Jalapeño Bread for #BreadBakers

This month for Bread Bakers we are baking with Peppers. Our host for the month Sue of Palatable Pastime wanted us to bake a bread with some sort of pepper -- fresh, dried, ground, hot or sweet. So my entry is this spicy and delicious Jalapeño Bread.

My sister buys this bread at a local bakery and it is very soft and very tasty. I've tasted it once or twice at her place, but don't really remember how it looks or tastes. When I was thinking of making the bread, I asked her to take a video of the bread. She took the time to buy a fresh loaf and with the help of my BIL made a video showing the cross section of the bread.

I lightly sauteed the jalapenos in butter (a tip from Martha Stewart's Jalapeno-Cheddar muffins recipe) and that gave the bread an amazing flavor. I used about 3 medium size jalapeños finely chopped in the recipe. I removed the ribs and seeds to make them less spicy. Increase or decrease the number of chilies based on your spice preference.

I used Tangzhong starter to get the soft and fluffy texture to the bread. Also I couldn't stop myself from adding 1/2cup of wholewheat flour because making 100% white breads make me very guilty. I wish I could add more, but the soft texture of the Hokkaido would suffer -- so had to stopped myself.

I was skeptical how this bread would turn out. I knew it was going to have a great texture, but I wasn't sure if it would get super spicy. I was pleasantly surprised how delicious it turned out -- it wasn't too spicy at all, even my kids loved it. It had a really nice flavor and would be great for sandwiches or toast. My kids enjoyed it with some cream cheese.

Jalapeño Bread

Ingredients:

For Tangzhong Starter:
• 2tbsp Unbleached Bread flour
• 3tbsp Water
• 3tbsp Whole Milk
For the Bread:
• 1/2cup Jalapeños (from about 2~3 jalapeños), finely chopped (remove ribs and seeds to mellow the flavor. Adjust the quantity based on the spice preference)
• 21/2cups Bread flour (I used 2cups bread flour and 1/2cup Whole wheat flour)
• 1tbsp Instant Dry Yeast
• 1tbsp Sugar
• 1tsp Salt
• 2tbsp Nonfat Dry Milk
• 1/2cup Whole Milk
• 1tbsp Egg replacer whisked in 3tbsp water (or 1 large Egg)
• 6tbsp Unsalted Butter, divided use

Method:

1. Make the Starter: In a small saucepan, combine the ingredients for Tangzhong starter. Whisk until no lumps remain.
2. Place the pan over low heat and cook, whisking constantly, until thick and the whisk starts to leave lines on the bottom of the pan, about 3~5 minutes.
3. Transfer the starter to a small bowl and let cool to room temperature.
4. Prep Jalapenos: Melt 2tbsp butter in a saute pan, add the chopped jalapenos and pinch of salt; cook till slightly tender, about 3~4 minutes. Take off the heat and let cool to room temperature.
5. Make the Dough: Combine flour(s), sugar, salt, yeast, dry milk, melted 4tbsp butter, milk, egg replacer mixture, cooled jalapenos and the tangzhong starter in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of the stand mixer.
6. Mix and knead till a smooth, elastic dough forms. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and set aside for 60~90 minutes, until puffy but not necessarily doubled in bulk.
7. Gently deflate the dough and form into a loaf. Place it in a lightly greased 8.5"x4.5" loaf pan. Cover with a greased plastic wrap and set aside for 40~50 minutes.
8. To Bake: Preheat the oven to 350F. Brush the loaf with milk (or egg wash) and bake for 28~32 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the digital thermometer inserted into the center reads 190F.
9. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.

Breads with Peppers:

• Bellpeppers and Cheese Scones by Basic N Delicious
• Bellpepper and Paneer Stuffed Lattice Bread by Seduce Your Tastebuds
• Bell Pepper Stuffed Whole Wheat Buns by Sara’s Tasty Buds
• Capsicum Onion Pizza with Wholegrain Base by Ambrosia
• Cheddar and Jalapeño Scones by Herbivore Cucina
• Cheese Stuffed Peppadew Stuffed Buns by Food Lust People Love
• Crushed Red Pepper Grissini by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Fatayer Jebneh by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Green Chile and Cheddar Biscuits by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Hatch Chile Zucchini Bread by Magnolia Days
• Jalapeño Bread by Cook's Hideout
• Jalapeño Flour Tortillas by Hostess At Heart
• Jalapeño Sourdough Corn Bread by Baking Sense
• Msemen Maamer - Moroccan Flatbread Stuffed with Peppers by The Bread She Bakes
• Parmesan Cracked Pepper Beer Bread by Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Pepper Pav Buns by Sizzling Tastebuds
• Roasted Red Pepper Bread by A Shaggy Dough Story
• Roasted Red Pepper Fougasse by Spiceroots
• Spicy Herb Monkey Bread by Passion Kneaded
• Whole Wheat Spicy Rolls by Gayathri's Cook Spot
• Vegetable Stuffed Braided Bread by My Cooking Journey
• Zucchini and Pepper Cornbread by Palatable Pastime

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.