CHOCOLATE CHIP SOURDOUGH

Chocolate Chip Sourdough

A Recipe

The chocolate sourdough story starts in Brighton earlier this year. We had gotten up early (to find coffee obvs) and came across a gold mine; a small coffee shop stocking more variations of sourdough than you could dream up; currant and cherry sourdough, leftover loaf sourdough, Danish spelt and honey sourdough, and, most notably, chocolate chip sourdough. I didn't even know such a thing existed.

We got our coffees and loaf of bread, and walked toward the sea front, back home to our little Air B'n'B. We set up the tiny table, put our coffees in mugs, sliced the sourdough and put it in the toaster. The chocolate chips MELTED. It was love from first bite.

Obviously I can't go back to Brighton for bread, so making some had been a goal of mine very since. If you follow me on social media you will know that over 'lockdown' I have fallen in love with baking sourdough, and this weekend I decided I felt confident enough to try my first chocolate loaf. A couple of attempts later and I'm super excited to share the recipe with you.

Ingredients:

Levin:

35g sourdough starter

20g white bread flour

20g wholegrain bread flour

40g water

The Bread:

450g white bread flour

350g water

50g cocoa

60g sugar

150g levin

20g water

9 g salt

150g chocolate chips

Method:

8.00am

Make the levin by mixing all the ingredients in a jar, LOOSLY pop on the lid, and pop in a warm place (we use our boiler cupboard).

12.00pm

Autolyse. The bread: Combine the white bread flour with the cacao and sugar. Then add the water and mix until a shaggy kind of mess. (Using your hands can be helpful here!) Cover and set aside in a warm spot for 1 hour.

1.00pm

By now the levin should be bubbly and have grown in size. Add this, 20g water, 9g salt and the chocolate chips to the mix. Using your hands fold together until all combined. Cover the bowl with a plastic bag and put somewhere warm.

1.30pm

So begins our one of three ‘stretch and folds’. If that means nothing to you see THIS guide. Once complete cover and pop back in warm spot.

2.00pm

Stretch and fold again.

2.30pm

Stretch and fold for the final time and then leave in the warm spot for the remainder of the proving time.

5.00pm

Empty the dough onto a floured surface and preshape Leave covered on the counter.

5.30pm

Shape the bread (this video is super helpful) and pop into a well floured proving basket. (A sieve covered with a linen cloth works too!) Put back into the plastic bag and then pop into the fridge for an overnight prove.

8.30am

Remove the sourdough from the fridge and pop on the side, and pre heat the oven to 240 degrees C. Put what you ill b baking the bread in also in the oven. Ideally this will be a dutch oven or ceramic cooking pot of some kind.

9.30am:

Carefully remove the pot from the oven and turn the bread out onto a large piece of baking paper. Place the bread inside the pot using the baking paper to help you. Put on the lid and cook for 20 minutes

9.50am:

Remove the lid and cook for a further 30 minutes.

10.20am:

Oven the door of the oven (this helps remove steam), and cook for a final 10 minutes.

Let your bread cool for at least an hour before cutting.