jalapeno cheddar artisan bread

*recipe derived from alaskafromscratch.com

ingredients:

3 cups of all-purpose flour

2-1/2 tsps (1 package) of active dry yeast

1 tsp of salt

1-1/2 cup of cheddar cheese, shredded

1 jalapeño, chopped fine

1/2 jalapeño, sliced thin for topping

1-1/2 cups of warm water

supplies:

mixing bowl

plastic wrap

kitchen towel

dutch oven with lid

parchment paper

directions:

in a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and yeast. fold in 1 cup of cheese and the large jalapeño finely chopped, and make sure everything is mixed well. add the warm water, and stir the mixture until it looks shaggy, loose, and sticky. it should look like this. cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a towel, and set aside on counter for 18-24 hours.

when ready to bake, preheat your oven to 450. put the cast iron dutch oven with the lid on in the oven, and heat the pot for 30 minutes. while the pot warms up, transfer the bread dough onto a heavily floured surface. gently shape the dough into a round loaf of bread by pulling the outsides into the center, in a folding motion. do not knead the dough, just shape it. if it is too sticky, add more flour as needed. once the dutch oven has heated, put the dough on parchment paper and drop it inside and bake with the lid on in the oven for 30 minutes. after 30 minutes, remove the lid, and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese and thinly sliced jalapeños on top of the bread, and bake another 10-15 minutes (without the lid), until the top is golden and crispy. carefully remove the dutch oven from the oven, and put the bread on a cooling rack. serve warm. Enjoy!