How to Make Cheesy Garlic Sourdough French Bread

Looking for an extra special dinner bread recipe? Cheddar cheese and roasted garlic take this Sourdough French Bread to the next level!

Cheesy, garlicky goodness – sometimes you just need something a little extra, and this French bread recipe is just that! Yes, classic sourdough French bread is hard to beat…but never underestimate what sharp cheddar cheese and roasted garlic can do to a recipe!

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What I Love About This Recipe

Taste and texture. Crusty on the outside, soft on the inside. Not to mention, the rich savory flavor combination of roasted garlic and cheddar cheese plus the tanginess of sourdough is next level.

No fuss recipe. I could practically make this recipe in my sleep! Something that I love about sourdough is that it requires very little effort aside from planning the timing – each step takes just a few minutes and you’re on with your day! This recipe is no different.

Same-day bake. While I do love the delayed gratification of the sourdough process, I really love when I can start a recipe in the morning and have it ready for dinner that night.

Tools for Making Cheesy Garlic Sourdough French Bread

Another thing I love about sourdough – it requires very little in the way of gadgets and utensils. Sure, you can get fancy with it – but it’s not necessary to make a delicious loaf of bread.

Large mixing bowl and spoon

Kitchen scale

Baking sheet

Bench scraper

Ingredients

Water – room temp, filtered water

Leaven or active starter – not sure the difference? It’s basically the same thing, except a leaven is a separate portion of starter made just for the recipe you’re mixing. See below for how to make a leaven.

All purpose flour

Olive oil

Honey – you can also use sugar

Salt – my favorite salt is Redmond Real Salt

Sharp cheddar cheese – freshly shredded; do not use store bought shredded cheese.

Roasted garlic – see below for an easy way to roast garlic.

How to Make a Leaven for This Recipe

You should mix your leaven the night before if you plan on mixing the dough in the morning. Otherwise, allow around 6-8 hours for your leaven to become optimally active. It could be less if your kitchen is warm, but this timeframe is usually what works best for my starter.

Put simply, a leaven is just a separate jar of active starter, made specifically for a recipe. You use basically the entire leaven for the recipe, but you still have your starter in a separate jar. I have found that using a leaven is just easier for me to plan, and makes a nice strong starter, since you’re feeding a smaller portion a larger amount.

To make the leaven for this recipe, combine the following in a mason jar:

• 100 grams water
• 100 grams all purpose flour
• 20 grams active starter (this doesn’t have to be super active starter – it’s ok if your starter is ready to be fed. Just not discard)

Stir well, making sure the mixture is fully combined. It should be a thick paste. Cover with a towel or cloth and place in warm spot, like the top of your refrigerator. Your leaven is ready when it’s bubbly, puffed up and doubled (or nearly doubled) in size.

How to Roast Garlic

Roasting garlic is really simple. There’s a few ways you can do it, but this is my favorite.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the tops off the bulbs of garlic, just enough to expose the inner cloves. Drizzle a little olive oil on the top where you just cut, letting it soak into the cloves. Then, place the bulbs on a small baking sheet and pop in the oven. Roast for about 30 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant. Remove and let cool. Once cool, you can break apart the bulbs and peel the cloves.

Method for Making Cheesy Garlic Sourdough French Bread

Measure the 300 grams water in a large bowl, then whisk in the leaven. Add the flour, olive oil, and honey; mix until a shaggy dough forms. Cover and let rest 20-30 minutes (autolyse).

Add in the salt and 10-12 grams of water – the little bit of water here just helps the salt dissolve. Mix with your hand until the dough comes together, about 2 to 3 minutes. Cover and let rest another 30 minutes.

Perform one set of stretch and folds; cover and let rest 30 minutes.

To perform a stretch and fold: with a wet hand, grab one side of the dough and pull up, stretching the dough without breaking it. Fold it over onto itself. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and do another. Continue turning and folding until you’ve made your way around the bowl. One “round” or “set” of stretch and folds is usually four turns.

To the dough, add shredded cheddar and chopped garlic. Then proceed with the second round of stretch and folds. Don’t worry if the cheese and garlic isn’t fully incorporated yet. Cover and let rest another half hour.

Perform two more rounds of stretch and folds over the next hour, 30 minutes apart. By the last stretch and fold, the cheese and garlic should be pretty evenly distributed throughout the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly doubled. This should take around 3-6 hours, depending on the temperature of your kitchen.

Turn the dough out onto a clean surface. Divide in half, then let the dough rest a few minutes. Meanwhile, prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.

To shape the dough, gently stretch the dough into a rectangle. You can do this by grabbing one side of the dough and gently pulling it outwards as you wave it up and down, then repeating on all sides (this motion is kind of like waving a sheet to smooth it as you’re making a bed).

Then, roll the dough up into a loaf shape and pinch the seams. Place on baking sheet and brush the tops with olive oil. Cover and place in a warm spot, like the top of your refrigerator, to rise another 1-2 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Uncover and bake 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Serving Suggestions

This bread is delicious sliced cold with butter, but my favorite way to serve it is sliced in half longways and toasted in the oven with garlic butter.

It would also be a tasty variation for French bread pizzas, or for sandwich sliders.

If you try this recipe, let me know how it turns out below in the comments. Also, don’t forget to share. Thanks so much for reading!