I make sourdough pretty frequently simply because it’s nice to have around. (Fancy grilled cheese, anyone?) And one easy way to zhuzh it up? Cocoa powder.
A Little Background
Most chocolate Dutch oven sourdough recipes out there are heavily sweetened, which, hey, isn’t a bad thing. Sweetened chocolate sourdough with chocolate chips sprinkled throughout is amazing. But I was craving something simpler that could lean sweet or savory depending on what you pair it with. Enter: this recipe.
A note on the leavener. If you, like me, are a nervous nelly about the starter, I get it. That’s why I suggest adding about a quarter teaspoon of dried yeast just in case. But you can totally skip it if you’re feeling confident about your starter. (You can always do the float test to check!)
One other fun fact: See that pretty swirl? That’s all thanks to an unlined cane bread proofing basket that’s been heavily floured. (The flour transferred onto the bread when I turned it out onto the parchment.) So, if you don’t have a proofing basket—aka brotform basket or banneton—already, I highly recommend snagging one. They’re not expensive and rest beautifully inside other bowls.
The recipe’s just ahead. I can promise lots and lots of compliments.
Chocolate Dutch Oven Sourdough
Nutrition per portion
Ingredients
- 380 g bread flour
- 30 g cocoa powder
- 320 g water
- 80 g active sourdough started
- 8 g salt
- 1 g instant or active dry yeast (optional)
Method
- If you haven’t already, feed your starter. You’ll want to feed it 8 to 12 hours before you plan to mix all of the ingredients together.
- Add all ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Mix on low speed for a few minutes until all ingredients are incorporated. If using a dough mixer, you can mix the dough on low for 2 minutes.
- Let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Then, stretch and fold the dough over itself, repeating for about two minutes until the dough feels smooth. Transfer the dough to a large, lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming.
- Leave the dough to bulk ferment—either at room temperature for 4 to 7 hours, or in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours, until it is doubled in size.
- Lightly flour your work surface and flip the dough over onto the surface. Work the dough into a round ball shape using both hands. (I like to the "pinky edge" of both hands and drive them inward into a V shape, if that makes sense.) Transfer the dough to a well floured proofing basket with the seam side up for its final rise, 30 minutes to 1 hour, again covering the dough with plastic wrap.
- Thirty minutes before you are ready to bake your bread, preheat your oven to 500°F and place a cast-iron Dutch oven with the lid inside. Place a large piece of parchment paper over a cutting board.
- When you’re ready to bake, turn the dough out onto the parchment paper. (It can help to start with the bowl right-side-up, with the parchment paper and cutting board on top, and then flip the whole thing over until the dough falls onto the parchment.)
- Using a lame or scoring knife, gently score your bread at a 45-degree angle, cutting just below the surface of the dough. This allows gases to escape while the bread bakes and keeps it from cracking in unpredictable ways.
- Bake! Using oven mitts, quickly remove your Dutch oven from the oven while letting as little heat escape as possible. Lifting from the edges of the parchment paper, place your dough in the Dutch oven, add the lid, and bake it at 500°F for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, remove the lid and lower the temperature to 450°F. Continue baking for another 15 to 20 minutes. The bread is done when the internal temp is about 208°F to 210°F.
- Allow the bread to cool for at least one hour before slicing into it.
