CORN CHEDDAR JALAPEñO SOURDOUGH BREADS

Steps:

• Mixing & Bulk Fermentation
• In a small bowl, mix together the corn flour and boiling water. Cover and set it aside to cool and let the pericarp (bran of the corn) soften for about an hour.
• In a large bowl, mix together the flour and water. Cover and set aside to let the gluten strengthen for about 30 minutes.
• Add the sourdough starter, salt, jalapeños, and corn porridge to the dough. Mix thoroughly, cover, and let rest for 20-30 minutes. The dough will feel quite sticky and weak, especially if you're making the whole wheat version.
• Stretch and fold the dough and then cover and let it rest another 20-30 minutes.
• Add the cheese to the dough using the laminating technique: Dampen your work surface, remove the dough from the bowl and stretch it into a thin rectangle, place about 1/3 of the cheese pieces down the center of the rectangle, and fold one side of the dough over the cheese. Layer on the second third of the cheese and fold the other side of the dough over it. Now put the remaining cheese on half of the dough and fold the other half over it. Return the dough to the bowl, cover, and let it rest 20-30 minutes.
• Perform one last round of stretching and folding on the dough, then cover and let it continue to ferment for several hours. My dough needed 6-7 hours at 77F from when the starter was mixed in for it to get a lot of air pockets visible through the sides of the bucket. Because of the heavy additions in this dough, it doesn't expand very much and gauging readiness is more difficult.
• Pre-shape, Bench Rest & Shaping
• Scrape the dough out onto a floured countertop. Flour the top of the dough and coax it into a boule shape using heavily floured hands or a bench knife.
• Let the dough rest uncovered for about 20 minutes.
• Create a thin layer of bran flakes in the intended shape of your bread on your countertop, on a floured tea towel, or in your proofing basket (spray the basket with oil so the bran sticks). I like how the bran absorbs some of the cheese oil, but you can simply flour your proofing basket if you prefer.
• Shape your dough into a boule, batard, or oblong loaf. Shaping videos can be found here.
• Using a bench scraper, flip the shaped dough onto the prepped bran flakes and roll the dough a bit from side to side to get the bran to adhere to the dough surface. Then place the dough in your banneton. The bran-covered top of the bread should be face down.
• Final Proofing & Baking
• Cover and proof the dough at room temperature for 1-2 hours, or in your refrigerator overnight for 8-14 hours. The dough will puff up and expand a little in the basket, but the heavy additions will prevent a large expansion of the dough.
• Preheat your oven and baking vessel to 500F for 30 minutes.
• Gently flip the dough out of the banneton and score it. This can be done directly into the bottom of your baking vessel or onto parchment paper first for an easier transfer. Cover the baking vessel and return it to the oven.
• Bake at:
• 500F for 20 minutes lid on
• 450F for 10 minutes lid on
• 450F for 10 minutes lid off
• The internal temperature of the bread should be at least 205F when it's done.
• Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool a minimum of 2 hours before cutting.
• Food safety guidelines say to refrigerate cheese after 4-8 hours at room temperature, with hard cheeses (like cheddar) being at the longer end of the time frame. My custom, and that of many other bakers I know, is to leave the bread at room temperature for about two days, and then slice and freeze anything that hasn't been consumed by then. The pepper and cheese additions do make the bread more likely to spoil/mold, but I haven't had issues with the two-day timeline.