Jalapeño Cheddar Focaccia
This jalapeño cheddar focaccia is SO good. You get spicy, cheesy, sweet, salty, and a lovely airy texture. And it did win me a blue ribbon at the OC Fair this past summer sooo, just sayin’.
Now, this isn’t a gimmicky bread. It’s not no-knead, it’s not ready in 30 minutes. There’s a little kneading and some time needed for bread rise, but I promise, the end result is a delicious bread that’s well worth your patience.
Use it for breakfast sandwiches, turkey sandwiches, or a side dish for chicken soup. Even just a snack on its own! Let’s make it!
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Ingredient notes
jalapeno cheddar focaccia
- Warm water
- Active dry yeast – you can also use instant yeast, but will skip step one of this recipe if using.
- Sugar
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Cheddar cheese
- Pickled jalapeño peppers – These can be found at nearly any grocery store. But what actually went into the award-winning version of this recipe were the Sweet and Hot Jalapeno peppers from Trader Joe’s, which you can find on Amazon. I explain why I use these below.
- All purpose flour
- Italian dressing – You can make your own (I include my recipe in the recipe card) or use a bottled dressing.
How to make jalapeño cheddar focaccia
STEP 1: Activate yeast
Pour warm water into a large mixing bowl and sprinkle the yeast over the top. The water should be between 100° and 110°F. Honestly, I don’t take the temp, I just run tap water that is very warm. Allow the yeast to rest like this at room temperature for a few minutes.
STEP 2: Add sugar, oil & salt
Next, add the sugar and stir. Then oil, salt and stir again. Add 3 cups of flour and stir until it starts to form a cohesive mass. It should be a little sticky, but hold its shape.
STEP 3: Knead & rise
Sprinkle flour on your work surface and place the dough on top. Sprinkle some extra flour over the top. Pat the dough down, fold it over, press and repeat until the dough can easily be shaped into a smooth ball.
Clean and oil the mixing bowl. Place dough inside and cover with a clean dish towel. Set on the kitchen counter to rise for 1 hour.
STEP 4: Prepare for baking
Preheat the oven. Grease your baking vessel. You can use a large cast-iron skillet or even a rimmed half-sized baking sheet. When I use a baking sheet, I like to line with parchment first, then grease the parchment.
Press the dough to fit in your skillet, then cover with a dish towel again and let it rise for 15-20 minutes.
Gently press fingertips all over the dough surface to create little craters. Add dressing, then sprinkle with cheese and arrange jalapeno slices in an even layer.
STEP 5: Bake
Bake the dough until cheese is mostly golden brown. Allow to cool for at least 15-20 minutes before cutting and serving.
Jalapeño Cheddar Focaccia
Delicious jalapeño cheddar focaccia you’ll want to make again and again! Use for breakfast sandwiches, regular sandwiches or just eat it straight up!
- Prep Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 50 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup very warm water
- 1 packet active dry yeast
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup italian dressing (recipe below)
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
- 3/4 cup pickled jalapeños
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
My go-to vinaigrette recipe (make this, use 1/4 cup for this recipe & enjoy the rest on salad!)
- 2/3 cup avocado oil
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
Instructions
- Empty yeast packet into a large mixing bowl and add warm water. Let this stand for about five minutes until the yeast dissolves and looks foamy.
- Add sugar and stir. Add olive oil and salt; stir.
- Add 3 cups of the flour and stir just until combined. The dough should be pretty sticky, but should hold together enough to turn out onto a floured surface in one cohesive mass.
- Sprinkle 1/4 cup flour onto a cutting board or other, clean, flat surface. Turn dough out onto your floured surface. Add an additional 1/4 cup to to the top of the dough and pat with your hands. (To get some flour on your hands).
- Knead dough until it is smooth and easily forms into a ball. It shouldn’t take much to come together. Clean out your mixing bowl and coat with olive oil.
- Place dough back in bowl, cover with a clean dishtowel, place on counter and let rise for 1 hour.
- Grease a large cast-iron skillet or half-sheet baking sheet with butter or oil.
- Press the dough into your baking vessel and cover with a dishtowel again and allow to rise for 15-2o minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 425F.
- Gently press fingertips all over the surface to create little craters.
- Spread dressing across the top of the bread and sprinkle with cheese. Arrange jalapenos over the surface in an even layer, press jalapenos down gently into the dough.
- Bake 30-40 minutes, until cheese is golden brown.
- Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes before slicing to serve.
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Where does the Italian dressing go?
It gets brushed on before you sprinkle on the cheese and jalapeños right before baking. It’s in step 2 under prep & cook! I could probably do a better job of making it more clear 🙂 thanks!
Can you use discard instead of the yeast?
Hi Leslie, I haven’t tried that but you probably could. It would of course require long-fermentation to get the amount of rise you would need but I can’t guarantee results since I haven’t tried it yet!
I loved this recipe, thank you!
I’m wondering the best way to store it and for how long (counter/fridge/freezing)
Thanks again!
Hi! I’m glad you liked it! Thank you for your question, I store it at room temperature in a Ziploc bag. It depends on temperature of the room, but generally it will last about 5-7 days. I haven’t frozen it because we always eat it up quickly. But I would cut it into slices, arrange on a cooling rack (don’t have the slices touching) and freeze for about an hour. Then transfer to a Ziploc and use within 3-5 months.