This double chocolate sourdough loaf is going to be your new go-to! It’s slightly sweet, loaded with chocolate, and makes great toast or even french toast. Imagine a brownie meets bread and it’s rich, dense, and beautiful. My kids absolutely loved this one and ate it for breakfast with just a slather of butter! It’s not overly sweet at all, just has a little hint of sweetness. It’ll become a new favorite! Hope you love it!
Some benefits of sourdough bread:
- It’s easier to digest than most breads. The long fermentation breaks down a lot of the starches, which means it’s already starting the digestion process for you. Also, it’s usually easier to digest even for those that are sensitive to gluten.
- It’s filled with probiotics and amazing nutrients. It has probiotics and lactic acid from the fermentation process. The probiotics are good for your gut and the lactic acid also helps you to break it down and digest it.
- It’s lower glycemic since it’s a fermented food. That means it doesn’t cause as much of a blood sugar spike when you eat it.
- It feeds our family and is cheaper than bread at the store! It’s also made with simpler ingredients. The base is just flour, water, sourdough starter, and sea salt. You can’t beat that!
- This double chocolate sourdough loaf is fun to use for toast, french toast, whatever you like!
What you need to make this double chocolate sourdough loaf + substitutions:
- Sourdough starter- Everyone has a different way of doing their sourdough starter. I feel like it can feel so overwhelming but it doesn’t have to be. I’ve always followed the same way and it has worked every time! I feed my starter equal parts. So I will usually empty my jar so there is 50g of starter in there. I’ll typically take the discard and put it in a separate jar and store it in the fridge to save for discard recipes. Then, I’ll add in 50g of all-purpose flour, and 50g of purified water. Mix it well and leave it on the counter to rise for about 8 hours before adding it into a recipe. If I’m baking often, I’ll leave it on the counter and just feed it everyday. If not, I’ll leave it in the fridge and feed it once a week or 6-12 hours before when I’m going to use it. My friend actually shared her starter with me and I’ve had it for almost 4 years. It’s been amazing! This is the one she bought!
- Water- Whenever I’m baking bread or feeding my sourdough starter, I use room temperature purified water. We actually have a Berkey water filter and LOVE it! So I just use my water straight from there.
- All-purpose flour- My favorite and go-to brand of flour is King Arthur. I buy organic when I can! I’ll usually buy the 5lb bag from Costco or I’ll use the Kirkland Organic all-purpose flour. Bread flour works for this recipe too, and will give you a chewier texture. It’s usually preferred, but it’s more expensive! All-purpose does the job just fine. Sourdough can be very specific so you wouldn’t want to use a gluten free, whole wheat, oat flour, or any other kind of flour. It will lend a very different result because of the way all the ingredients react together and I haven’t tested any other flours myself.
- Cocoa powder- An essential for this double chocolate sourdough loaf. You can use whatever kind is your favorite.
- Cane sugar- For the sugar, you can use regular sugar, light brown, or dark. Doesn’t matter.
- Vanilla extract- A key in any kind of baked good in my opinion.
- Sea salt- Our go-to sea salt is from Redmond always. We buy it in bulk from their website. It’s unrefined sea alt meaning that it still contains the beneficial trace minerals! It’s also pure and unprocessed with is the best. You can use the code daddioskitchen for 15% off on their website.
Equipment I used:
- Food Scale- I use this for all my sourdough recipes and for feeding my starter. It really comes in handy and is more precise for measuring. That’s why most recipes use it! Also it makes less dishes because you don’t need measuring cups. I love this one, but you can use any scale for this homemade artisan sourdough loaf.
- Banneton– Not all sourdough recipes call for a banneton, but when they are higher hydration (meaning there is more water in the dough so it’s softer, they do. I got this one and it works great. If you don’t have one, you can always use a bowl with tea towel or apron or something that’s thin like that!
- Dutch oven- I recently got this new dutch oven for bread baking and I am in love. It’s white with a gold top and so much more affordable than most. I love a Le Cresuet, because it’s beautiful and classic, and I usually use the one my mom passed down to me. However, this dutch oven works just as well and is beautiful!
- Thermometer- Another item that’s not required at all! We just already have one for all our meat but I’ve used it plenty of times for my bread to make sure it’s done. A good rule of thumb is making sure your bread reaches 200F inside when it’s done.
- Bench scraper- Having one of these is also super helpful. It makes it easy to shape your dough ball, to pick it up, and also to clean your countertop and scoop up stuff. It’s not required, but it gets well used in our kitchen. We use it for a ton of things like transferring chopped onions to a pot, etc.
- Dough hook- This is definitely not required, but I love my dough hook. I use it for mixing everything instead of a whisk, and it works wonders. I got mine from the Food Nanny, but hers are always sold out. Most sourdough recipes call for using your hands, so that works just fine too.
- Bread razor– This is the best to have to score your sourdough. Scoring the top helps the steam to release while the bread is cooking so it can rise well. I’ve used a sharp knife and it works too, but it doesn’t work nearly as well as this.
- Shower caps- Using a shower cap is my favorite hack for covering your bowl when you let the dough rest. Since the side is elastic it fits right over the bowl perfectly. I reuse mine a ton of times instead of using plastic wrap for this homemade artisan sourdough loaf.
- Weck jars- These are the best jars. One of my favorites and my personal preference when it comes to jars. I especially love it for my sourdough starter, because of the wide top and they’re so pretty.
- Bread bow- This is 100% not required but this is hands down the best way to cut bread! If you want your bread to cut easily and in more perfect slices a bread bow will be your best friend. It blows my mind how easily it cuts through my bread. I recently got this bread bow and it’s beautiful!
Sample Baking Schedule:
8pm (Night before)- Feed starter
9am- Mix dough
10am- Stretch & fold (1)
11am- Stretch & fold (2)
12pm- Stretch & fold (3)
12-4pm- Bulk rise on the counter
4pm- Pour out onto the counter, form into a ball, let rest 30 minutes.
4:30pm- Press into a rectangle, add the chocolate chips, push and pull into a ball and place upside down in a floured banneton. Place in the fridge for 12-24 hours until ready to bake!
8am- Preheat oven
8:30am- Bake!
Other sourdough recipes you will love:
Alright, let’s get to making the recipe! Enjoy!
Double Chocolate Sourdough Loaf
This double chocolate sourdough loaf is going to be your new go-to! It's slightly sweet, loaded with chocolate, and makes great toast or even french toast. Imagine a brownie meets bread and it's rich, dense, and beautiful. My kids absolutely loved this one and ate it for breakfast with just a slather of butter! It's not overly sweet at all, just has a little hint of sweetness. It'll become a new favorite! Hope you love it!
Servings 0
Ingredients
- 125 g sourdough starter fed & active
- 350 g water
- 7 g vanilla extract
- 475 g all-purpose flour
- 10 g sea salt
- 50 g brown or cane sugar
- 50 g cocoa powder
- 125 g chocolate chips
Instructions
Feed Starter:
- Feed your sourdough starter about 6-12 hours before you plan to use it. It’s usually ready earlier in the summer than winter. I always do equal parts so I’ll typically have 50g of starter in my jar and feed it 50g of all-purpose flour & 50g of filtered water. I usually feed mine the night before and then start the process in the morning.
Mix Bread:
- In a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients (except the chocolate chips) together. Mix well until you get a shaggy ball. I'll usually start mixing with my dough hook and then finishing mixing with my hands. Cover with a shower cap, plastic wrap, or a damp dish towel for 1 hour.
- After the hour is up, you're going to perform 3 sets of stretch of folds over about a 3 hour period. To start, perform the 1st set of stretch and folds. Take one side of the dough and pull it up and fold it over itself. Turn the bowl and do that on all 4 sides of the dough. Then cover and let it rest. You're going to do that again after another 30 min-1 hour. Whatever works best for your schedule. After the second one, wait another 30 min- 1 hour and then do the last (3rd) set of stretch and folds. This helps build tension in the dough and will give it a better rise. This step with take anywhere from 1.5 hours to 3 hours. In the summer, I'd do closer to 30 minutes and in the winter I usually like to let it go closer to an hour. Both work, but it also doesn't have to be on the dot. It's okay if it's a little over an hour.
Bulk Rise:
- Next, you’ll cover the bowl and leave the bread on the counter for it’s bulk rise! I’d let it rise anywhere from 3-5 hours until it’s risen a bit (it won’t double) and it has bubbles forming in the bottom of the bowl.
To Form a Ball:
- Next, dump your dough onto a floured surface. Gently form into a ball and let rest 20-30 minutes.
- Once it's rested, press your dough gently into a rectangle. Sprinkle about 1/2 of the chocolate chips over the dough and press them in. Then you're going to fold your dough over one side like a letter. Sprinkle more chocolate chips on top. Then fold the other side overtop of it so it looks like a long rectangle. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on that part and press them in.Then take your dough and roll it over itself so it's a cylinder.
- Then you're going to pinch the sides of the dough just a bit to help form the ball. Then you will push the dough away from you and pull it back, which creates tension in the dough. Do this about 3-5 times, but don't overdo it because you don't want the chocolate chips to rip the dough too much.
- Then you’re going to use a bench scraper to lift your dough ball and place it upside down in a floured banneton. (Or you can also use a bowl with a tea towel.)
- Pinch the dough on the bottom to make sure it’s tight. Cover your banneton and place it in the fridge to slowly rise for 12-24 hours.
Bake:
- When you’re ready to bake your bread, preheat your oven to 500F degrees with your dutch oven in there.
- Once it’s preheated, dump your dough out onto a piece of parchment paper. Score the top of your bread. Pick up your dough by grabbing the sides of the parchment paper and place it into the hot dutch oven. Cover the dutch oven.
- Turn the heat down to 450F degrees. Bake your bread covered for 20 minutes. Then uncover the top and cook for an additional 20-25 minutes until your bread reaches 200F degrees internally. Let rest 1 hour before slicing into your bread so it doesn’t get a gummy texture. Enjoy!!
Notes
For Storing: Store in a bread bag, plastic bag, etc on the counter for 2-3 days.
For Freezing: I find the bread stays best if you cut it into slices and freeze it in a ziploc or reusable plastic bag in the freezer. Just thaw a slice on the counter or reheat in your toaster!