Cheesy Sourdough Bread (No Knead Batter Bread)
Cheesy sourdough bread is an easy way to enjoy homemade sourdough without shaping or complicated steps. This simple batter bread is made in one day using sourdough starter, half whole wheat flour, and your favorite hard cheese for rich flavor and a soft, tender crumb. It’s a simple, reliable loaf that fits easily into everyday baking and makes amazing toast.
✩ What readers are saying…
“Thank you for this lovely and simple sourdough recipe. I use this recipe often and it turns out excellently every time (today I’m trying it with a smoked cheddar and my house smells divine)!” -N
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A batter bread (a yeast bread that doesn’t require kneading or shaping) is a super simple way to make yeast and sourdough breads. Plus it’s a perfect way to make a loaf of bread with a young sourdough starter that maybe isn’t strong enough to raise a traditional loaf.
Turning your starter into this delicious cheesy sourdough bread is a great way to have another winning recipe that uses your sourdough starter right along with our favorite easy waffles, tender English muffins, and can’t-stop-eating-crackers.
Why the obsession interest in sourdough? I think it’s kind of like growing vegetables from seed – it’s that “I did it all by myself!” thing. Growing a starter and keeping it alive seems very similar to growing seeds and keeping them alive until harvest, don’t you think?
I keep my starter in the refrigerator and feed it the night before I want to bake with it to get it nice and active for the morning. I’m sure you’ll want to read more tips for using sourdough and my easy guide to all things sourdough because you’re going to want to try this easy bread!
My biggest tip with sourdough is: remember with sourdough, time is key, so start early and let the dough rise fully.
My family loves this cheesy sourdough batter bread so much that my kids started requesting it after the very first time I made it, so I’m sure your family will, too.
Ingredient Notes
- Flour: You can use all unbleached white flour or half whole wheat like I have written in the recipe card. Using all regular whole wheat will result in a heavy, dense loaf, however you may be able to use all white whole wheat which is lighter in texture.
- Cheese: We’ve found this best with a strong flavored cheese, like sharp cheddar or pepper jack or even parmesan. Some people have used grated cheese instead of cubed to have the cheese more evenly distributed.
- Sourdough starter: It’s best if your starter is 100% hydration and fully active. If you keep your starter dryer (as I now do because I get a more consistent rise), you will need to add a bit more water to your dough, a couple tablespoons up to 1/4 cup, depending (you want a stiff dough, but one that’s still batter-like and not like something you could knead).
Can I use sourdough discard?
While the recipe I adapted this from called for fully active starter, I have found that this is a bread that will do well with a new, less strong batter and also discard, though one that has shown some activity.
However, one commenter said they had “used cold discard (let sit on the counter for an hour or so before using) and Tillamook farmstyle thick cut cheddar. My bread didn’t rise as much as yours before going into the oven, but it sure did once it hit the heat. Fantastic flavor and we loved the texture (moist tender inside with crunchy crust).” So maybe yes to a cold discard?
How to Make Cheesy Sourdough Bread
Starter: Use an active starter or try your hand at using an active or even cold discard that you’ve let come to room temperature.
Step 1: In the morning of the day you will bake the bread, add all of the ingredients to the bowl of a large mixer and stir on medium speed for about 2 minutes, until thoroughly mixed.
What about autolyse (mixing the dough without the salt and letting it sit for a bit first)?
In the home baking I do, I’ve never noticed much of a difference between doing autolyse and not, so I don’t usually take the time anymore (especially because once I forgot to add the salt completely!).
Tools used: This is the Kitchenaid stand mixer I use for all my bread making and these are the metal measuring cups and spoons I prefer (SO much better than plastic!).
Step 2: Mix for another 5 minutes on low speed with a dough hook (I did have to add a couple tablespoons of water). Cover the mixing bowl for about 4 hours until doubled in volume.
Step 3: When the dough has doubled, add 1 to 2 cups of diced cheddar cheese and stir on low until the pieces are distributed throughout the dough.
CHEESE TIP: It’s cheesier with 2 cups, but you’ll need to bake the loaves with a cookie sheet under the pans, because the cheese will ooze over the sides. No oozing with 1 cup, but less cheesy…so I opt for 1.5 cups.
Step 4: Divide the dough evenly between two greased 8.5 x 4.5-inch loaf pans (they should fill about halfway). Cover and let rise for another 2 hours or so (the temperature of your kitchen may affect rise time).
Step 5: When the dough is at (or almost at) the top of the pans, heat the oven to 400 degrees and brush the tops of the loaves with oil (I’ve found this helps the loaves brown evenly).
TIP: Make sure all the cheese pieces on top are covered by a bit of dough to lessen the amount that will ooze out in the oven.
Tools used: I used reusable plastic “shower cap” covers like the ones here on Amazon for many years (literally had the same ones for almost 10 years documented here on the site!). However, when it came time to replace them I wanted something other than plastic so I now use a combo of beeswax bowl covers and homemade cloth covers with PLU lining similar to these (this is important because it’s this lining that holds in moisture so well like plastic does). You can just cover with a towel, but you will get a slightly hardened crust from air exposure. I actually prefer the PLU-lined covers for bread because even the beeswax cover lets enough air in that there is a slight crust on the top of the dough.
Step 6: Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, turning loaves as needed for even cooking, until nice and browned (and inside temperature is about 200 degrees). Let cool in the pans for a few minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.
Slice and serve! The melty cheese is nice when the loaf is warm, but it’s easier to cut when fully cool, so you get to choose.
TIP: can you see the difference between the loaves baked in metal pan vs. a glass pan in the top left photo? The dark metal pan browned the loaf closest to the camera much more evenly and created a nice crust. Lesson learned: metal loaf pans work best with this recipe.
You’ll want to serve this bread warm or toasted – it’s a soft, chewy, cheesy heaven.
But I really think it shines when it’s cooled and then toasted! It’s perfect with homemade tomato soup or simple, family pleasing chef’s salads, depending on the season.
Reader Raves
“Great recipe, Jami! Used cold discard (let sit on the counter for an hour or so before using) and Tillamook farmstyle thick cut cheddar. My bread didn’t rise as much as yours before going into the oven, but it sure did once it hit the heat. Fantastic flavor and we loved the texture (moist tender inside with crunchy crust). Grandkids wolfed it down!” -Norma
“I made this once and my family (and work family for 2nd loaf) loved it! I did decide to grate the cheese for the second time I made the recipe, the pockets were good but we prefer the cheese evenly distributed. Did one loaf sharp cheddar and one Romano with 2 TBSP everything seasoning! Was (past tense because it’s all gone) amazing!!!” -Jaime L.
“Wow! This turned out perfectly! I don’t have a big mixer so did it all by hand, I added an extra 90 grams (3 oz) of flour to make it less sticky to work by hand, also used all white unbleached all purpose flour…This is a new family and friends favourite! And toasted it is heavenly! Wish I could post a picture! Thankyou for the amazing recipe!” -Janet N.
I hope you love this bread like I do – please leave a review and rating to let me know!
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Cheesy Sourdough Bread (No Knead Batter Bread)
Equipment
- Two 8.5 x 4.5 inch metal loaf pans
Ingredients
- 2 cups sourdough starter (460g) (preferably active, but this bread can work with a new starter as well as a discard, just with slightly less rise)
- 1 cup water (230g)
- 1 cup lukewarm milk (230g)
- 1 tablespoons olive oil (14g)
- 1 tablespoons honey (23g) (or sugar)
- 2 ½ cups unbleached flour (345g)
- 2 ¼ cups whole wheat flour (325g) (if you can find white whole wheat, it's a bit lighter texture)
- 1 tablespoon salt (17g)
- 1 ½ cups diced sharp cheddar cheese* (200g) (or grated cheese, if you prefer)
Instructions
- The morning of the day you'd like to bake, add to a mixer bowl the active (fed the night before) sourdough starter, water, milk, oil, honey, and flours. Mix for about 2 minutes until everything is combined. Let sit for 15 minutes. (UPDATE: this is for an autolyse, which I don't do anymore – if you'd like you can simply mix all the above ingredients with the salt and then move to the next step right after mixing all together for a few minutes.)
- Add the salt (if you haven't) and mix with a dough hook for another 4-5 minutes. Cover the mixer bowl with plastic or something airtight and let rise until doubled, about 4 hours.
- When the dough has doubled, add the cheese and mix with the hook until distributed through the dough.
- Divide between two greased 8.5 x 4.5-inch loaf pans, pressing and smoothing the tops as needed (the pans should be filled halfway with the dough). Oil the tops and cover with plastic again to rise for 2 more hours or until the dough is at (or almost at) the top of the pans.
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees. When hot, bake the loaves for 30-40 minutes, turning as needed for even cooking, until browned and internal temperature is about 200 degrees.
- Cool for a few minutes in the pans before turning out onto a cooling rack. Serve warm or toasted.
Notes
Nutrition
I adapted this recipe from one I found in Discovering Sourdough Part 1, a wonderful ebook by Teresa Greenway that I recommend if you’re wanting more recipes using your starter.
More Sourdough Recipes to Try
- Easy Sourdough Lemon Bread – A Sourdough Discard Recipe
- Easy Sourdough Artisan Bread
- 35 Easy Sourdough Discard Recipes
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This recipe has been updated – it was originally published in 2011 and updated in 2018 and 2026.
Great recipe, Jami! Used cold discard (let sit on the counter for an hour or so before using) and Tillamook farmstyle thick cut cheddar. My bread didn’t rise as much as yours before going into the oven, but it sure did once it hit the heat. Fantastic flavor and we loved the texture (moist tender inside with crunchy crust). Grandkids wolfed it down! I made only one loaf thinking that would be plenty–ha!
Glad to know that worked with just an hour warming, Norma!
Yes, I always forget how good this simple recipe is. 🙂
Wow. I just made this bread for the third time and it is the best yet. I was worried because I had only cream not milk so added more water and used 10% cream – Half a cup. Used parm and old white cheddar cheese. I don’t have a mixer so hand-kneeded the dough. It came out. Absolutely. Perfect! Thank you!
I’m so glad you’ve discovered this easy, delicious recipe, Lisa – and your cheese combo sounds amazing!
Sorry–bad result. Problem with recipe when reduced to one loaf:
The ingredient list was reduced for #CUPS, but not changed for WEIGHT measures.
I only had ONE CUP of starter, so had to do a single loaf recipe. I was doing my measuring while trying to participate in an online class–bad idea, but necessary to allow for rising time needed. The result was a dough in the mixer that was not a “batter”, it was a stiff dough. So along with the salt addition, I added another half cup of water, hoping that would be the solution. The resulting batter did pour into the pan, but the bread had to bake for 65 minutes to reach 205 degrees. Even so, it is extremely heavy and dense, very wet and the crust is too hard to eat.
Apparently, I used the Weight measurement for the flour ingredient (I usually do), but Cup measure for the liquids…can’t be sure. If I try it again, I’ll make 2 loaves and not rely on any recalculations.
I do hope you get a chance to make it with the right measurements – it really is a good recipe. 🙂
This bread reminds me of the jalapeno/cheesy bread at Wegmans that I loooooove. So, I started the dough this morning and am excited to finish it later on! Quick question, though: how might the loaves change if I use bread flour instead of all-purpose?
I’m not sure as I’ve not used bread flour with this, but I think it would be similar.
Wow. I’ve made this bread many, many times successfully which is why it made it to the site. Others have also made it with good reviews. Wonder what you did wrong?
Wow! This turned out perfectly! I don’t have a big mixer so did it all by hand, I added an extra 90 grams (3 oz) of flour to make it less sticky to work by hand, also used all white unbleached all purpose flour. I upped the salt with an extra teaspoon, and I added chopped hot pickled jalapenos too. This is a new family and friends favourite! And toasted it is heavenly! Wish I could post a picture! Thankyou for the amazing recipe!
Sounds delicious, Janet – I’m glad you were able to make it work with hand mixing!
I made this once and my family (and work family for 2nd loaf) loved it! I did decide to grate the cheese for the second time I made the recipe, the pockets were good but we prefer the cheese evenly distributed. Did one loaf sharp cheddar and one Romano with 2 TBSP everything seasoning! Was (past tense because it’s all gone) amazing!!!
Nice – I love that variation, I’m going to have to try that!!
Could you make mini loaves to give as gifts? I’m not sure how long to bake them though. I have a pan from Wilton with 4 mini loaves (but honestly the dough/batter only 1/2 filled 3!
Hmmm, I would’ve thought it would easily fill all four pans since the recipe makes 2 loaves. Since they’re about half size, I’d start testing for doneness at the halfway mark and add more time in 5 minute increments.
Great recipe! I made a few modifications and my family is obsessed with this bread. I increased the cheese to one pound, and I use half cheddar/half pepper jack. I sub butter for the oil. And I cook it as a boule in my Dutch oven. I also do a few rounds of stretches and folds at the beginning of the bulk ferment stage as I found that this makes the dough easier to work with. I found that with my starter it takes more like 8 hours for the dough to double, so I let it sit overnight and bake in the morning. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Sounds wonderful, Samantha! I wondered how you got it into a boule shape as a batter bread – good tip. 🙂
Can I use all whole wheat flour as that is all I have now? How much flour should I use for one loaf?
You can try it, though the loaf will probably be a bit denser. I haven’t made just one – I’d halve all the ingredients if I were going to do that.
I only own one loaf pan, is it possible to halve the recipe?
Sure!
I was thinking you could follow the recipe, then divide the dough and freeze one for a later time. Just a thought…
Is whole wheat flour necessary? I can’t find it in stock at my local grocery store. Could I use all AP flour and have the same results?
No, you can use all purpose.
can this be made without a stand mixer? how long will it take to knead by hand?
This is basically a no-knead type of bread, so you can make it with a wooden spoon. It’s too wet to knead traditionally, so you’d have to mix with the spoon for the same amount of time. 🙂
Thanks 😊
Just wondering if you can store one of the uncooked loaves in the fridge for a day or two before baking? I’ve got them on their second rise now but would rather have fresh bread instead of a day old loaf!
Super easy recipe to make and I’m sure it will taste amazing (Chelsey bread…yum!!)
Thanks!
Courtney
Sourdough usually responds well to overnight in the fridge, but I’m not sure about a day (I’d definitely say not 2), though you can try it and see.
Thanks! I’m gonna make this all the time! It’s awesome!
🙂
Super easy to follow and a great way to use up extra culture…I am getting 4 containers of culture going for friends so I guess I’ll try the crackers tomorrow! [ 67 yr old biker guy that likes to bake ]
Love this – good for you. Thanks for the review!
This Bread recipe is very forgiven. I have made it 4 times now. The first time exactly as recipe called for except I used pepper-jack cheese. I have a convection oven and did not know that I needed to reduce my bake time by 10 mins. The bread was deeper brown but not burnt. and delicious!! The second time I added 8 oz package of grated pepper-jack and the cubed cheese. The third time I added some dehydrated Jalapeno peppers that I soaked in a little water. YUM!! The fourth time I forgot to add the milk! I added it into the dough any way and had to hand knead it in. Came out perfect!
Normally I add the milk to the hot water but this time I forgot it.
Yes, I love batter breads for this reason, too, Shelley. All your versions sound delicious!
Thank you for this lovely and simple sourdough recipe. I use this recipe often and it turns out excellently every time (today I’m trying it with a smoked cheddar and my house smells divine)!
That sounds wonderful! I’m so glad you like this recipe, too. 🙂
Hi Jami,
I tried your batter bread recipe & let it rise to the top
of the bread pan before putting it in the oven but was wondering
if after putting it in
the preheated oven the bread is suppose to continue rising.
My bread didn’t rise anymore after it was put in the oven. Is
this normal for a batter type bread? Just curious, as this is the
2nd batter recipe I have followed & the results were similar with
the bread not rising after it was put in the oven.
Thanks for any help on this that you can give me.
Helen
Yes, batter bread typically just goes to the top of the pan in my experience, so I guess it doesn’t rise after being in the oven. Hope you enjoyed the bread – we love it’s cheesy pockets!
Thanks Jami for getting back to me, now I know that I am baking the bread right. Actually I made your bread recipe without cheese. Added lemon extract, lemon zest, currants, & fennel seeds. It turned out amazing. Thanks again for your recipe
Goodness, that sounds wonderful – I’ll have to try that, Helen!
Hi Jami,
I was really surprised at how good the combination of fennel seeds, lemon & currants came out. I was thinking possibly that it would be a flop as I more or less just threw the ingredients together hoping I would remember the recipe after, which I did. I enjoy experimenting with different flavor combinations in bread.
This bread has a slightly sweet taste from the currants & honey, with bursts of tangy lemon & subtle licorice from the fennel seeds. Next time when I make this bread again, I may toast the fennel seeds in the oven at 250 for 10 minutes as this is suppose to bring out their aromatic oils. Also would like to experiment with reducing the white flour to more whole wheat flour. I am hoping to try a ratio of 1/3 cup white flour to 2 cup whole wheat flour. Don’t know if this will work for sourdough batter type bread or not? When I make my regular kneaded sourdough bread, I use only 1/2 cup of white flour to 3 cups whole wheat flour per loaf & it comes out wonderful.
Thank you for taking the time to leave your adaptations, Helen!