Chocolate Walnut Sourdough Bread Recipe

Chocolate Sourdough Bread is the perfect bread to make any day of the week. It's delicious and easy to make, and it can be used in so many ways! This sourdough loaf is not sweet, but still has a tangy flavor that will keep your taste buds happy.

4.27 from 19 votes

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 40

Ferment Time 18

Total Time 18 50

Ingredients

160 g active sourdough starter
245 g warm water
40 g granulated white sugar
330 g bread flour
30 g cocoa powder
1/2 tablespoon espresso powder
6 g coarse kosher salt
40 g chopped walnuts
70 g chocolate chunks

Instructions

Start The Dough:

Mix 160g of active and bubbly starter with 245g warm water and 40g granulated sugar in a large bowl, stirring well until mostly combined.
In a medium bowl, whisk together 330g bread flour, 30g dutch process cocoa powder, and 1/2 tablespoon espresso powder.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until a shaggy dough forms, then continue mixing with your hands or a bowl scraper until combined.

Rest + Fold:

Once the dough has been combined, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a shower cap and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes sprinkle 6 g salt on top of the dough and perform a series of stretches and folds: with wet hands, grab the dough and gently pull it until the flap is long enough to fold over itself, then fold the flap, rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat 4 times. Recover the bowl, and set it aside for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, and add 40g chopped walnuts and 70g chocolate chunks and perform the second set of stretch and folds to incorporate the inclusions. Allow to rest for another 30 minutes and perform 1 more set of stretch and folds, for a total of 3 sets.
After the final stretch and fold, rest the dough for 1 hour.

Preshape + Shape:

Lightly flour the work surface and use a bowl scraper to turn the double chocolate walnut sourdough out onto the floured surface. Try to get the smooth top part face down so that the sticky underside is on top facing you, this will make shaping the dough easier.
Fold the edges into the middle, alternating sides as though lacing the dough together. Then starting from the bottom, tightly roll the dough into a batard. Stop there if making a batard, or tuck the long ends underneath to create a boule.
Allow the dough to rest covered for 20 minutes.
Place your hands underneath the dough and using your pinkies, apply pressure to the dough and drag it along the work surface to increase surface tension in the dough. Avoid overtightening the dough because it may tear with the inclusions.
Dust the top of your boule or batard with rice flour, then use a bench scraper to pick up the dough, flip the dough, and place it upside down, or seam side up, into a banneton to prove.

Cold proof:

Cover the banneton with a reusable plastic bag and place it in the fridge. During the proving period, the dough will rise in the banneton, but due to the cool temperatures in the fridge, it won't be a marked difference.

Pre-heat oven:

Place your dutch oven, cloche, or desired baking dish in the oven and preheat to 450f.

Bake :

Once the oven is preheated, remove the dough from the fridge and invert the banneton onto a sheet of parchment paper.
Use a lame, sharp knife, or clean razor blade to score the dough, I usually like to make one deep curved slash when adding inclusions, but you can get as fancy as you like!
Carefully remove the dutch oven from the oven, and using the parchment paper as a sling, transfer the sourdough loaf from the counter into the dutch oven.
Bake the dough at 450f covered for 20 minutes and uncovered at 450f for 25-30 minutes, or until the loaf is cooked through. You can test the doneness of the loaf with an instant-read thermometer. Bread is cooked once it reaches 205 - 210 degrees Fahrenheit internal temperature

Cool:

Remove baked bread from the dutch oven and transfer it to a wire mesh cooling rack to cool completely before slicing. I like to leave it for at least 2 hours before slicing, as slicing too soon can affect the crumb and texture of your loaf.

Notes

Baker's schedule:

Day 1 -->

7:30 am: Feed your sourdough starter
1:00 pm: Mix up the dough.
3:30 pm: Stretch and fold process is complete.
4:00 pm: Pre-shape and shape dough, then slide it into a plastic bag and place in the fridge for up to 48 hours.

Day 2 -->

8:30 am: Set a dutch oven into the cold oven and preheat both together at 450f.
9:30 am: Flip the chocolate loaf onto a parchment paper square, score the top of the loaf then bake.

BATCH:

This recipe bakes a nice small loaf of chocolate bread. This is the perfect amount for our family of 4 to serve with breakfast for at least 2 days.

STORAGE:

If you've got leftover sourdough, you've got serious willpower!

Your boule can be kept cut side down on a cutting board for up to 18 hours before the crust becomes too crisp. I recommend transferring it to a bread bag once cooled.

Your sourdough loaf can also be frozen. To freeze, cool the loaf to room temperature, then tightly wrap in plastic wrap, slide it into a bread bag, seal it up and stick it in the freezer for 1-2 months. To use after freezing, remove the loaf from the freezer, unwrap and allow to come to room temperature (1 -2 hours) before slicing and enjoying.