Jalapeno Cheese Bread

Jalapeno Cheese Bread:

Pull Apart Pizza Bread:

I got the idea for this bread from the world famous Chili Cheeze Bread from Erick Schat's Bakkery in Bishop, California. Every October my husband and I ride our dirt bikes with the D37 group up in Bishop. The day we head home we stock up on sourdough loaves, chili cheeze bread, and their deli sandwiches. I decided I would attempt to make my own bread in multiple ways to figure out which one tastes the best. I used the Olive Oil Dough recipe from the book "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day." Then took a few key ingredients from Schat's chili cheeze bread and combined it. Get creative!

Makes 4-1lb loaves. Or use it to make flatbread pizzas!

Ingredients for the dough:
2-3/4 cups lukewarm water
1-1/2 tablespoon granulated yeast (use two 7g / 1/4 oz. packets) Red Star active dry yeast
1-1/2 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (fruity olive oil for better flavor, such as mandarin orange)
6-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Ingredients for loaves and pull apart pizza bread:

Jalapenos
Roasted Red Peppers
1 cup Monterey Jack Cheese, cubed or shreaded
1 cup Parmesan or Colby Jack, cubed or shreaded
Garlic Powder
Corn meal to work with the dough


Directions for the Dough:
Mix the yeast, salt, sugar, and olive oil with the water in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.

Mix in the flour without kneading. I used my Danish Dough Whisk.

Cover (not airtight), and allow to rest at room temperature until dough rises and colapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.

The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 12 days.


Directions for Jalapeno Cheese Loaf:

Preheat oven to 425F

Lightly grease loaf pans with Crisco

Place a pound of dough on a sheet of parchment paper with a generous layer of corn meal on top of the paper. This helps you work with the dough easier

Spread dough out and on one side of the dough add your jalapenos, peppers, cheese and garlic powder

Combine all and place into loaf pan. If you don't have a loaf pan you can bake a flat bread and use a cookie sheet

Spray loaf lightly with water

Slice the loaf with 1/4-inch diagonal slashes using a serrated knife

Use a pan filled with a cup of hot water under the bread loaf used as a water bath so the bread doesn't burn on the bottom

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes

Remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes or until golden brown (190-200 degrees if you insert a thermometer)

Lay the pan on it's side and slowly remove the loaf

Let the loaf cool before slicing into it

You can add butter to it or dip it in olive oil/vingar


Directions for Pull-Apart Pizza:

Preheat over to 425F

Use a pizza pan and cover the pan with a pound of dough

Add your jalapenos, peppers, and garlic sauce

Spread a cup or more of marinara sauce and top with cheese

Bake for about 45 minutes or until top starts to get crispy

You can slice it up like a pizza or just pull it apart with your hands "Italian Style"

Dip it in ranch dressing or olive oil/vinegar