Calabrian Chili & Cheddar Sourdough

Calabrian chilis from southern Italy have a heat that's different from other hot peppers. It's fruity and rounded, building slowly rather than spiking immediately. Combined with sharp cheddar and the tang of sourdough, this loaf has become one of the most requested things I make.

It disappears fast. People who say they don't like spicy food eat two slices and ask what's in it.

Formula

Ingredient	Weight	Baker's %
Bread flour	450g	90%
Whole wheat flour	50g	10%
Water	385g	77%
Starter (active)	100g	20%
Fine sea salt	9g	1.8%
Sharp cheddar, small dice	100g	—
Calabrian chili paste	2 tbsp (~30g)	—
Smoked paprika	1/2 tsp	—

Salt is dropped to 1.8% because aged cheddar is already quite salty and you don't want to overdo it.

The Cheddar

Use a proper sharp cheddar, aged at least 12 months, ideally 18. Extra-sharp if you can find it. The intensity matters because the sourdough tang and chili both have strong personalities. A mild cheddar simply disappears.

Cut into small dice (roughly 1cm cubes) rather than grating. Grated cheddar melts completely into the crumb and loses its pockets. Small cubes create defined molten areas when hot and glossy, yielding cheese pockets when cooled.

The Calabrian Chili Paste

Calabrian chili paste (also labeled as peperoncino calabrese) is available at Italian grocery stores and increasingly at good supermarkets. It's a red, oil-based paste with a fruity heat and deep red color.

Two tablespoons gives a warm, persistent heat. For a milder version, reduce to one tablespoon. For genuine heat, increase to three, but this changes the character of the loaf significantly and it won't be for everyone.

Don't substitute with sriracha or generic hot sauce. The fruity, olive oil-based Calabrian paste behaves differently and contributes a very different flavour.

Mixing

Mix your dough as normal. Before lamination, stir the Calabrian chili paste and smoked paprika together in a small bowl.

Lamination

30 to 45 minutes into bulk fermentation, stretch the dough to a thin rectangle on a wet surface. Dot the chili paste mixture across the surface and use your fingers to spread it gently, leaving a 2cm border on each side. Scatter the cheddar cubes evenly, then fold and return to the bowl.

The chili paste will begin to tint the dough a reddish-orange color as bulk fermentation progresses. That's exactly what you want.

Bulk Fermentation

Keep an eye on this one. The chili paste can slightly slow yeast activity at higher concentrations, so be prepared for the bulk to run a bit longer than usual, up to 6 hours instead of 5.

Shaping and Baking

Shape the same way you would any sourdough. The dough will be a warm orange-red throughout by the time you're ready.

Standard Dutch oven bake. The exterior will pick up more color than a plain loaf because of the chili paste on the surface. Watch the last 10 minutes of uncovered baking to make sure it doesn't go past deeply bronzed.

Serving

This loaf doesn't need much. A slice warm from a rested loaf is already complete. For occasions when you want to push it further, try it alongside a bowl of roasted tomato soup, as the base for a fried egg with hot honey, with a smear of cream cheese, or toasted and rubbed with a cut garlic clove.

It's also remarkable cold. The chili heat mellows slightly after a day, the cheddar firms back up, and the whole loaf becomes denser and more cohesive. Cold slice, thin smear of butter. That's it.