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!