Chocolate Sourdough Bread Recipe
Bake a chocolate sourdough loaf with cocoa powder, brown sugar, and chocolate chips using our Chocolate Whole Wheat Sourdough Starter. Use mature, active, bubbly starter for this recipe.
Ingredients
- 250 g unbleached all-purpose flour
- 100 g freshly ground whole wheat flour
- 125 g bread flour, or an additional 125 g unbleached all-purpose flour (375 g all-purpose flour total if substituting)
- 10 g salt
- 50 g brown sugar
- 50 g cocoa powder
- 100 g mature Chocolate Whole Wheat Sourdough Starter, active and bubbly
- 335 g warm water
- 125 g chocolate chips
Instructions
1. Feed the starter
Feed your chocolate sourdough starter 4–12 hours before mixing the dough, following its feeding instructions and preparing enough to use 100 g in this recipe. It should be very active and bubbly before you begin.
2. Mix and rest
In a large bowl, weigh out the flours, brown sugar, and cocoa powder. Mix well, keeping the salt and chocolate chips aside.
Add the warm water and active starter. Combine and rest for 30 minutes.
Sprinkle the salt over the dough. Mix with your hands for about 5 minutes until the dough comes together. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and rest for another 30 minutes.
3. Add the chocolate chips and fold
Add the chocolate chips and begin stretching and folding. Grab an edge of the dough, stretch it upward, and fold it into the center. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat, working around all four sides to complete one set.
Complete three sets at 15-minute intervals, beginning with the set when you add the chocolate chips. Then complete three more sets at 30-minute intervals.
4. Bulk ferment
Cover and let the dough bulk ferment until doubled in size. Timing depends on room temperature and how active and mature the starter is. I usually make this dough in the morning and let it rise throughout the day. Watch the dough rather than relying on the clock alone.
5. Preshape and rest
Shape the dough into a ball by spinning it and pulling it toward you several times. Leave it uncovered for 15–20 minutes so a skin can develop on the surface.
6. Final shape
Turn the dough onto a clean surface. Fold two opposite sides into the middle, then repeat with the other two sides. Place in a floured banneton or a bowl lined with a floured tea towel, seam-side up.
7. Second rise
Let rise for 1 hour at room temperature, or cover with plastic wrap and proof in the refrigerator for 12–15 hours.
8. Preheat and score
Preheat the oven and Dutch oven to 425°F for 1 hour. Use a Dutch oven and lid rated for this temperature, and follow the manufacturer’s instructions for empty preheating.
If you refrigerated the dough, remove it after the Dutch oven has preheated. Gently turn the dough out, remove the proofing towel if used, and dust the top with flour if desired. Score with a bread lame or sharp razor, keeping your fingers clear of the blade. Carefully transfer the dough into the hot Dutch oven using a suitable bread sling or parchment rated for the baking temperature.
9. Bake
Bake at 425°F for 20 minutes with the lid on. Carefully remove the lid using oven mitts, keeping clear of escaping steam, and bake for another 30 minutes.
10. Cool
Transfer the loaf to a cooling rack and let it cool completely before slicing.