This is my absolute favorite sourdough discard loaf to make. It makes up in a day (sometimes just a few hours depending on rise) and is the perfect loaf to gift, take to gatherings, or enjoy yourself. I personally love using it for grilled cheese, yum.
Truly a dump and go recipe, all ingredients combine at once. You heard that right, its seriously so easy. Here’s a list of supplies I use in this recipe:
- Kitchen scale
- Cling wrap
- Parchment paper
- Dutch oven
- Kitchen thermometer
- Wire cooling rack
I’m not about to gaslight you into reading a huge blog post before you get to the recipe, so here it is:
Easy Cheesy Sourdough Discard Bread
Ingredients:
- 350g warm water
- 100g sourdough discard
- 7g instant/rapid yeast
- 10g salt
- 450g bread flour
- 50g-100g shredded cheese
Directions:
- Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until you have a shaggy dough.
- Cover in damp towel or cling wrap and let double.
- 45 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit
- Once dough has doubled, sprinkle flour on parchment paper. Place dough on paper and gently fold over itself into a round shape.
- Score dough and use parchment paper to place in dutch oven.
- Bake in oven with lid on for 35 minutes at 425 degrees.
- Remove lid and bake at 390 degrees until internal temp of bread reaches 205 degrees.
- Remove from oven and let cool an hour before cutting.
Step by Step Directions with Pictures:
1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until you have a shaggy dough.
Like I mentioned above, this is truly a dump and go recipe, but I’ve found mixing ingredients in a specific order helps the dough come together easier. I start by mixing the warm water, sourdough discard, yeast, and salt together first.
Then I add in the bread flour and just barely get it mixed before adding the shredded cheese. On the ingredient list I have the shredded cheese listed in a range of 50g-100g because how much you use will depend on the cheese you’re using and how cheesy you want the final bread to be. I like lots of cheese and I don’t always measure, just eyeball the cheese as I shred it directly into the mixture.
2. Cover in damp towel or cling wrap and let double
The time needed for doubling will depend on the temperature of your home, but I’ve anywhere from 1-3 hours is a good timeframe to keep in mind. I always find that my dough doubles quicker in the summer months. If your oven has a fancy “bread proof” feature, you can use that setting and put your dough in the oven for this step!
3. 45 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit
At this stage you can decide if you want to use a hot or cold dutch oven to bake your bread. I’ve baked this bread both ways and it always turns out beautifully. To bake with a hot dutch oven, add your dutch oven to the oven when preheating and let it preheat and warm with the oven. The benefits of baking with a hot dutch oven includes: maximum oven spring, even heat distribution, optimal steam and crust. If, like me, you forget to add your dutch oven during preheat, the bread comes out just as yummy when baked in a cold dutch oven!
4. Once dough has doubled, sprinkle flour on parchment paper. Place dough on paper and gently fold over itself into a round shape.
Since this recipe uses sourdough discard, there isn’t much structure build up at this point. Your doubled dough might just pour out of the bowl onto the parchment paper. Once the dough is on the floured parchment paper, start folding the edges up and over the middle of the dough to create a more circular dough shape.
5. Score dough and use parchment paper to place in dutch oven.
Use a sharp knife to make a score on top of the dough. I wet the knife a bit to help it slice through better. Also, if you have a trivet (I use the trivet from our instant pot) place it in the bottom of your dutch oven, then place your parchment paper/dough bundle on top, this keeps the bottom of the bread from burning while baking!
6. Bake in oven with lid on for 35 minutes at 425 degrees.
Put the lid on your dutch oven, put the whole thing in your preheated oven, and set a timer for 35 minutes!
7. Remove lid and bake at 390 degrees until internal temp of bread reaches 205 degrees.
After the 35 minute timer ends, drop the oven temperature to 390 degrees and take the lid off your dutch oven. Once the lid is off, insert a kitchen thermometer to monitor the internal temp of the bread. I leave the loaf in the oven until the internal temperature reaches 205 degrees.
8. Remove from oven and let cool an hour before cutting.
I love how this bread comes out of the oven, the baked cheese on the crust is so satisfying.
This is arguably the hardest step of this easy loaf making process, because what do you mean you have to wait AN HOUR before slicing into that yummy, delicious smelling bread?! Letting the bread cool for at least an hour allows the loaf to keep cooking a bit, I let mine cool on a wire cooling rack. I’ve found that when I cut into the loaf too early there’s still some doughy bits in the middle.
This is not a hard fast rule, because I have absolutely cut into a loaf immediately after taking it out of the oven. It’s yummy either way!
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do I have to use bread flour?
This recipe is truly so forgiving, I’ve used bread flour and all purpose flour successfully in this recipe. If you use a different flour/starter, I’d love to hear if its successful for you!
2. What type of cheese do you recommend?
I have used SO MANY DIFFERENT cheeses in this loaf and it always turns out so good. I love picking out fun, seasonal cheeses and using them in this loaf, I’ve even used green St. Patrick’s Day cheese. Some cheeses I’ve used are:
- Cheddar
- Parmesan
- Havarti
- Gouda
- Greyere (pictured)
- & more!
3. Can I use other fillings?
I haven’t played around much with adding other things into this loaf, but I know you can because I’ve successfully added jalapeños for a cheddar jalapeño loaf (its so good!) To add jalapenos, dice up some pickled jalapeños and dry them as good as you can. I use paper towels to soak up all the extra juices. Then, add them into the mixture when you add in the cheese! Let me know in the comments if you have success with different fillings!
4. What if I don’t have a dutch oven or thermometer?
There are multiple ways you can bake a loaf of bread without a dutch oven. I’ve done it in the past before I had a dutch oven, just do a quick google search for some different options and you’ll be on your way!
If you don’t have a kitchen thermometer, after removing the lid of the dutch oven and turning the oven temp down, bake for around 15 more minutes. This is a guesstimate based on my cooking times with the thermometer.
I hope you love this simple cheesy loaf recipe, its the loaf I make on repeat in our home and my toddlers love it too! Please let me know if you have any other questions in the comments. I’m not claiming to be a pro baker, so I will try to answer questions best I can. I can’t wait to hear how this recipe turns out for you!
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