Every couple weeks or so, we send out a little roundup of new recipes, techniques, and tutorials that we’ve recently posted on the site. Occasionally we announce exclusive giveaways to newsletter subscribers as well. We won’t spam you with ads or share or sell your email address. Every email we send has a 1-click unsubscribe link if you decide it’s not for you.
How can I add things like nuts or cheese to dough?
The cheddar cheese and jalapeño peppers in this loaf were added about 1 hour after I mixed up the dough
Sometimes I mix additions into dough right away; sometimes I wait until the gluten has developed a bit, about 1 hour; and sometimes I make a last-minute decision to add tasty extras at the end of the first rise.
Here’s my favorite laminating method for getting additions into dough post-mixing. Clockwise from the top left:
At this point, you have five layers of dough additions.
If you’ve done this lamination about an hour into the fermentation, you can let the dough rest for 20-30 minutes, and then do several more rounds of coil folding. And if you’ve done this at the end of the bulk fermentation, you can let the dough rest on the bench for 20-30 minutes, and then shape it.
Here’s the formula for this loaf of cheddar jalapeño sourdough bread if you’re curious:
325g bread flour
125g fresh-milled whole grain Kamut flour
340g water
160g ripe sourdough starter
8g salt
2 sliced, de-seeded, lightly sauteed jalapeño peppers
4 ounces of chopped medium cheddar cheese
How can I add things like nuts or cheese to dough?