Easy Chocolate Sourdough Bread with Fresh Milled Flour
This fresh milled flour chocolate sourdough bread is rich, chewy, and filled with gooey chocolate chips. Made with a blend of 75% freshly milled hard white wheat and 25% all-purpose flour, this easy chocolate sourdough recipe creates a beautiful artisan boule with incredible oven spring and deep chocolate flavor.
Ingredients
- 50 g Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 100 g hot water
- 150 g active sourdough starter
- 350 g room temperature water
- 50 - 60 g brown sugar
- 10 g sea salt
- 13 g vanilla extract
- 375 g freshly milled hard white wheat flour
- 125 g all-purpose flour
- 130 g semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
Bloom the Cocoa
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and the 100 g of hot water until smooth. Let cool for 1–2 minutes.
Mix the Dough
- Add the sourdough starter, room temperature water, brown sugar, sea salt, and vanilla. Whisk until combined.
- Add the freshly milled hard white wheat flour and all-purpose flour. Mix until no dry flour remains.
Rest the Dough
- Cover and let the dough rest for 1 hour.
- The dough will be sticky because of the sugar. This rest allows the fresh milled flour to absorb the water and begins gluten development.
Stretch and Folds
- Perform 4 sets of stretch and folds, spacing each set about 30–45 minutes apart.
Add Chocolate Chips
- During the third stretch and fold, gently work the chocolate chips into the dough.
- Continue folding gently until the chocolate chips are evenly distributed.
Bulk Fermentation
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled Cambro container.
- Allow the dough to bulk ferment until it has roughly doubled in size.
- Using a clear Cambro container makes it much easier to see when the dough has finished fermenting.
Shape
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface.
- Shape into a tight boule.
- Place seam-side up into a floured banneton.
Cold Proof
- Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Bake
- Preheat your Dutch oven to 450°F.
- Turn the dough onto parchment paper and score.
Bake:
- 25 minutes with the lid on at 450°F
- Lower oven temperature to 400°F
- Bake 30 minutes uncovered
Cool
- Allow the loaf to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- Blooming the cocoa brings out a much richer chocolate flavor—don't skip this step.
- The dough will feel stickier than a traditional sourdough because of the brown sugar.
- I recommend using a Cambro container during bulk fermentation so you can easily see when the dough has doubled.
- Don't worry if your loaf bursts through the score while baking. Mine almost always does, and it's usually a sign of great oven spring!
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips are my favorite, but dark chocolate chips are delicious too.