Jalapeno Cheese Bread

Name: Jalapeno Cheese Bread
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Southern
Ingredients: Plain flour; Water; Fresh yeast; Salt; Vegetable oil; Strong mature cheddar; Whey protein powder; Pickled jalapeno chillies

Jalapeno Cheese Bread, plated as one serving.

399 kcal a serving, against 435 for the traditional version. That is 36 kcal off, or 8%, with 20.4g of protein. Serves 8. 2 hours 30 minutes.

What the traditional version is

The classic jalapeno cheese bread starts with a white yeast dough: flour, water, salt, yeast, and a bit of oil for softness. Next comes the cheese - 300g of mild-to-mature cheddar, cubed - and about 80g of pickled jalapenos, roughly chopped. You fold half the cheese and chillies through the dough before the first rise, and press the rest into the top before baking so it melts and browns. The result is thick slices with fat little craters of soft cheese in every bite, more a meal than a side.

What changed, and what each change costs

300g cubed cheddar for 150g strong mature cheddar, grated

Strong mature cheddar delivers more punch per gram, so you can halve the weight and still taste it. Grating it finely means cheese runs through every crumb, not just the big craters.

What it costs you. You won't get those gooey rivers or golden pools on top - just a background hum and the occasional burst where a clump melts together. If the big cheese hits are why you loved it, this won't scratch the itch.

Add 80g whey protein powder to the dough

White bread is low on protein, so stirring in whey powder bumps up the numbers without making the loaf taste like a gym shake. You'll need a splash more water but nothing scary.

What it costs you. The crumb gets a bit tighter and chewier. Not unpleasant, but it isn't the cloud-soft original. Toasting helps if you miss the give.

Pickled jalapenos cut from 80g to 60g, and chop finer

A finer chop gets the same heat spread through more bites, so you can drop the total weight. You won't be left searching for the odd rogue ring of chilli.

What it costs you. Heat is more even but no single big hit. If you think more is better, double it - but I find the even spread is better in a less rich loaf.

What goes in it

The ingredients, without the quantities. The weights are what the figures below are computed from, and they are in the book.

Plain flour
Water
Fresh yeast
Salt
Vegetable oil
Strong mature cheddar
Whey protein powder
Pickled jalapeno chillies

How it starts

Mix the flour, salt, whey protein powder, and yeast in a large bowl.
Knead by hand or with a mixer for about 7 minutes.
Tip in the grated cheese and chopped jalapenos, and knead for another minute or two until they're spread through.

The rest of the method, and every weight, is in Authentic-ish Southern.

The numbers

Per serving	Traditional	Lightened
Calories	435	399
Protein	17.2g	20.4g
Fat	14g	8.5g
Saturated fat	7.5g	4g
Carbohydrate	58.5g	58.8g
Protein per 100 kcal	4g	5.1g

Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Southern prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked. How every number is computed sets out the method.

Allergens. gluten, milk.

The method is in the book

The classic is a cheese bomb - fat pools and chewy crust, slices bending under the weight of cheese. Mine is bread-first, cheese-second. You get the flavour hit in every bite, just not the grand spectacle. The protein bump means you can actually call this lunch and mean it, but you pay for it with a denser crumb. Toasting is the move if you miss the softness, and a swipe of butter or a bowl of soup never hurts. It isn't grand, it's practical.

The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Southern, along with 50 more. Buy the paperback