Guinness, cheddar and pickled jalapeño loaf

6 HOURS + OVERNIGHT PROVING | MAKES 1 LOAF | EASY

Guinness 250ml

strong white bread flour 400g wholemeal or wholemeal spelt flour 100g

levain 100g (see p6)

fine sea salt 24g

mature cheddar 75g, coarsely grated

pickled jalapeños from a jar 45g, diced

1 Pour the Guinness into a pan with 150ml of water and heat until warm to the touch. Pour into a large mixing bowl with the flours. Mix really well with your hands until no lumps of dry flour remain and the texture is relatively uniform.

2 Leave this to rest for 20 minutes-1 hour, covering the bowl with a clean tea towel.

3 Tip in the levain, salt and 30ml of warm-to-the-touch water, and mix the dough really well until fully incorporated.

4 Leave the dough covered with a tea towel and, every 15 minutes for the first hour, stretch and fold the dough. Wet your hands, take one side of the dough, stretch it up (being careful not to tear the dough) and fold it over on top of itself. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat, doing this four to six times.

5 After the first two turn and folds (so after 30 minutes), sprinkle the surface of the dough with some of the cheddar and jalapeños, then stretch and fold over, and repeat sprinkling and folding as normal. It should take four to six turns and folds to incorporate all of the cheese and jalapeños – you want them to spread evenly through the dough and not clump.

6 Continue with steps 4-6 as per the spelt sourdough recipe (see p8-9).