Chocolate sourdough bread is a naturally leavened loaf with cocoa powder, espresso powder, brown sugar, and semisweet chocolate chips folded through a sourdough base. The crumb is airy with a light tang. The chocolate chips melt into pockets throughout.
This uses an active starter and an overnight bulk ferment. It takes time but the work is short. Most of it is waiting.
New to sourdough? Start with my sourdough starter guide to get your starter active before you try this loaf.
Why Chocolate Sourdough Works
Cocoa powder and espresso work together on the flavor. The cocoa gives the chocolate depth, and the espresso makes it taste even more chocolatey rather than like coffee. Paired with the chocolate chips, the loaf gets a deep chocolate flavor without the cocoa slowing the rise. More cocoa makes the dough heavy and harder to ferment.
Sugar slows fermentation. This loaf has brown sugar and granulated sugar. The sugars feed the starter but slow the rise. Expect it to move slower than a plain sourdough.
The chocolate chips go in by lamination, not by mixing. Stretching the dough into a rectangle and folding the chips in distributes them evenly without tearing the gluten you just built.
Two stretch and folds, one coil fold. That is all this dough needs. It builds enough strength without overworking it.
Cool it fully. Two hours before slicing. Chocolate chips stay molten inside a warm loaf. Cutting early gives you a gummy, tearing crumb and a mess of melted chocolate.
How to Make Chocolate Sourdough Bread
- Feed your starter 6 to 8 hours before mixing so it is bubbly and active.
- Combine the 150g active starter and 360g water in a large bowl. Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder, bread flour, and salt. Mix until no dry flour remains. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
- First stretch and fold. With a damp hand, lift one side of the dough until you feel resistance, then fold it over the center. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat around all four sides. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
- Second stretch and fold. Repeat around all four sides. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
- Laminate in the chocolate chips. Gently stretch the dough on a lightly dampened surface into a rectangle. Stop stretching where the dough resists. Scatter the 170g chocolate chips over the surface. Fold the dough in thirds, then fold again into a package. Return to the bowl.
- Rest 30 minutes, then coil fold. Slide damp hands under the center of the dough and lift so the ends tuck underneath. Rotate and repeat from the other direction. That is one set. Rest 30 minutes. If the dough still feels loose, do one more coil fold set. If it holds its shape, leave it.
- Bulk ferment undisturbed. This dough ferments slower than a plain loaf because of the sugar and cocoa. Wait for a 50 to 75 percent increase in volume, a puffed and aerated look, bubbles along the sides, a slightly domed surface, and a gentle jiggle when you move the bowl. Then shape.
- Shape into a boule, building surface tension without pressing out the gas. Place seam-side up in a floured banneton. Stitch the seam if needed.
- Refrigerate overnight, roughly 10 to 16 hours.
- Preheat a Dutch oven at 450°F for 30 minutes. Turn the dough out onto parchment, score it, and lower it into the Dutch oven.
- Bake covered at 450°F for 30 minutes. Uncover, reduce to 425°F, and bake about 15 minutes more.
- Check for doneness by internal temperature. Aim for 205 to 208°F in the center.
- Cool on a wire rack for a full 2 hours before slicing.
Make Ahead and Storage
The dough does the waiting for you. Mix the day before you want to bake. Bulk ferment, shape, and refrigerate overnight. Bake the next day.
Store the baked loaf cut-side down on a cutting board for the first day. After that, wrap loosely in a clean kitchen towel or paper bag. Avoid plastic for the crust; it softens it.
The loaf freezes well. Slice it first, freeze the slices in a freezer bag, and toast them straight from frozen.
More Sourdough Recipes
For more sourdough baking, browse my sourdough recipes. My sourdough bread for beginners is a good baseline if this is your first enriched loaf. For a savory loaf, try my Jalapeno Cheddar Sourdough.
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Sourdough Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 150 g active sourdough starter
- 360 g water
- 500 g bread flour
- 30 g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 55 g brown sugar
- 65 g granulated sugar
- 10 g salt
- 3 to 4 g espresso powder - about 1½ to 2 tsp
- 170 g semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
Feed the Sourdough Starter
- Several hours before making the dough, feed your sourdough starter so you have at least 150 grams of active starter for the recipe, plus a little left over to maintain it. For example, combine 35 grams starter, 70 grams water, and 70 grams bread flour. Stir well, mark the level on the jar, and leave it at room temperature until it has doubled in size and is bubbly and active.
- Let the starter rise until it has at least doubled and is bubbly and puffy, about 4 to 8 hours depending on your kitchen. Measure out 150 grams of active starter for the dough. Keep the rest to feed for your next bake.
Make the Dough
- In a large bowl, combine the active starter and water. Stir to dissolve.
- Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder, bread flour, and salt. Mix until no dry flour remains. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
Stretch and Folds
- First stretch and fold. With a damp hand, lift one side of the dough until you feel resistance, then fold it over the center. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat around all four sides. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
- Second stretch and fold. Repeat around all four sides. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
Lamination
- Laminate in the chocolate chips. Gently stretch the dough on a lightly dampened surface into a rectangle. Stop where the dough resists. Scatter the chocolate chips evenly over the surface. Fold the dough in thirds, then fold again into a package. Return to the bowl.
Rest
- Rest 30 minutes, then coil fold. Slide damp hands under the center of the dough and lift so the ends tuck underneath. Rotate and repeat from the other direction. That is one set. Rest 30 minutes. If the dough still feels loose, do one more coil fold set.
- Bulk ferment undisturbed until the dough has risen 50 to 75 percent, looks puffed and aerated, has bubbles along the sides, and jiggles when you move the bowl. This dough ferments slower than a plain loaf because of the sugar and cocoa.
Shape and Cold Ferment
- Shape into a boule, building surface tension without pressing out the gas. Place seam-side up in a floured banneton. Stitch the seam if needed.
- Refrigerate overnight, 10 to 16 hours.
Bake
- Preheat the oven and a Dutch oven at 450°F for 30 minutes. Turn the dough onto parchment, score it, and lower into the Dutch oven.
- Bake covered at 450°F for 30 minutes. Uncover, reduce to 425°F, and bake about 15 minutes more.
- The loaf is done when the center reads 205 to 208°F on a thermometer. Crust color will not tell you.
- Cool on a wire rack for a full 2 hours before slicing.
Notes
- Use an active starter. Feed it 6 to 8 hours before mixing.
- Weigh everything. Cocoa and sugar throw off the ratios if you use cups.
- Do not add more cocoa. It slows the rise and makes the dough dense.
- Fold the chips in gently so you do not tear the dough.
- This dough ferments slower than plain sourdough. Wait for the puffy, jiggly rise.
- Bake to temperature. Aim for 205 to 208°F in the center.
- Cool a full 2 hours. The chips stay molten inside a warm loaf.
- Store cut-side down the first day, then wrap in a towel. Slice and freeze.
Nutritional information is an estimate based on third-party calculations. Actual values may vary due to ingredients, measurements, and serving sizes.
© Mama Needs Cake
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Dana is an experienced recipe creator who crafts easy and delicious recipes for all levels of home cooks.
Her recipes range from classic comfort foods to healthy and nutritious meals, and she is always on the lookout for new and exciting ways to bring flavor and variety to the table.
