Sweet Hot Jalapeno Tear-Away Bread

The original recipe that inspired my Sweet Hot Jalapeno Tear-Away Bread called for pickled jalapeno peppers and a loaf of sourdough bread. Turns out, I didn't have either on hand when I decided to make it.

  

I did have a frozen loaf of Italian bread. So I thawed it and let it rise, baked it and used it as my bread round. In retrospect, I would recommend a "harder" crust bread, such as a sourdough or white round of bread. My Italian bread smooshed down too much when I started slicing it (which you will also see). But I still had to post the pictures of the bread rising and how yummy it looked after I cooked it. And, even though it didn't hold up as strongly as a much heartier bread, the end result, though perhaps not as pretty, still tasted awesome. So, choose your bread as you will. (And if you don’t like this recipe, just butter up this loaf of bread and go sit down somewhere!). 

I couldn't believe that I didn't have a jar of hot pickled jalapeno peppers in the pantry, since they are a main staple in this house. But, I did have a jar of the (new) Mrs. Renfro's Sweet & Hot Jalapeno Peppers. If you are one of those people that is afraid of the heat of jalapeno peppers, you absolutely need to try these. They taste like bread and butter pickles, with just a bit of heat. I am not a product endorser, and I don't work for Mrs. Renfro, but, I might just let her know that she is now part of my blog. These peppers are so sweet and so delicious and they make a great addition to the tear-away bread. If you can't find them in your store, let me know. I'll personally call Mrs. Renfro for you and tell her to get them to your area. If you prefer your peppers hotter, feel free to use regular hot pickled jalapeno peppers.  But let me just say, these sweet & hot jalapenos are the bomb!

This is the first time I've made this recipe, and I learned a few things along the way. You will see by the directions that you should spread the cream cheese, and then spread the jalapenos and then spread the bacon pieces, into each cut of the bread. In retrospect, I would recommend that you add the jalapeno pieces and the bacon pieces into your cream cheese mixture, and then spread it. (Then proceed with the shredded cheese addition). This will save you tons of time. The recipe, however, does not include this short cut, because I wanted to show how I really did it, as indicated in the pictures.

The last thing I can say about this recipe is that there is a reason why I placed it under "Food that you'll love but you may not want to eat if your cholesterol is high". It is a delicious recipe, loaded with cheese, bacon and more cheese, but, don't eat too much of it in one sitting. Because it will definitely clog your arteries! If you make it, you might want to share it with a crowd. Otherwise, you may end up eating the entire loaf yourself! 

Now, let's get started!

Slice your bread into a crisscross pattern, as indicated in the recipe directions. Once you have sliced your bread and mixed up your cream cheese, spread the cream cheese mix in between the cuts of bread, then add the jalapenos, and then the bacon. Spread the cuts of bread apart with your fingers each time, to ensure that all of your ingredients get down in between the bread cuts.

Now add your shredded cheese, again spreading the cuts of bread apart so that the cheese gets down in between. Be sure to save some cheese to sprinkle over the top.

When your bread is ready, wrap it in foil, sealing it tightly. Be sure to tent the top, however, so that your foil doesn't steal all of the melted cheese off the bread.

Bake according to directions, and this is what you'll get!

Now comes the fun part...begin tearing it apart...

Look at all of that yummy, gooey, cheesy, bacon, sweet hot jalapeno deliciousness!

As my hubby always says, "it's so good it'll make you want to smack your granny"!

Just don't forget to share it...

Sweet Hot Jalapeño Tear-Away Bread

Ingredients
16 oz. round white or sourdough loaf, unsliced
12 oz. cream cheese softened
4 tbsp. juice from a jar of Mrs. Renfro’s (new) Sweet & Hot Jalapeno Peppers
2 tsp. garlic powder
½ c. cup diced Mrs. Renfro’s (new) Sweet & Hot Jalapeno Peppers
4 slices cooked bacon, chopped (pepper bacon preferred)
½ c. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

½ c. Velveeta cheese, shredded

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut the bread going in both directions without cutting all the way through to the bottom, so that you end up with a checkerboard pattern of cuts.

Place the loaf of bread on a large sheet (or sheets) of foil; large enough to (eventually) enclose the entire loaf of bread.

Place the bread (on foil) onto a baking sheet.
In a large bowl, mix the softened cream cheese, jalapeño pepper juice and garlic powder.

Using a knife or spreader, spread the cream cheese mixture in between the cuts of bread.

(I found that the best way to do this is to load up your spreader and distribute your cream cheese onto both sides of each section that you are spreading. This will save you some time).

Sprinkle diced jalapeño peppers onto bread, spreading the cuts of bread apart to get the peppers in between.

Sprinkle chopped bacon on the bread, spreading the cuts of bread apart to get the bacon pieces in between.

Sprinkle the shredded cheese on the bread, spreading the cuts of bread apart to get the cheese in between.

Top the bread with any remaining shredded cheese.
Wrap the prepared bread in foil, tenting the foil so that it doesn’t stick to the top of the bread.

Bake bread for 15 minutes or until the insides are melting.

Open the foil and lay it back to expose the bread.

Bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Serve hot.