Green Chile Cheddar Sourdough Bread
Few foods represent the culture of the southwest than green chile. This green chile cheese sourdough bread features fresh roasted Hatch Green Chiles authentic to New Mexico. It is layered with bites of delicious cheddar cheese that softens the spice of the green chile. Similar to jalapeño cheddar sourdough bread, sourdough green chile cheddar bread is even better (in my humble opinion). I’m so excited to share this delicious, spicy sourdough inclusion bread.
Why this Recipe Works
I always start with my beginner sourdough bread recipe as the base and make adjustments from there. The green chile in this loaf adds extra moisture that we want to account for in the dough. I dropped the hydration in this loaf a bit so it is easier to work with and does not become overly wet.
When deciding when to add the inclusions, I opted to add them toward the beginning with the dough rather than folding them in during shaping. The result is inclusions that are better distributed throughout the dough. The green chile also infuses more into the bread with this method.
A Note About Hatch Green Chile
Unless you are local to the southwestern United States, fresh roasted green chile is hard to come by. Fortunately, you can buy it online. Make sure your green chiles are diced up into little pieces and not a smooth liquid sauce. These are the Hatch green chiles I recommend. I linked the mild heat but they also sell medium and hot varieties if you can handle it.
Green Chile Cheddar Sourdough Ingredients
To make this sourdough inclusion loaf, you’ll need basic bread ingredients plus green chile and cheddar cheese:
- Bread Flour: You can use all purpose flour if that is all you have but generally bread flour will result in a taller, fluffier loaf of bread.
- Water: At room temperature
- Sourdough Starter: Make sure your starter is active and bubbly and has been reliably doubling after each feed. If you are unsure if your starter is healthy, check out my guide to maintaining a sourdough starter.
- Salt
- Hatch Green Chile: See notes about Hatch green chile above. Your chile doesn’t have to actually be from Hatch but it is much more accessible and popular.
- Cheddar Cheese: You can use medium or sharp cheddar in this recipe.
How to Make Green Chile Cheese Sourdough Bread
Step 1: Feed your starter the night before- Combine 25 g of starter with 50 g of water and 50 g of flour. Allow to rest overnight. In the morning, your starter should have at least doubled.
Step 2: Mix your dough. Combine the flour, water, and starter in a large mixing bowl using a bread whisk or your hands. Mix until the dough comes together and forms a shaggy dough. Cover and let rest for 1 hour.
Step 3: Wearing gloves, add half of the cheese and chile, along with the salt to the dough. Perform a set of stretch and folds. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
Step 4: Add the second half of the cheese and green chile to the dough. Perform an additional set of stretch and folds to mix as much of the green chile and cheddar into the dough as you can. It will take a few more sets of stretch and folds every 15 minutes to fully incorporate the ingredients. Once they have been adequately mixed in, cover the bowl and allow to rest for the remainder of the bulk fermentation.
Bulk Fermentation
There is no specific time that it takes to complete bulk fermentation. The primary determinant is the temperature. As a general rule, in the summer bulk fermentation will take about 6-7 hours if your home is around 78 degrees. In the winter, it can take upwards of 10-12 hours if the temperature in your home is between 67-70 degrees.
Look for these signs that bulk fermentation is complete:
- Bubbles on the surface
- Appears fluffy and dome shaped with edge pulling way from the bowl
- Jiggles when you shake the bowl
Remember that bulk fermentation starts the minute you add your sourdough starter to the dough, not after your complete stretch and folds.
Step 5: Once bulk fermentation is complete, shape the dough.
Step 6: Cold ferment the dough for 24 hours in the fridge. Note that you can actually skip cold fermentation if you want to make it the same day. Cold fermentation is not a necessary component of sourdough bread but does add to the tangy flavor and increases fermentation of the dough.
Step 7: Score and bake the bread. Preheat oven to 450F with a 5 quart or greater dutch oven in the oven while it preheats. Once the oven is preheated, score your bread. Make a large cut from one end of the dough to the other. Use the parchment paper to carefully lift the bread and place it into the preheated dutch oven. Cover with lid, and bake for 25 minutes with the lid on. Remove the lid and bake an additional 20 minutes with the lid off.
Jessica’s Notes
I hate thick burnt crusts on the bottom of my bread so I use this trick to prevent it:
Place a small trivet on the bottom of your dutch oven under the bread after the initial 25 minute bake with the lid on. This creates space between the bottom of your bread and the hot dutch oven for the second half of the bake.
How to Store
This bread stores well at room temperature for several days. I recommend storing this in a plastic bread bag or gallon size ziplock style bag.
Green Chile Cheddar Sourdough Bread
Ingredients
- 500 g bread flour
- 340 g water
- 100 g sourdough starter
- 10 g salt
- 4 oz Hatch green chile
- 4 oz cheddar cheese cut into ⅓ inch pieces
- chile powder optional for dusting bread before baking
Instructions
Make the Levain
- The night before baking, combine 25 g of starter with 50 g of water and 50 g of flour. Allow to rise overnight. In the morning, your starter should have at least doubled.
Make the Dough
- Use a bread whisk or your hands to mix the flour, water, and starter in a large mixing bowl. Mix until the dough comes together and forms a shaggy dough. Cover and let rest for 1 hour.
- Wearing gloves, add half of the cheddar cheese and chile, along with the salt to the dough. Perform a set of stretch and folds. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Add the second half of the cheese and green chile to the dough. Perform an additional set of stretch and folds to mix as much of the green chile and cheddar into the dough as you can.
- Perform 2-3 more sets of stretch and folds every 15 minutes. By the end of your last set of stretch and folds, the green chile and cheese should be mixed into the dough. Cover the bowl and allow to rest at room temperature for the remainder of the bulk fermentation.
- Once bulk fermentation is complete, shape the dough. Gently spread the dough on a lightly floured work surface in an approximate square shape the proceed with the following instructions based on the desired shape of your bread:To make a boule: Fold the dough into thirds, the roll the dough into a cylinder. Turn the dough seam side down onto your work surface. Gently pull and twist the dough towards you 1-2 times to form a ball. **Be careful not to do this too many times or the dough will start to rip and the green chile and cheese will spill out. Inclusion loaves should be shaped gently and handled delicately. To make a batard: Fold the dough into thirds, then roll the dough up into a cylinder. Pinch the ends gently. Transfer to a lightly floured banneton.
- Cover the banneton with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours for cold fermentation. NOTE: You can skip cold fermentation if you want to make it the same day and bake immediately or after a short cold fermentation of a few hours.
Bake the Bread
- Place a 5 quart or larger dutch oven in your oven. Preheat the oven to 450℉. Once the oven is preheated, score your bread. Make a large cut from one end of the dough to the other. Use the parchment paper to carefully lift the bread and place it into the preheated dutch oven. Cover with lid, and bake for 25 minutes with the lid on. Remove the lid and bake an additional 20 minutes with the lid off.
- Once the oven is preheated, remove the dough from the fridge and turn in onto a piece of parchment paper, seam side down. Use a sharp knife or a bread lame to make a single score down the center of the bread for a batard, or in an X pattern across the bread for a boule.
- Remove the preheated dutch oven from the oven. Use the parchment paper to lift the bread and carefully transfer it into the dutch oven. Cover with the lid, and place in the oven.
- Bake, covered, for 25 minutes. Then, remove the lid and reduce the temperature to 425℉. Bake for an additional 20 minutes. NOTE: To prevent the bottom of the bread from developing a thick tough crust, you can remove the bread from the dutch oven halfway through the bake (when you uncover the bread). Place a trivet on the bottom of the dutch oven, then use the parchment paper to place the bread on top of the trivet. This creates space between the bottom of the bread and the hot dutch oven for the remainder of the bake.
- When finished baking, use the parchment paper to carefully remove the bread from the oven and transfer to a wire cooling rack.
- For best results, allow to cool for about 2 hours before slicing into it.
