Cheddar-Jalapeño Artisan Bread

A spicy, flavorful artisanal bread that requires no kneading!

A bread that requires no kneading is a joy – stir together flour, yeast, salt, and water to create the dough; let it rise while you go about your day; then shape it into a loaf and bake it in a hot Dutch oven. There’s minimal effort involved, and you’ve got yourself a lovely loaf of fresh homemade bread. Customize it in myriad ways – herbs, seeds, citrus zest, and cinnamon sugar are all flavorsome add-ins and provide variety.

Let your imagination run wild!

Ingredients:

Basic Bread Recipe:

1 pound all-purpose flour (about 3 cups) plus more for sprinkling
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast (I used Fleischmann’s Active Dry Yeast)
1-1/2 cups lukewarm water

Tools:

Large Bowl
Plastic wrap or kitchen towel
Large Dutch oven with oven-safe lid
Parchment Paper

Add-Ins:

4 ounces diced cheddar cheese
4 ounces finely grated Parmesan cheese,
1 thinly sliced small jalapeño (I used two to make it spicy)
3 finely chopped scallions (optional)

Method:

Measure 3 cups all-purpose flour, 3/4 tsp active dry yeast, and 1 tsp kosher salt into a large bowl.

Make a pit in the flour mixture, add 1-1/2 cups warm water, and stir until a rough, semifluid dough forms.

Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place until it swells in bulk, and you can see bubbles form – about 6 to 8 hours.

Sprinkle some flour onto a piece of parchment paper and place the dough on it.

Add 4 oz of diced cheddar cheese, 4 oz of finely grated Parmesan cheese, 1 thinly sliced small jalapeño (about 3-in), and 3 finely chopped scallions to the dough. Fold the add-ins into the dough.