Chocolate Marbled Sourdough Bread
This chocolate marbled sourdough bread is extra soft on the inside, filled with melty chocolate chips, and layered with a gorgeous chocolate marbling throughout. It’s decadent, easy to make, and might be the most delicious loaf you’ve ever had!
Ingredients
Plain Dough
- 250 g (2 cups plus 1 tablespoon) bread flour Optional: If you'd like to incorporate whole wheat flour, instead use 225 grams (1 and ¾ cups) bread flour and 25g (⅓ cup) whole wheat flour. This adds additional flavor and color to your dough.
- 50 g (¼ cup) sourdough starter
- 190 g (¾ cup and 2 teaspoons) water
- 5 g (1 teaspoon) salt
Chocolate Dough
- 250 g (2 cups plus 1 tablespoon) bread flour Optional: If you'd like to incorporate whole wheat flour, instead use 225 grams (1 and ¾ cups) bread flour and 25g (⅓ cup) whole wheat flour. This adds additional flavor and color to your dough.
- 50 g (¼ cup) sourdough starter
- 176 g (¾ cups )water
- 25 g (¼ cup) cocoa powder
- 25 g (2 tablespoon) sugar Cane sugar, coconut sugar, brown sugar, or your preferred sweetener of choice.
- 5 g (1 teaspoon) salt
Additional Ingredients
- 175 g (1 cup) chocolate chips
Instructions
- Make the plain dough: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sourdough starter and water. Add the flour and salt and mix together until a dough forms and no dry patches remain. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.250 g (2 cups plus 1 tablespoon) bread flour, 190 g (¾ cup and 2 teaspoons) water, 5 g (1 teaspoon) salt, 50 g (¼ cup) sourdough starter
- Make the chocolate dough: In a separate bowl, whisk together the starter, water, and sugar. Add the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt and mix together until a dough forms and no dry patches remain. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.250 g (2 cups plus 1 tablespoon) bread flour, 50 g (¼ cup) sourdough starter, 176 g (¾ cups )water, 25 g (¼ cup) cocoa powder, 25 g (2 tablespoon) sugar
- First rise (bulk fermentation): Let the dough rise at room temperature for 4 to 6 hours, performing the stretch and folds and lamination process outlined below to combine the two doughs and add chocolate chips. Depending on the temperature of your home and the strength of your starter, your dough may need more time to ferment. The dough is ready when it has increased in volume by roughly 50% and has air bubbles on top and visible bubbles on the bottom of the dough (this is only visible if you’re proofing in a transparent container).
- First stretch and fold: Once both doughs have rested for 30 minutes, perform your first set of stretch and folds on each dough. To perform one set of stretch and folds: Start by splashing some water on your hands so they are damp. Then, grab one side of the dough with your hand, stretch it up and fold it all the way over the other side of the dough. Rotate the bowl and repeat this process with the next side. Once you've completed this process with all four sides, cover the dough.
- Combine the two doughs (sourdough lamination): Once both doughs have rested for 60 minutes after the first stretch and fold, combine both doughs through a process called lamination. Lamination is the process of stretching out the dough and then folding it up. This is a great way to add inclusions in sourdough baking (like chocolate chips, cheese, dried fruit, nuts, etc), and we will be using this technique to create our marbled dough. How to laminate chocolate marbled sourdough bread:1) Make sure you have a large clean work surface to start with. Spray some water on your surface and place both doughs down. With lightly dampened hands, stretch out the plain white dough into a thin square that is roughly ¼ inch thick. Repeat this process with the chocolate dough so that both doughs are equal-sized squares. 2) Lay the chocolate dough on top of the white dough. 3) Pour on the chocolate chips and spread them across the dough. 4) Now, grab one side of the dough and fold the entire half over so that it lines up with the center of the square. Grab the other side of the dough and fold it over the first side. To form a narrow rectangle. At this point, the chocolate dough and chocolate chips should be enclosed by the white dough. Starting at the base, roll the dough up into a package and place it back in the bowl. Cover the dough and let it rest for 60 minutes.175 g (1 cup) chocolate chips
- Final to stretch and folds: Perform two more sets of stretch and folds, spaced out by 60 minutes each. This with further marble the dough and incorporate the chocolate chips.
- Shape the dough: Line your proofing basket or bowl and lightly dust with flour. Next, lightly flour your work surface and carefully turn your dough out onto the surface. Gently shape dough into a rectangle shape. Grab the bottom side of the dough and fold it up over the middle to form a one-third fold. Next, fold the entire left side of the dough towards the center of the rectangle, and then repeat this process with the right side of the dough so that it slightly overlaps the left. Now, grab the top side of the rectangle and fold it down to the middle of the dough so that it’s just beyond the midline point. Grab the bottom of the dough and fold it over the top and flip the dough so that the entire seam is against the table. With floured hands, gently round the dough into a ball, dragging it against the work surface to tighten it up and form a nice, taught round shape. Use your dough scraper to lift up the dough and place it into the lightly floured and lined proofing basket with the seam side facing up
- Proof the dough (second rise): Cover the dough and place it in the fridge overnight or up to 48 hours. I like to let this dough proof for at least 12 hours to help develop flavor, improve the crumb, and enhance the nutrition of the bread. A long cold proof allows time for the sourdough starter to work
- Preheat oven and Dutch oven: The next day, or whenever you’re ready to bake, place your Dutch oven with the lid on in your oven and preheat to 500F (260C) for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Score the bread: Once your Dutch oven is preheated, remove the dough from the refrigerator. Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the dough against the seam, and turn the dough out onto the parchment paper. Using a scoring knife of sharp, small knife, slice the bread at a 45-degree angle, cutting just below the skin that has formed on the outer layer. I typically like to do one long score across 1 side of the dough, but you can also get creative with your scoring technique!
- Bake: Remove your Dutch oven from the oven and take off the lid. Using the edges of the parchment paper, lift your dough and place it inside the dough oven. Add the lid and bake at 500°F for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the lid, lower the temp to 450°F, and continue baking for another 10- 15 minutes. The bread is done when the crust is a beautiful golden brown and the internal temp is roughly 208F - 210F. Remove the bread from the Dutch oven and let it cool completely (1 - 2 hours) before slicing.
- Enjoy! Serve your delicious chocolate marbled sourdough bread with your favorite toppings, like butter and jam, whipped chocolate brown butter, or maybe some mascarpone!