I am extremely confident you’re going to love this cheesy sourdough. The tangy, chewy homemade sourdough is blessed with pockets of melted cheese throughout. Plus, this is a no-knead sourdough bread recipe, so it’s really straightforward to make.
Just mix all the ingredients together, stretch and fold it a few times, shape it, and bake it. You don’t need any special equipment for this, although I recommend baking it in a dutch oven for the best results.
I like to make this as an overnight sourdough recipe, so I mix the dough the first day and bake it the next morning. This makes the bread timeline easier to manage while also giving the dough plenty of time to sit and develop its delicious signature flavor.
How to make cheesy sourdough
To make this bread, start by mixing together your active sourdough starter with water and salt. Then add bread flour, black pepper, and your cheese. I like to cut the cheese into small cubes so they create little pockets of goodness throughout the dough.
That’s all it takes to make your dough! Now, you’ll start the stretching and folding process. To stretch the dough, pull dough from one side and give it a long stretch, folding the dough back to the middle. Turn the bowl a quarter turn, stretch again and fold back to the middle. Repeat on all four sides, cover dough back up, and allow to rest again until the next stretch & fold.
Go through this process a total of four times, then cover the bowl and let the dough sit in the refrigerator overnight.
Baking the bread
The next day, roll the sourdough into a ball and place in a towel-lined bowl covered in flour. Let it proof until it has doubled in size and is bubbly and fluffy. Flip it out of the bowl, score it with a bread lame or very sharp knife, and place it in a dutch oven with the lid on.
Make sure you have your oven preheated and super hot! It should take about 45 minutes to bake, and you’ll want to remove the dutch oven lid halfway through.
That’s it! You made delicious sourdough bread! Now for the hardest part – waiting until it cools completely before you cut into it.
Variations
I used a combination of cheddar and parmesan for this bread, but you could use just about any cheese you like. You could even opt to add an extra ounce or two of cheese – this is cheesy sourdough, after all!
If you’re not a fan of black pepper, you could skip it or replace it with a dried savory herb, like thyme or rosemary.
Serving suggestions
My favorite way to serve this bread is alongside homemade tomato soup. It would also go great as a side to a number of soups and stews, especially beef stew or chili. I love a thick slice of toasted cheesy sourdough on the side of a big entree salad as well! Or, go full cheese and use it to make grilled cheese sandwiches.
If you love savory bread recipes, be sure to check out my Garlic & Herb Sourdough, Rosemary Sea Salt Sourdough, and Nettle Pesto Swirl Bread!
Cheesy Sourdough Bread (No-Knead)
Ingredients
- 150 grams active, bubbly sourdough starter
- 320 grams warm water
- 10 grams fine sea salt
- 500 grams bread flour
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 4-5 ounces cheddar & parmesan cheese, cubed
Instructions
To make the no-knead sourdough:
- Combine sourdough starter, water and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Combine flour, pepper, and cheese; stir into starter mixture.
- Finish mixing by hand, folding mixture until it forms a rough ball. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rest 45-60 minutes.
- Over the next few hours, give the dough a stretch & fold about every 30 minutes or so. Plan to stretch & fold four times.To stretch the dough, pull dough from one side and give it a long stretch, folding the dough back to the middle. Turn the bowl a quarter turn, stretch again and fold back to the middle. Repeat on all four sides, cover dough back up, and allow to rest again until the next stretch & fold.
- Once you've completed all the stretches, put the dough in the refrigerator and allow it to sit overnight.
The next day:
- The next morning, pull your dough out of the fridge and allow it to warm up slightly.
- Line a large bowl with a tea towel and dust it lightly with flour. Shape your dough into a ball, pinching the bottom together to create a seam. Place dough, seam side up, into the towel-lined bowl.
- Cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Allow dough to rest and rise for about 2-4 hours, or until puffy and doubled (the time will vary quite a bit depending on your dough and the temperature).
- Place a dutch oven and lid in the oven and preheat oven to 450° F. When oven comes to temperature, carefully turn your dough onto a piece of parchment, seam side down. Score the dough in any desired pattern.
- Lift the parchment paper with your sourdough and lower it into the hot dutch oven. Cut away any excess parchment paper, put the lid back on, and bake covered for 25 minutes.
- Remove lid from dutch oven and continue to bake uncovered for another 18-22 minutes, or until bread is golden and cooked through. The best way to tell if bread is done is to take its temperature with a meat thermometer – it should be about 205 – 215° F.
- Remove from oven and gently lift bread out of dutch oven, using the parchment paper as handles. Allow to cool completely before slicing.
Did you try this recipe?
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