No one can resist a cheesy sourdough bread! Slather it with butter and you'll be shocked how quickly it disappears.
There's nothing like a fresh loaf of sourdough! Does it take time to ferment? Sure - but it's super hands-off and the reward is so worth it!
I've also loved making Sourdough Fruit & Nut Bread for when you want to use up those pantry ingredients. Needing a sweet treat with your coffee? Sourdough Bread with Chocolate is the ticket!
Key Ingredients
Levain - This is a great way to begin your long fermentation. It ensures you get that great yeast and lift to your bread as well as get the true fermentation started.
Cheese - I love to use an aged cheddar. Anything that has a stronger taste is perfect, and make sure to shred your own.
Flour - We will be using fresh ground wheat but you can also reach for all-purpose or bread flour, whatever you have.
How to Make Cheesy Sourdough Bread
***See recipe card below for precise measurements and instructions.***
Step 1: Mix up a levain to hang out.
Step 2: Moisten bread flour and rest, then stir in remaining ingredients.
Step 3: Cover to ferment and rest.
Step 4: Shape and place in a banneton if desired.
Step 5: Set in a parchment-lined Dutch oven and bake.
Step 6: I let cool before slicing so the gluten settles.
FAQs
For this recipe, yes. Sometimes I think it truly is easy to just pull out that scale and weight everything out. You can get super accurate results this way - though you also need some knowledge of the feeling of dough since you might not need all the water that's called for. That's why I also recommend learning Intuitive Sourdough because those techniques serve you well even with weighed ingredients.
It's not required as long as you have very happy starter. I recommend feeding it the night before you want to bake so you can get started right away. Even without a levain you will autolyse your flour/dough. Especially when using fresh ground grains you need to allow the wheat to hydrate properly before proceeding.
I stick with stronger flavours, such as aged cheddar or an asiago. But really, whatever you have on hand is great, even a mix - a sort of "use up the cheese drawer" proposition. We pretty much only consume cheese we've made ourselves, so obviously need to shred it ourselves. I highly recommend you do the same and purchase by the block if you are at the store, to avoid additives that prevent great melting.
Photos by Dante from Shire by the Sea
More Sourdough Recipes
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Sourdough Cheese Bread
Ingredients
Levain:
- 20 grams bread flour or all-purpose flour
- 20 grams freshly milled whole wheat flour
- 40 grams water
- 20 grams active sourdough starter
Dough:
- 550 grams bread flour or all-purpose flour
- 43 grams whole wheat flour
- 500 grams water
- 12 grams salt
- 100 grams levain from above or active sourdough culture
- 150 grams shredded aged cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Make sure your starter is fed and bubbly; feed the night before so you are ready to start in the morning.
- If using levain, mill wheat berries, and mix levain ingredients in a small container, leaving for 5 hours at 77ish F, or longer if cooler.
- Mix fresh wheat flour (43 g), bread flour (550 g) and 400 grams of water (100 grams set aside) mixing with hands until no dry bits are left. Cover for 2 hours with plastic or wet towel to autolyse.
- When levain is ready, or after dough has autolysed, add salt, grated cheese and levain or sourdough starter. Add remaining water (about 100 g) but slowly as it may not all be needed.
- Mix all ingredients together by hand, pinching and folding, until well incorporated. Cover.
- During bulk fermentation (4 hours) give the dough 6 sets of stretch and folds, the first 3 in 15 minute intervals and the last 3 in 30 minute intervals.
- Lightly flour your working surface and pour out the dough.
- Shape into a rough round shape and leave for half an hour uncovered.
- Shape dough into round or oval shape and put into floured proofing basket or banneton.
- Cover with large plastic bag or tea towel and refrigerate overnight.
- In the morning take out your loaves and set oven to 450°F.
- Line Dutch oven with parchment paper and carefully transfer loaf over into it.
- Bake for 20 minutes with lid on, then remove lid for another 30 minutes until loaf is a golden hue.
- Cool on rack for 30 minutes.
Notes
- You can use a levain or just very happy, healthy starter.
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