peanut butter and jelly. apples and cheddar. chocolate milk shakes and fries. these are the three iconic sweet savory duos from my american childhood.
as i’ve had the opportunity to travel and try new foods in the past 10 years, i’ve discovered a variety of other iconic sweet savory duos: tahini and date spread in israel, matcha and red bean in asia, guava and cream cheese in latin america — the inspiration behind this lovely loaf.
guava is a small tropical fruit, with a light green waxy exterior and a soft, seeded, pink interior, with a texture similar to a soft pear. guava paste tastes kinda like strawberry jam with a hint of pear, and is usually sold in rectangular brick form. thankfully, this makes it way easier to cube.
the savory from the cream cheese beautifully counteracts the sweetness from the guava, all of which is encompassed in a soft, fluffy bread.
best enjoyed on its own as a dessert, snack, or breakfast. be prepared to audibly react to the deliciousness. don’t sleep on this pro-tip: makes for an amazing base for french toast after a couple of days.
notes
i use king arthur bread flour, trader joe’s all purpose, bob’s red mill rye, and farmer ground flour einkorn. i got guava paste from food bazaar, but it’s also available on amazon.
please adjust your levain and bulk times for when your kitchen is colder or warmer, about 1 hour more during the winter and 1 hour less during the summer.
i’ve included a video of the lamination technique, using @fullproofbaking’s lamination method.
baker’s percentage & basic timetable
the percentages for water and flour only account for the final dough build, and do not include the levain formula build.
| ingredient | baker’s percentage |
| bread flour | 45% |
| all purpose flour | 45% |
| einkorn* flour | 5% |
| rye flour | 5% |
| water | 80% |
| salt | 2.5% |
| levain | 22% |
| guava paste | 30% |
| cream cheese | 30% |
| step | time |
| levain build | 7 hours |
| bulk rise | 8 hours |
| folds | 3 folds |
| cold proof | 14 – 18 hours |
| bake | 45 minutes |
*can sub einkorn for whole wheat
guava cream cheese sourdough
formula
- 20 g levain
- 20 g king arthur whole wheat flour
- 80 g king arthur all purpose flour
- 80 g water @ 85-90°F
- 200 g king arthur all purpose flour
- 200 g king arthur bread flour
- 20 g bob's red mill rye flour
- 20 g einkorn flour
- 345 g water @ 90-95°F
- 100 g levain
- 9 g sea salt
- 7 g additional water
- 130 g cream cheese cubed
- 130 g guava paste cubed
method
- refresh your starter using levain build formula and stiff starter method.
- in a separate large bowl, mix all flours together.
- slowly add the water, mixing with a rubber spatula, making sure to incorporate the water into the flour well, stopping when all the flour is hydrated. let sit, covered, for 30 minutes.
- sprinkle salt evenly over autolysed dough, and pour additional water over it to help the salt absorb. incorporate gently by folding dough over a 2-3 times.
- measure out the ripe starter, and add to bowl.
- mix using the pincer method, for about 6-7 minutes. target final temperature should be 78 degrees.
- this dough bulks for about 8 hrs during spring/fall, longer if your kitchen runs cool or during winter, and shorter if your kitchen runs warm or during the summer.
- this dough needs 3 stretch and folds, plus a round of lamination to incorporate the guava paste and cream cheese after the 1st fold, spaced about 45 minutes apart if possible. alternatively, you may also perform coil folds, at about the same cadence.
- cut cream cheese and guava paste into cubes of equal size, around 3/4 to 1 inch.
- perform lamination by first stretching dough like a pizza crust, and then spreading cream cheese and guava chunks evenly across the dough. fold into a rectangular shape.
- i like to shape these like boules. stretch and fold the dough onto itself, rotating in a circular motion like you are doing a regular stretch and fold.
- when it resembles a fist, flip it over onto itself. flour the top lightly, and then use both hands to drag the bottom about 6 inches to build in tension. this should result in a spherical, ball-like shape.
- lightly flour a lined bannetone or proofing baske. gently transfer the dough seam side up to the bannetone. cover with a plastic bag, and put in fridge overnight for 14-18 hrs.
- place dutch oven with lid on into the oven. pre-heat oven to 495°F for an hour.
- dough is proofed when it passes the finger dent test. remove bannetone from fridge.
- flip dough out of bannetone onto a cut piece of parchment paper.
- scoring is tricky with this loaf because of the lumpiness of the cream cheese and guava paste. i keep it simple with this loaf with just a single, vertical slash length wise, about 1/8" deep, and 1/4” away from both edges.
- transfer scored dough to dutch oven. decrease temperature to 485°F. with the lid on, bake for 30 minutes. then, decrease to 475°F and take the lid off. bake for another 15-20 minutes, or whenever the crust turns the color you like it (i go for a medium brown with this loaf).
- let this loaf cool on a wire rack (or something else that allows the air to circulate) for at least 2 hours before slicing.
This bread is delicious! It was a hit at work!
They just came out of the oven and are perfect. I made two 300 gram boules. Savory cream cheese with the sweet pockets of guava can’t be beat. I also put sesame seeds on the crust.