan Bread
Recipe: Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup sliced pickled jalapenos (or more, if you wish!)
- 1 1/2 cups water at room temperature
Recipe: Instructions
- Start with a large bowl and a wooden spoon, and add your flour to the bowl. Measure the yeast and add it to one side of the bowl. Measure the salt and add it to the other side.
- Using a wooden spoon, stir the yeast into the flour on its side of the bowl first and then stir the salt into the flour on its side of the bowl. This will prevent the salt mixing directly with the yeast. Give the whole mixture a few good stirs to make sure everything is combined.
- Add the sharp cheddar cheese and the sliced jalapenos to the flour mixture and stir until well coated and evenly distributed.
- Once the dry ingredients are combined, measure the water. Make sure the water is at room temperature; water that is too warm or too cold can kill the yeast and prevent the bread from rising at all. Pour the water in and stir with a wooden spoon. The dough will be rough and a bit sticky, but that's normal.
- Stir until all the flour is combined. This is not normal bread dough (there's no kneading involved in this recipe), so you don't need to be too concerned about the appearance of the dough at this point. Just make sure the ingredients are combined well.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. It's a good idea to ensure there's adequate space left in the bowl for the dough to at least double in size. Place the bowl in a warm, draft-free place and let it rise for 12-18 hours.
- After the dough has risen for 12-18 hours, preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Place your Dutch oven with the lid on in the cold oven and let it heat up with the oven.
- Place a piece of parchment paper on the counter and dust it with flour. Rub flour on your hands and scrape the dough away from the sides of the bowl, gathering it in your hands as best you can (it may feel kind of fluid and not at all like regular bread dough) and forming it into a circular loaf on the parchment paper. Don't worry if it still looks a little rough in places. This lends to the rustic look of this loaf.
- Once you have it shaped, the dough needs to undergo a second rise (much shorter than the first). The goal is to handle the dough as little as possible at this stage because any amount of tugging at the rough can cause it to deflate after it has undergone its second rise. The next few steps will help prevent this. But don't worry if it deflates a bit. This bread dough is pretty forgiving.
- Sprinkle flour over the top of the loaf and loosely cover it with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming over the dough. The flour also prevents the plastic wrap from sticking to the dough so when you take it off at the end of the rise, it doesn't disturb the dough and wreck the rustic shape you've created. Let the dough rise for about 45 minutes. Your oven will also be preheating during this time (and so will your pot).
- Once 45 minutes have passed remove the plastic wrap from the dough and trim the parchment paper into a circle closely around the dough. If it doesn't look like the dough has risen that much, don't worry about it. The loaf will puff up a bit when it hits the heat of the oven.
- Remove the preheated pot from the oven and transfer the dough into the pot as carefully as possible by handling only the parchment paper. Place the lid on the pot and return it to the oven for 30 minutes. Don't open the oven during this time, and certainly don't take the lid off the pot; the crispness of the crust develops because of the steam that builds up in the pot during this 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes have passed, remove the lid from the pot and continue baking for another 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes have passed, remove the pot with bread from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool. You'll probably hear it crackling as it cools - this is normal.
- If you can, resist the urge to cut into the bread until it has pretty much cooled completely. The bread continues to bake on the inside even after it has been removed from the oven and cutting it too early could result in the inside becoming gummy or rubbery.
Recipe: Notes
Quick rise method:
- Add 2 1/2 teaspoons of active dry yeast instead of the amount listed in the recipe.
- Rise for 2 hours and follow the recipe directions after the rise time as written.
No Knead Bread Troubleshooting Tips:
- If your dough seems too fluid after the first rise, simply add 1/3 cup of flour to the top of the dough and mix it in, shaping the loaf into a round shape to rise again while the oven pre-heats.
- If your loaf falls or flattens during the second rise, simply re-shape before baking into as tight a ball as possible (creating surface tension should prevent the dough from falling).
- Add 1 tablespoon of Vital Wheat Gluten to the dough with the flour to create a very voluminous dough that rises beautifully every single time and isn't too dense.
- If the bottom crust of your bread burns or becomes too hard or tough, it's likely that the bottom burner of your oven is too hot OR you're using a pot that's black on the inside (these conduct heat more efficiently than one that's a light colour on the inside). Try lowering your oven temperature by 25 degrees, using the convection setting, or using a different pot that's light in colour on the inside.
- Use an oven thermometer to make sure your oven temperature is correct. If your oven runs hot, lower the temperature of your oven by 25 degrees to be sure you don't burn the bread.
Recipe: Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
This recipe makes me look amazing when, in fact, I’m quite an inexperienced baker. Thanks for sharing your technique. The first time I made it, the dough seemed way too wet after the 16 hour rise. I added a bit of flour at that point. The second time I made it, I kept the dough wet, wondering if it would puff up. Bottom line – I will be adding the extra flour from now on. The loaf turned out flat and unimpressive with no additional flour. But this still impresses and the flavor is amazing, no matter what. It’s a very forgiving dough.
I’m happy you are enjoying the recipe! Depending on the flour you use and the humidity of your kitchen, the water absorption is different so you might indeed need to add a little more flour from the start. Happy baking ☺️
We absolutely love this bread!
We agree 😉 Thanks!
Hello,
Few questions:
1) Can I use bread flour or whole wheat bread flour?
2) Is it best to let it sit in the fridge for 12-18 hours or in the pantry? Assuming it’s fine even with the cheese (for it to be left out of the fridge)
3) what size of Dutch oven works best? I would like to make a smaller loaf for 2-3 people but also a bigger one for 6 people. Should I double the recipe?
Yes, you can use white bread flour. If your pantry is warm and not draughty you can put it in the pantry. I wouldn’t recommend the fridge. I have a 7.25 quart dutch oven. Yes, you can double the recipe and divide the dough after the first rise. Happy baking ☺️
Hi Chrissie,
First, thank you so much for this fabulous recipe, I have made it several times and it always turns out perfect! Tonight I am trying a new twist to incorporate more heat… I am going to use 1/4 a cup of pickled jalapeno juice in place of the water. I also sometimes do pepper jack cheese in place of the cheddar and it is delish!
Thanks again,
Noreen
Hi Noreen! Thanks so much for you’re feedback and let us know how it turns out!🙂
It turned out fantastic but next time a little less jalapeno juice and I am sticking with sharp cheddar if anything just for the color. Perfection every time!
Thanks so much for your positive feedback on the recipe Noreen!!
Some cheeses actually produce more liquid. For fondues it is recommended to use only specific cheeses.
Such a easy to work with recipe & you rightly said it is forgiving. Thank you for explaining it to this detail, was 8yr old relished it, of course after picking out the jalepenos😊
Thanks so much Sapna!!
Made the bread and it was absolutely delicious! I’d like to double the recipe the next time. Do I keep the baking time the same, or do I need to increase it?
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I would however suggest that you make 2 loaves if you want to double it. Happy baking ☺️
Can I use my 12” cast iron skillet to make this bread?
Yes, although without covering the skillet the bread might not allow the crust to crisp up in the same way.
I was wondering if this could be made on the dough setting of a bread maker
I don’t use a bread maker, so I can’t comment on how this would work. Sorry!
OMG, I made bread! Followed the recipe exactly and it turned out perfect! Didnt have a Dutch oven so I tried my 8.5 inch ss pot, and it actually worked! Perfect crusty crust and soft fluffy perfection inside. Not gonna last long in my household…thanks so much!
Thanks so much for your feedback! It doesn’t last long in our house either ☺️
My wife and my daughter have made this many times with exactly your recipe and also with any combination of: baked garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and green and black olives ( a few extra pimentos make it pretty) .
Today is my turn to make this wonderful Artisan bread.
I’m glad your family likes it! Happy baking ☺️
Excellent bread, Easy instructions, Flavour is great for accompaniment with chili, stews or sandwiches, Toasted is a real treat. My go to recipe for this type of bread.
Great! Thanks so much Susan!😊
Thank you so much for this recipe and the clear instructions! It is so delicious. One question – if the dough looks proofed at 12 hours, should I move forward with instructions at that point or let it continue to rise to 18 hours for more flavor? I’ve read read that the longer rise enhances the texture and taste, but am afraid of having the dough over-proof.
Anytime between 12 and 18 hours is ok, and I’ve done both (and it’s worked each time!).
Anytime between 12 and 18 hours will work for this recipe 🙂
What would be the best way to ship this bread? I’d like to make a loaf for family at Christmas and send it to them with their gifts. Has anyone done this? What would be the safest way?
Winter is VERY cold here… so i’m not worried about heat or humidity.
Thanks!
I’d recommend not shipping the bread! Happy baking!
Did not rise the second time 🙁
I’m sorry it did not work for you. There are several things you could try and I recommend reading the recipe notes (at the bottom of the recipe card) for all of my troubleshooting tips and tricks. Happy baking ☺️
Can you use bread flour??
Yes, you can! Happy baking!
How long does the bread last after baking and cooling? And how would you ship a loaf? I’d like to make a loaf and send to family for Christmas.
And tips and advice would be great.
The bread lasts for 2-3 days but I wouldn’t recommend shipping it as it will dry too much.
Mixing every thing up, yes that is the easy part. Heating up a dutch oven, that was a bit much . I always do a recipe how it is described the first time around. See what is new, exciting or frustrating. The Bread is amazing… hands down. Now the second time i made this recipe i skipped the whole dutch oven part and put the dough in a glass pan and made a tent with tin foil. Works amazing and no pre heating. I live in Florida, so the rising time was shorter for me. The other thing i did was added a wee bit more of jalapenos! Spicy, tasty and made amazing lunches!!
Glad you liked it! 🙂
So glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment! 🙂
Just made this, my husband wanted to devour it all in one go. Recipe is so easy to follow, the crust is crunchy and it’s soft on the inside, delicious.
I know, right!? Thanks Roxy!🙂
This was my first attempt at baking bread. I followed the instructions to a T, and it came out perfectly! My husband is amazed (and has already had 4 slices). Thank you for this recipe!!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the positive feedback Cynthia!
I must have made this recipe a dozen times. I get requests for birthdays and dinners now!
I use shredded cheddar cheese, and I dice the pickled jalapeños for distribution. I also only use 1 tsp salt.
I’ve replaced 1 tbsp water with 1 tbsp jalapeño pickles juice but find the dough is quite fluid even with adding 1/4 cup more flour. But it does pack a lot of flavour. When I take my Dutch oven out I pour a little olive oil and rub it aroun the pot to prevent sticking. I also glaze the top with a little oil for colour and crispy crust. I bake at 400 for 30 mins as I going 450 burnt the crust every time. Then I uncover for 15 mins.
This is the first time I forgot to preheat the Dutch oven. So I put it in the oven for 10 mins and I pray it still turns out!
Thanks so much for letting us know Amanda!🙂Really glad to hear is such a hit!!