White Cheddar & Rosmery Sourdough Bread

I started making sourdough bread in 2022, nearly three years ago. I won’t pretend I’ve mastered everything there is to know about the art of sourdough, but I have learned a lot along the way. That said, I don’t often venture beyond the basics. Mixing new flavors or ingredients into my dough isn’t something I usually do but every once in a while, I get the itch to experiment. This time, I decided to branch out with white cheddar & rosemary. Just the thought of those flavors together had me excited to bake!

I folded in freshly shredded white cheddar and chopped rosemary during the bulk fermentation stage, when the dough was soft and bubbly but not yet shaped. The smell alone was worth the effort, herby, cheesy, and that signature sourdough tang all mingling together. When the loaf came out of the oven, it was golden and crackling, with little pockets of melted cheese and flecks of rosemary peeking through the crust. I cut into it while it was still slightly warm (couldn’t help myself), and the crumb was tender, flavorful, and perfectly savory. This might just be my favorite loaf yet!

Ingredients:

125g sourdough starter

368g filtered water

500g all-purpose flour

150g (1 1/2 cups) sharp cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced

13g salt

25g filtered water

Makes one loaf of white cheddar and rosmery sourdough bread

Link to my Cast Iron Dutch Oven

Link to my Proofing Baskets

Link to my Wooden Bowl

Method:

In a large bowl, mix the starter and water together until it looks milky. Next, add the flour and mix until the flour looks well hydrated and a shaggy dough forms. Cover and set aside for two hours.

Next, add the salt, 25g of filtered water, cheddar cheese and rosmery. Using your hands pinch everything together and form a nice ball. Cover and allow the dough to rest for four hours or until doubled in size.

On a well flowered surface, turn your dough out, flatten it out and do a letter fold then roll the dough up like a jelly roll and begin to push it away from you and pull it toward you using the palm of your hand. (Watch my video to see how I do this.) Add more flour to your board if it becomes too sticky to work with. The idea is to create a tight ball of dough. Cover and allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes. Once the dough has rested, repeat the same process, a bit more gently this time, flatten the dough out do a letter fold, roll it up and push it away from you and pull it towards you until a nice tight loaf forms. Place the loaf in a well-floured proofing basket and put it in the fridge for at least three hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 450° with the Dutch oven inside.

Once the oven has reached its temperature, allow the Dutch oven to preheat for another 30 minutes. Take the loaf of bread out of the refrigerator and turn it out onto two pieces of parchment paper or if you have a silicone mat, like I do, you can use that as well. Score the top of the loaf and place it in the preheated Dutch oven along with 1/4 cup of filtered water. Put the lid back on and bake for 35 minutes.

Once the 35 minutes is up, take the lid off and bake the bread for another 15 minutes or until nicely golden brown. Remove from the Dutch oven and allow the cheddar and rosmery sourdough bread to rest on a wire rack until completely cool. Enjoy with butter and a sprinkling of salt!

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I hope you give this warm and cozy white cheddar and rosmery sourdough bread a try! If you want to stay in the loop and never miss another blog post, Subscribe to my email list today! I send out monthly emails on all my Moment in Motherhood stories, wholesome Family Friendly Recipes and Doula Tips and Tricks!

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