Chocolate Sourdough Bread
Chocolate Sourdough Bread starts with a sourdough base and incorporates dark chocolate chips. This decadent bread makes excellent toast with various added toppings including butter, peanut butter, or a cinnamon sugar combo!
Servings 10 slices
Calories 237kcal
Ingredients
- 75 grams bubbly, active sourdough starter
- 375 grams warm filtered water
- 500 grams bread flour
- 10 grams fine sea salt
- 160 grams dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- ** READ the entire blog post with photos before making this recipe!
- Carefully measure out the water and sourdough starter in a mixing bowl, and stir well with a fork. Add the flour and sea salt, and stir again.75 grams bubbly, active sourdough starter, 375 grams warm filtered water, 500 grams bread flour, 10 grams fine sea salt
- Then use your hands to bring the ingredients together. It will look shaggy. Cover with a damp towel and let it sit for 45 minutes. (Be sure to set a timer.) This is the AUTOLYSE.
- After 45 minutes, add the chocolate chips. Then start the stretch and folds. Use your hand and lift the dough up on one side, stretching it upward, and then punch into the center of the dough. Turn the dough and repeat. Continue this process for about 30 seconds. This is the STRETCH AND FOLDS.160 grams dark chocolate chips
- You’ll want to try to get most of the chocolate chips in the center of the dough during this process. Form the dough into a smooth’ish ball, and place towel back in the bowl.
- ADDITIONAL STRETCH AND FOLDS: I recommend doing additional stretch and folds if time permits. Do these every 30 minutes for 3-4 more times to further develop the gluten structure.
- Let the dough rise for 6-8 hours, or overnight. It should almost double in size and appear soft on top. Small air bubbles may appear as well. This is the BULK RISE.
- Note: I recommend placing a damp towel on the dough for the overnight rise. You might also add a bit of oil to the top to keep a crust from forming on the dough overnight.
- Add a light dusting of flour to a baking mat or clean surface. Remove the dough to the mat and gently form into your desired shape, usually round or oblong. Don’t punch the dough down because you don’t want to remove all the air. Let dough sit for five minutes.
- After five minutes, use your hands to pull the dough toward you, dragging it along the mat to tighten it up. Repeat in the other directions to tighten. (Make sure you don’t have too much flour on the surface when tightening the dough, so there is some needed friction necessary to tighten it.)
- Place the dough, seem side up, in a bowl lined with a towel or a prepared banneton basket (pictured below). Cover with a damp towel and let it sit for about an hour or two. For this bread, it does not need to double again in size. This is the SECOND RISE.
- NOTE: For both the bowl or banneton basket, you’ll need to prepare them. For a bowl, add a thin tea towel dusted with rice flour (or regular flour will work in a pinch). For the basket, add some rice flour as well. The rice flour will help prevent sticking while regular flour may not do this as well.
- Prepare for baking. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Carefully remove the loaf to a piece of parchment paper, smooth side up. Then take a serrated edge knife or a bread lame (linked below), and score the bread a couple of times. Place the bread (including parchment paper) into a dutch oven.
- Bake. Add the lid to the pan and bake for 20 minutes. Then remove the lid and bake an additional 30-35 minutes, or until bread is nice and golden on top and bottom.
- Cool. Remove pan and then use parchment paper as handles to lift the bread out of the pan. Place on a cooling rack. Let the bread COMPLETELY COOL before slicing.
Notes
How we enjoy our chocolate sourdough:
- Toast it and add a slathering of butter and/or peanut butter (pictured below).
- Make a panini with peanut butter and banana slices.
- Use it as a base for French Toast.
- Toast it and add butter, cinnamon and sugar.
Nutrition
Calories: 237kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 0.2mg | Sodium: 406mg | Potassium: 151mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 3IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 1mg