When your boyfriend requests you make a jalapeño cheddar sourdough focaccia recipe and you can't find a satisfactory recipe, what do you do? Make your own, of course!
To make this recipe, I combined two pre-existing recipes and then customized them to be a little more spicy. The bread was absolutely divine! I'm sharing the recipe here so it's easy for me to find when I want to make it again (and because my brain will forget the changes I made to make it so yummy if I don't write it down somewhere). If you also happen to make this, let me know what you think!
The end result!
The base recipes:
As a Academic, I'm all for citing my sources. The base recipes for this focaccia are:
I used the focaccia dough recipe from Amy as well as an adapted version of her oil mix plus the Popper filling from Lacey and a lot of bacon bits to create my own version. I also made it a less hands on because I have a toddler and the less hands on it can be, the more likely it will turn out.
Ingredients:
- Active Sourdough Starter, 100 grams
- Bacon Bits, Generous amount
- Cream Cheese (full fat), 12 ounces
- Cheddar, 150 grams (1.5 cups) in inclusions + 100g (about 1 cup) in toppings
- Flour (I used Organic All Purpose Flour), 500 grams (~3.5 cups)
- Water, 400 grams (about 1.66 cups)
- Olive Oil, 45 grams (about 3 tablespoons)
- Mango Habanero Seasoning, 5 grams
- Salt, 12 grams in the dough, 2 grams in the oil
- Jalapeños, Generous amount (as many as I can reasonably fit) (I use these)
- Unsalted Butter, 30 grams (about 2 tablespoons)
These are my favorite jalapeños to use!
Tools/Supplies:
- 9 x 13 inch pan (I use these)
- Dough whisk
- Food scale
- Mixing bowl
- Oven
- Food-Grade Gloves
Let's get baking
Making the Dough
Step 1: Autolyse your flour and water
Step 2: Mix in the Starter
Step 3: 1st Set of Stretches and Folds
Step 4: 2nd Set of Stretches and Folds
I cover my bowls with these shower caps.
Prepare and Add the Mix-ins
Step 5: Prepare the cheese, bacon, and jalapeños
- While the dough is resting, set out as many jalapeño slices as you would like. I use pickled jalapeños, so I lay them out on paper towels to remove excess moisture. I use my cooking chopsticks to pick them up and lay them down individually.
- If you have a block of cheddar, grate or cube the cheese during this time. If you have shredded cheddar, measure out 150 grams.
Step 6: Add mix-ins during 3rd Set of Stretches and Folds
While doing your 3rd set of stretches and folds, add in the jalapeños, shredded cheddar, and bacon bits. Be sure that the mix-ins are thoroughly incorporated.
Prepare the Pan:
Step 7: Make the oil mixture
Add 5 grams of garlic salt, 5 grams of mango habanero seasoning, 30 grams of melted butter, and 45 grams of olive oil together. Mix well.
Step 8: Oil the pan with half of the oil mixture
Step 9: Add the dough and top with oil
Carefully pull the dough to fill the pan.
Top with the remaining oil mixture.
Cover the pan and let it rest on the counter for 2-4 hours, until the dough has doubled in size.
Prepare the Poppers
Step 10: Make the Cream Cheese Mixture
Step 11: Pre-heat the Oven
Step 12: Add the Poppers to the Dough
Once the dough has doubled in size, gently dimple it with your fingers.
Using a spoon or a tablespoon measure, portion the cream cheese poppers out and roll them into balls.
Gently incorporate the balls into the dimples of the dough.
Step 13: Add more toppings
Top the poppers with more sliced jalapeños.
Sprinkle more bacon bits over the dough.
Sprinkle about 50g (1/2 cup) of shredded cheddar over that.
Baking the Bread
Step 14: The First Bake
Step 15: Add More Cheese
Step 16: The Second Bake
Put the dough back in the oven for another 16 minutes. The internal temperature of the bread should be 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Be sure you aren't measuring a cheese pocket, as those will be hotter than the bread itself.
Remove from oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
Enjoy!
Yum!
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