Chocolate Marbled Sourdough Bread

This chocolate marbled sourdough bread is a chocolate lover’s dream. Soft on the inside, perfectly crusty on the outside, with a beautiful marbled crumb and melty chocolate in every bite. If you’ve never tried chocolate sourdough before, I promise you are going to fall in love. This is an irresistible loaf that you will want to make again and again!

Looking for more sourdough baking recipes? Check out my beginner sourdough bread, easy sourdough bagels, or sourdough croissants!

Adapted from my beginner sourdough bread recipe, chocolate marbled sourdough bread combines rich chocolate chips, cocoa powder, and a hint of sugar to create an irresistible loaf with the perfect chocolate flavor. Serve it warm out of the oven with butter and strawberry jam, or top it off with a whipped chocolate brown butter like I did in this video! 

To achieve the perfect chocolate marble swirl on the inside, this recipe uses a simple technique called lamination to combine the chocolate dough and plain dough into a single marbled dough. We’ll also include the chocolate chips at this stage as well. If you’ve never laminated before, dont’ worry! It’s a super simple process, and I’ll walk you through it step by step in the recipe below. Once you have the hang of it, you can use this technique to make all sorts of fun marbled sourdough breads! 

Why You’ll Love Chocolate Marbled Sourdough Bread Recipe

• Easy to make: This recipe comes together easily with a few simple ingredients, like flour, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips. With little hands-on time and a flexible cold-proof step, the baking schedule can be tailored to best suit your lifestyle!
• DOUBLE chocolate: This bread goes all in on chocolate—cocoa in the dough, chips in every bite. It’s rich, perfectly chocolatey, and totally impossible to resist.
• Sourdough: This recipe uses active sourdough starter (instead of yeast). A long, natural fermentation creates a deeply flavorful loaf, soft on the inside, with a perfect crust. Plus, you get all the gut-healthy benefits of sourdough! 
• Perfect for toppings: The best part! Top it off with butter and strawberry jam, or something extra special like whipped chocolate brown butter. However you serve it, this chocolate marbled sourdough bread recipe is going to be an instant favorite in your home. 
• Beautifully marbled: The technique used to marble the dough results in a pretty chocolate ribbon throughout the crust.

This decadent chocolate marbled bread comes together easily in just 15 minutes. All you need is a handful of simple ingredients, like flour, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips. It’s the perfect loaf for brunch, breakfast, or a sweet treat any time of day!

Watch My Chocolate Marbled Sourdough Bread Video

Ingredients for Chocolate Marbled Sourdough Bread

Here’s all of the ingredients you’ll need to make this chocolate marbled sourdough bread recipe!

• Flour: A high-protein flour is best for baking sourdough bread (I like to use King Arthur’s Bread Flour). I also use a little bit of whole wheat flour for added flavor and nutrition.
• Cocoa powder: Cocoa powder gives the chocolate dough its rich flavor and chocolatey color. 
• Chocolate chips: I like using dark chocolate chips, but any chocolate chips will do!
• Sugar: You can use Brown sugar, granulated sugar, or even honey or maple syrup. This gives the chocolate dough a little extra hint of sweetness. 
• Water: The water quantities vary ever so slightly between the two loaves. This is because the cacao powder in the chocolate dough affects the hydration level. 
• Salt: Essential for flavor and helps control the fermentation process. 
• Sourdough starter: Make sure to use active sourdough starter for this recipe!

How to Make Chocolate Marbled Sourdough Bread

This chocolate marbled sourdough bread requires very little hands-on time and comes together easily with just a few simple ingredients.

Day 1: Mix the bread dough and first rise:

1. Mix the plain dough: In a large mixing bowl, add the water and sourdough starter and whisk together until combined. Pour in the flour and salt and mix together until a dough forms and no dry patches remain. 
2. Mix the chocolate dough: In a separate bowl, add the sourdough starter and water and whisk together. Add the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and sugar and mix together to form a dough. Cover both doughs and let them rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. 
3. First rise (bulk fermentation): Let the dough rest for four to six hours at room temperature until it increases in volume by roughly 50%. Perform 3 sets of stretch and folds starting at the 30-minute mark, with 60 minutes in between each stretch and fold. The lamination step replaces one stretch and fold, so you’ll be performing a total of 3 stretch and folds and one lamination step during the bulk fermentation. 
4. Perform the first stretch and fold: Stretch and fold each dough separately and then cover and let rest for 60 minutes. 
5. Laminate the dough: After the doughs have rested for 60 minutes, combine the two doughs and add the chocolate chips through a process called lamination. Start by stretching out the plain dough into a thin ¼’’ sheet. Repeat this process with the chocolate dough and layer it on top of the plain dough. Now sprinkle the chocolate chips and fold up the dough into a package, and place it into a bowl. Cover and let rest until the next round of stretch and folds. 
6. Shape the dough: Gently coax the dough out of the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface. Start by shaping your dough into a rough rectangle. Take the bottom third of the dough and fold it up toward the center. Now, working from the bottom corners, fold in the lower left side toward the middle, then do the same with the lower right side so it slightly overlaps the left—this creates a neat, layered fold. Next, bring the top edge of the dough down just past the center line. Finally, fold the bottom edge up and over the top. Flip the dough over so the seam is underneath. With lightly floured hands, use a gentle pulling motion to round and tighten the dough into a smooth ball. Use a bench scraper to lift up the dough and place it in a lightly floured, cloth-lined proofing basket with the seam side of the dough facing up.
7. Proof (second rise): Cover the dough and place in the fridge to cold proof overnight or up to 48 hours. I typically like to cold proof my doughs for at least 12 hours so develop flavor and texture and allow the fermentation process to work its magic and unlock all of the gut healthy benefits of sourdough! The longer the dough ferments, the more time the bacteria and yeasts in the sourdough starter have to release vitamins and minerals, increase the fiber content, break down gluten, and enhance the overall nutrition and digestability of the flour. 

Day 2: Score and bake the bread!

1. Preheat oven: Place the Dutch oven with the lid on in your oven and preheat at 500°F for 30 minutes to 1 hour. 
2. Score: Place your dough onto a sheet of parchment paper with the seam side down and score a straight line across the top or around one side of the dough. 
3. Bake: Using the parchment paper, place the dough into your preheated Dutch oven and bake for 30 minutes at 500°F. Remove the lid, lower the temp, and continue baking for another 15 minutes, until he bread is a deep golden brown or the internal temp is at 208- 210F. Allow the bread to fully cool (at least 1 hour) before slicing. 
4. Enjoy! Serve your delicious chocolate sourdough bread warm with your favorite topping! I love butter and jam.

Sample Baking Schedule

Here’s a sample baking schedule that I like to follow when planning to bake bread on a Saturday morning. The cold proof step (overnight rise) can always be extended if it better suits your schedule!

• Thursday Evening (8 PM): Feed your sourdough starter. 
• Friday Morning (7:30 AM): Mix the dough and let it rise. 
• Friday Afternoon/Evening (4:30 PM): Transfer the dough to the fridge for the cold proof/overnight rise. 
• Saturday Morning (8:00 AM) Score and bake the bread!

How to Laminate Sourdough

Sourdough lamination is a technique that’s used to help build gluten and add inclusions to bread dough, like cheese, dried fruit, olives, chocolate chips, and more. This process involves stretching out the dough into a thin rectangle, roughly ¼’’ thick. At this point, the additional ingredients are added, and then the dough is folded back up into a neat package with everything incorporated. Lamination can also be used to combine two doughs to create one single marbled dough with ribbons of color on the inside.

Here’s how to laminate your doughs, step by step.

• Stretch the plain dough: Start by lightly misting a clean work surface with water to prevent sticking. Place the plain dough in the center and, with damp hands, gently stretch it outward from each side to form a thin, even sheet about ¼ inch thick.
•  Stretch the chocolate dough: Now, repeat this process from the previous step with the chocolate dough.  
• Combine the doughs: Carefully layer the chocolate dough over the plain dough. 
• Add chocolate chips: Scatter the chocolate chips over the sheet of dough.
• Fold it up: Bring one side of the dough toward the center, then fold the opposite side over it, creating a long rectangle. Starting from the bottom edge, roll the dough up into a snug package. Return it to the bowl, cover, and let it rest for 60 minutes before the next round of stretch and folds.

Is Sourdough Bread Healthier?

Yes, sourdough bread is considered healthier than conventional bread thanks to its natural fermentation process. During fermentation, wild yeast and bacteria break down gluten and phytic acid, making the bread easier to digest and gentler on the gut, especially for those with gluten sensitivities (though it’s not gluten-free). This process also lowers the glycemic index of the bread, leading to a slower rise in blood sugar compared to typical yeasted bread. On top of that, fermentation helps unlock important minerals like iron, magnesium, and zinc so that they are bioavailable and easily absorbed by the body. All in all, sourdough bread is gut-healthy and nutritious!

What Equipment Do I Need?

All you really need to bake bread at home is sourdough starter, salt, flour, and water. That said, here is a list of equipment I like to use for bread baking! You don’t need everything that’s on here, and in many cases, you can get by with items you already have at home.

• Mixing Bowls: You’ll need multiple bowls for mixing ingredients and proofing the two doughs in this recipe.
• Dutch Oven or Cast Iron: A cast iron or enameled Dutch oven with a lid creates the perfect steam environment for baking sourdough. This is essential for a proper rise and a nice crispy crust!
• Banneton Basket: This is a proofing basket that helps shape the dough and gives it those characteristic ridges. You can also use a cloth-lined bowl if you don’t have a banneton.
• Parchment Paper: A piece of parchment paper makes it easier to transfer the dough into the Dutch oven.
• Dough Scraper: Helps you handle the dough more easily, and can be used in the shaping process. This is particularly helpful if the dough sticks to your work surface.
• Sharp Knife or Scoring Blade: A scoring blade (aka bread lame) is best for scoring your dough so that it rises properly and develops a nice “ear,” which is what bakers call the flap of crust that forms on scored bread.

If You Love This Chocolate Marbled Sourdough Bread, Try These Recipes Next:

• Brioche Sourdough Buns
• Chocolate Chip Sourdough Bread
• How to Make Sourdough Croissants
• Blackberry Sourdough Bagels
• Strawberry Sourdough Croissants