Jalapeno Cheese Braided Bread
Jalapeno Cheese Braided Bread is a soft and flavorful cheese bread with sharp cheddar and spicy jalapenos weaved throughout. This cheesy bread will easily become a family favorite!
If you like jalapenos and cheese, then this cheesy bread is right up your alley! The jalapenos provide just enough heat, and there is the perfect amount of cheese.
It’s a wonderful combination of soft bread, spice, and cheesy goodness! We’ve had this braided bread on the site going on three years now.
This braided bread may look complicated with all the interlocking bread pieces and jalapenos sprinkled throughout, but it’s not. However, it does take a while to make.
If you decide to try this cheesy bread, it’s well worth the wait. Once you get past activating the yeast and proofing the dough, the process goes rather quickly.
How to Make Braided Bread:
It’s said a picture says a thousand words. Well, that’s especially true when you’re trying to explain how to braid bread.
Sometimes pictures are the easiest way to get the instructions to make sense. Heat the milk on the stove until it is just barely steaming (one or two wisps of steam).
Next, place the yeast, sugar, and warm water in a small bowl. Stir, and set aside until the mixture is frothy.
After the yeast mixture is frothy, place it, milk, salt, oil, and flour in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Use the paddle attachment to mix the ingredients until combined and shaggy. Remove the paddle, and replace it with the dough hook.
Continue to mix with the dough hook for 1-2 minutes on low speed and increase to medium speed for 5-6 additional minutes.
The dough should be smooth and elastic. Remove it from the mixer, and place it in a clean bowl. Cover with a towel and allow to rest and double in size. (See photos 1 & 2 above).
In the meantime, prepare the egg wash.
After the dough doubles, turn it out onto a well-floured surface and separate it into three equal sections. (See photos 3 & 4 above).
Use a rolling pin to roll one section into a 6-inch long, 8-inch wide rectangle or as close to a rectangle as you can get it.
Place 1/3 of the cheese and jalapenos onto the dough rectangle leaving an inch of dough exposed along the top. Next, use a pastry brush to apply the egg wash along the top edge.
Carefully roll the rectangle away from you, as if you were making cinnamon rolls. (See photos 5 & 6 above).
The egg wash will seal the tube shut. Gently press or pinch the dough along the edge to ensure sealing. (See photo 7 above).
Roll the dough between your hands and the counter until it lengthens to 10-12 inches. Repeat the process with the other pieces. (See photo 8 above).
Place the rolled dough onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Use a sharp knife to cut slits down the length of each tube taking care to only cut halfway through. (See photos 9 & 10 above).
Beginning in halfway up the tubes, start to braid the dough to the end and tuck under any loose ends.
Turn the baking sheet around and braid the other side and tuck under any loose ends. (See photos 11 & 12 above and photos 13 through 16 below).
Cover the braided dough with a clean kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise again. While you’re waiting for the dough to rise, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
After the dough rises, use a pastry brush to apply the remaining egg wash to the dough. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.
The bread is done when the top is golden brown and the center is no longer doughy. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before serving.
Tips and Variations for Our Jalapeno Cheese Bread:
- Can I leave out the jalapenos? Sure! It’s won’t hurt the recipe a bit.
- Can I add more jalapenos? I’d be careful about adding more, because they add moisture to the bread which causes it not bake properly.
- I don’t like cheddar. What else can I use? Use any cheese you like. However, be careful about adding more, because it could cause the bread to become too wet and not bake correctly.
- The bread was a little doughy (underdone) in the middle. This recipe doesn’t work! Just to give you a heads up, this happened to me once in a gas oven. The gas oven heated faster than the electric ovens I had been using. The center sank a little, because that’s where the braided dough is the heaviest and most dense. If it looks like that part isn’t getting done as quickly as the ends, simply cover the loaf loosely in foil to keep it from burning. Then cook it an extra 5-7 minutes. That should do the trick.
Other Cheese Breads You May Love:
Ingredients
Bread Dough
- 3 ounces milk, warmed to 110°F to 115°F
- 3 ounces water, warmed to 110°F to 115°F
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cups bread flour
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon water
Filling
- 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- ¼ cup pickled jalapeños, chopped
Instructions
- Heat the milk on the stove until it steams (1 or 2 wisps). Meanwhile, place yeast, sugar, and warm water in a small bowl. Stir and set aside until the mixture is frothy.3 ounces water2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast1 teaspoon granulated sugar3 ounces milk
- Pour the yeast mixture, milk, salt, oil, and flour in the bowl of a stand mixer.1 ½ cups bread flour1 ½ teaspoons salt3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons olive oil½ cup all-purpose flour
- Use the paddle attachment to mix until combined and shaggy. Remove the paddle and replace it with the dough hook. Continue to mix with the dough hook for 1-2 minutes on low speed and increase to medium speed for 5-6 additional minutes.
- The dough should be smooth and elastic. Remove it from the mixer and place it in a clean bowl. Cover with a towel and allow to rest and double in size. In meantime, prepare the egg wash.1 large egg1 teaspoon water
- After the dough doubles, turn it out onto a well-floured surface and separate it into three equal sections. Use a rolling pin to roll one section into a 6-inch long, 8-inch wide rectangle.
- Place ⅓ of the cheese and jalapenos onto the dough rectangle leaving an inch of dough exposed along the top. Use a pastry brush to apply the egg wash along the top edge.
- Carefully roll the rectangle away from you, as if you were making cinnamon rolls. The egg wash will seal the tube shut. Gently press or pinch the dough along the edge to ensure sealing.
- Roll the dough between your hands and the counter until it lengthens to 10-12 inches. Repeat the process with the other pieces.
- Place the rolled dough onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Use a sharp knife to cut slits down the length of each tube taking care to only cut halfway through.
- Beginning in halfway up the tubes, start to braid the dough to the end and tuck under any loose ends. Turn the baking sheet around and braid the other side and tuck under any loose ends.
- Cover the braided dough with a clean kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise again. While the dough rises, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- After the dough has doubled in size, use a pastry brush to apply the remaining egg wash to the dough. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.
- The bread is done when the top is golden brown and the center is no longer doughy.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before serving.
Notes
- The calories listed are an approximate and based on the serving size listed.
Have you ever made this with fresh jalapeños instead of pickled? I have a huge (probably last) harvest of jalapeños and was thinking about using some in tomorrow’s challah…
Good Morning Tammy, that’s a good question. While we’ve never used fresh jalapenos in this recipe, we use them all the time in other homemade breads. So, Kim and I are confident you could use fresh jalapeno for the braided bread. You may want to adjust the amount, depending on how spicy you like your dishes. Other than that one notation, you should be good to go. Thank you again for reaching out to us and we wish you a lovely day 🙂
Would love to try any suggestions on how to reheat it if made day before to take to the office?
Thank you for commenting and asking this question. 🙂 I spoke with Kim and asked her about reheating the bread. She’s the in-house baker, lol! She explained that when reheating the bread, wrap it in a paper towel and put it in the microwave at medium power (half power) for approximately 20 seconds at a time. After each interval, check the bread to see if it is warm enough for you. According to Kim, using half power should heat the bread without drying it out or burning the cheese. Thank you again for your question and I hope you have an amazing weekend!