Recipes, re-invented from cooking shows
Jalapeño Mexican Cheddar and Smoked Salt Soda Bread
Prep. Time:
Baking Time:
Total Time:
15 minutes
35 minutes
1 hour 15 minutes
Serves:
1 round loaf (8–10 slices)
Mat created this dish for Great British Bake Off ™ Series 6. For Bread Week’s soda-bread Signature he abandoned the loaf’s Irish roots for Mexico, packing it with smoked sea salt, Mexican cheddar and jalapeño — a bold flavour build that ran a friendly “Mexican stand-off” against Nadiya’s cumin-and-c...
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Ingredients
FOR THE LOAF: 1½ cups (150 g) mature Mexican-style cheddar, grated 2 fresh jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped ¼ cup (40 g) pickled jalapeños, drained, chopped and patted dry 3½ cups (440 g) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting ½ cup (60 g) wholemeal flour (optional; swap for more plain flour for a lighter crumb) 1 tsp (5 g) bicarbonate of soda — do not substitute baking powder 1 tsp (5 g) fine sea salt 1 tsp (5 g) smoked sea salt, half in the dough and half reserved for the top 1¾ cups (400 ml) cold buttermilk, plus a splash more if the dough is dry
FOR FINISHING: 1–2 tbsp (15–30 ml) buttermilk or milk, for brushing ¼ cup (25 g) cheddar, grated, for the top Flaky smoked salt, to taste (reserved from above)
EQUIPMENT: Large mixing bowl Table knife or bench scraper Baking sheet lined with parchment Sharp serrated knife or lame Box grater Wire cooling rack
Method
STEP 1: HEAT THE OVEN FIRST
Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment. Because the rise begins the moment wet meets dry, the oven must be fully up to temperature before you start mixing.
STEP 2: PREPARE THE ADD-INS
Grate the cheddar. Seed and finely chop the fresh jalapeños. Drain, chop and pat the pickled jalapeños dry so they do not wet the dough. Set aside a small handful of cheese and the reserved flaky smoked salt for the top.
STEP 3: COMBINE THE DRY INGREDIENTS
In a large bowl, whisk together the plain and wholemeal flours, bicarbonate of soda, fine sea salt and half the smoked sea salt. Toss the grated cheese and both jalapeños through the flour so they are evenly coated and suspended, which keeps them from clumping and sinking.
STEP 4: BRING THE DOUGH TOGETHER — DO NOT KNEAD
Make a well, pour in the cold buttermilk all at once, and use a table knife in a cutting motion (or a claw-shaped hand) to bring it together with the fewest possible strokes. Stop the instant no dry flour remains; the dough should be soft, shaggy and a little sticky. This is the heart of the fix — every extra stroke builds the gluten that turned the original bake into a yeasted-style loaf. If it looks dry, add a splash more buttermilk, but resist working it smooth.
STEP 5: SHAPE WITH A LIGHT HAND
Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and, with floured hands, gently pat — never knead — into a round roughly 2 inches (5 cm) high. A few seconds of handling is plenty. Lift onto the lined sheet.
STEP 6: CUT THE DEEP CROSS
With a sharp serrated knife, score a bold cross across the top, cutting about two-thirds of the way down into the dough — deeper than feels natural. This gives the fast rise a defined place to open, correcting the side-splitting directly. Brush the top with buttermilk and scatter over the reserved cheese and flaky smoked salt.
STEP 7: BAKE STRAIGHT AWAY
Bake immediately for 30–40 minutes, until deep golden and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the base. If the cheese colours too fast, tent loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes.
STEP 8: COOL BEFORE CUTTING
Cool on a wire rack for at least 20–30 minutes. Soda bread finishes setting its crumb as it cools; cutting hot gives a gummy, dense interior — the opposite of what the fix is working toward. Best eaten the day it is baked.
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Instructions
FOR THE LOAF:
1½ cups (150 g) mature Mexican-style cheddar, grated
2 fresh jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped
¼ cup (40 g) pickled jalapeños, drained, chopped and patted dry
3½ cups (440 g) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting
½ cup (60 g) wholemeal flour (optional; swap for more plain flour for a lighter crumb)
1 tsp (5 g) bicarbonate of soda — do not substitute baking powder
1 tsp (5 g) fine sea salt
1 tsp (5 g) smoked sea salt, half in the dough and half reserved for the top
1¾ cups (400 ml) cold buttermilk, plus a splash more if the dough is dry
FOR FINISHING:
1–2 tbsp (15–30 ml) buttermilk or milk, for brushing
¼ cup (25 g) cheddar, grated, for the top
Flaky smoked salt, to taste (reserved from above)
EQUIPMENT:
Large mixing bowl
Table knife or bench scraper
Baking sheet lined with parchment
Sharp serrated knife or lame
Box grater
Wire cooling rack
Heading 5
Ingredients
STEP 1: HEAT THE OVEN FIRST
Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment. Because the rise begins the moment wet meets dry, the oven must be fully up to temperature before you start mixing.
STEP 2: PREPARE THE ADD-INS
Grate the cheddar. Seed and finely chop the fresh jalapeños. Drain, chop and pat the pickled jalapeños dry so they do not wet the dough. Set aside a small handful of cheese and the reserved flaky smoked salt for the top.
STEP 3: COMBINE THE DRY INGREDIENTS
In a large bowl, whisk together the plain and wholemeal flours, bicarbonate of soda, fine sea salt and half the smoked sea salt. Toss the grated cheese and both jalapeños through the flour so they are evenly coated and suspended, which keeps them from clumping and sinking.
STEP 4: BRING THE DOUGH TOGETHER — DO NOT KNEAD
Make a well, pour in the cold buttermilk all at once, and use a table knife in a cutting motion (or a claw-shaped hand) to bring it together with the fewest possible strokes. Stop the instant no dry flour remains; the dough should be soft, shaggy and a little sticky. This is the heart of the fix — every extra stroke builds the gluten that turned the original bake into a yeasted-style loaf. If it looks dry, add a splash more buttermilk, but resist working it smooth.
STEP 5: SHAPE WITH A LIGHT HAND
Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and, with floured hands, gently pat — never knead — into a round roughly 2 inches (5 cm) high. A few seconds of handling is plenty. Lift onto the lined sheet.
STEP 6: CUT THE DEEP CROSS
With a sharp serrated knife, score a bold cross across the top, cutting about two-thirds of the way down into the dough — deeper than feels natural. This gives the fast rise a defined place to open, correcting the side-splitting directly. Brush the top with buttermilk and scatter over the reserved cheese and flaky smoked salt.
STEP 7: BAKE STRAIGHT AWAY
Bake immediately for 30–40 minutes, until deep golden and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the base. If the cheese colours too fast, tent loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes.
STEP 8: COOL BEFORE CUTTING
Cool on a wire rack for at least 20–30 minutes. Soda bread finishes setting its crumb as it cools; cutting hot gives a gummy, dense interior — the opposite of what the fix is working toward. Best eaten the day it is baked.
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