Cheddar Jalapeño Tin Loaf
current situation: cheddar jalapeño bread
The weekday version of the sourdough. Commercial yeast, one afternoon, baked in a tin so it slices square for sandwiches.
A tin loaf has one problem a free-standing one does not: the sides. The chilli and cheese that end up against the hot metal blister and go dark — which is what the picture shows and it is the best part of the loaf, so do not try to prevent it.
High dome means a properly tight shaping and a full second rise. Underproved, it bakes into a brick with a split down one side.
- Makes
- One 9-inch loaf
- Hands-on
- 30 minutes
- Rise
- 2 1/2 hours total
- Bake
- 375°F, 40 minutes
What you need
The dough
- 4 cups bread flour
- 1 1/4 cups warm whole milk
- 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp soft butter
- 1 egg
Folded in
- 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar, in small cubes
- 4 jalapeños, diced (from my garden)
- 1 tsp coarse black pepper
- A little extra cheese, for the top
How it goes
1 — Warm the milk to blood temperature, not hot
About 110°F — it should feel neutral on the inside of your wrist. Much hotter and it kills the yeast outright, and you will not know until nothing rises.
2 — Knead eight minutes to a smooth elastic dough
Everything except the cheese and chilli. By hand or in a mixer. It should stretch thin enough to see light through without tearing.
3 — First rise until doubled, about 90 minutes
Covered, somewhere warm. A finger pressed into it should leave a dent that fills back slowly.
4 — Cheese and jalapeño folded in after the first rise
Dough pressed flat, cubes and chilli scattered over, rolled up and folded a few times. Mixed in at the start, the cheese fat coats the flour and weakens the gluten.
5 — Shape it TIGHT for the tin
Pressed into a rectangle, rolled up firmly from the short edge, pinched along the seam, seam down in a buttered 9-inch tin. A slack roll gives a flat loaf with a hollow under the crust.
6 — Second rise until it crowns the tin by an inch
About an hour. It must come up proud of the rim before it goes in or you will never get the dome.
pro tip — Press it gently. If the dent springs straight back it needs longer; if it stays dented entirely it has gone too far and will collapse.
7 — 375°F for 40 minutes, cheese on top at 30
Extra cheese scattered over in the last ten minutes so it browns without burning. Tent with foil if the top is getting dark early.
8 — Out of the tin immediately, cooled on a rack
Left in the tin it steams and the sides go soft. Out at once, onto a rack, and left at least an hour before slicing.
Current situation. It makes a grilled cheese that is almost unfair. LFG.