Cornell Cookbook #8: Cheesy Jalapeño Pull-Apart Bread

12/2/2020 9:08 am

Thank you, Ms. Barker, for submitting this recipe! For more, visit the Cornell Around the World Cookbook.

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 tsp table salt
• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 2 tablespoons half-and-half
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• ¼ cup pickled jalapeño peppers

Equipment:

• 48 ounce clear container with lid
• Cheese grater
• Rimmed baking sheet
• Parchment paper
• Large foil roasting pan

Instructions:

1. In a clear container with a lid and room for dough to double (a 48 ounce container works well), mix the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the lukewarm water and half-and-half, and mix until a shaggy dough forms. If needed, add another couple tablespoons of water to fully incorporate all the flour. Loosely put the lid on top of the container and leave the dough to rise in a warm location for one hour.
2. After one hour, use a moist hand to stretch the dough and fold it over on itself. Do this four times, folding the dough from each direction, then put the lid back on the container and let rise for roughly another hour, or until the dough has doubled in size. The exact timing will depend on how warm it is in your kitchen.
3. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Gently pull the dough out of the container onto a well floured surface. Using floured hands, pull off sections of dough about the size of a golf ball. Form them into neat spheres of dough by bringing the edges together like a little parcel and sealing them together. Place dough balls on the parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer with the seam side down, starting from the middle of the baking sheet and working outward. The balls should be just touching each other. When all the dough is shaped, cover the newly formed loaf with an overturned foil roasting pan, making sure that it doesn’t touch the sides of the dough, and leave to rise while the oven preheats.
4. While the dough rises one last time, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, grate 1 cup of cheddar cheese and open up a jar of sliced pickled jalapeños.
5. When the oven is fully heated, sprinkle the grated cheese liberally over the dough balls. Then, place jalapeño slices on top of the cheese, making sure there is at least one slice on each dough ball. Cover the loaf once again with the overturned foil roasting pan, and put it in the oven to bake. The roasting pan will hold steam in with the bread to give it the best rise and a crisp crust. After 10 minutes, carefully remove the foil roasting pan. The bread will be pale at this point. Finish baking the bread uncovered for another 5-7 minutes. Let cool before eating.