Chocolate Chip Sourdough Bread
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If you love all things chocolate and sourdough, you're going to love how easy and tasty this chocolate chip sourdough bread is! It will make your taste buds sing.
You'll need a happy, active sourdough starter that's been fed, as well as your favorite chocolate chips (semi-sweet chocolate chips are perfect) to make this delicious sourdough bread. If you don't have your own sourdough starter yet, you'll find instructions for making a sourdough starter here.
I love the combination of the sweet chocolate chips with the tanginess of the sourdough bread ... and the smell of this delicious bread when you lift the lid on the Dutch oven is just incredible! It's less intense than this sourdough chocolate bread.
If you're looking for some other chocolate chip sourdough recipes, why not try these amazingly chewy sourdough chocolate chip cookies, sourdough chocolate chunk muffins or even add some chocolate chips to this easy sourdough banana bread. So many options! Oh and this discard chocolate sourdough bread recipe is divine too - such a great flavor! In fact if sourdough discard recipes are your thing, you'll find over 60 tried and tested recipes here.
Should You Laminate or Stretch and Fold?
In this chocolate chip sourdough bread recipe, I both stretch and fold the dough and laminate it.
You can choose to do both, or just add the chocolate chips during stretch and folds. I have added both options in the recipe card so you can choose what you are comfortable with.
If you're new to the process of sourdough lamination, you'll find a guide on how to laminate dough here.
Which Chocolate Chips To Use?
I have used milk chocolate chips for this recipe (mainly because that's what my kids love) but you can literally use any chocolate chips your heart desires.
Semi sweet chocolate chips are absolutely delicious, as are dark chocolate chips. You could even get creative and use a blend of say half chocolate and half caramel chips!
If you don't have chocolate chips, you could grate a chocolate bar or chop it really finely. You don't want big chunks for this recipe.
If you're using white chocolate chips, you might like to check out this recipe for lemon and white chocolate sourdough bread!
How To Make Chocolate Chip Sourdough Bread
I have made this sourdough chocolate chip bread with bread flour because it gives the best result. You can use all purpose flour, however you'll need to make a few changes as described here.
As always, a kitchen scale is recommended to ensure you get the most consistent results.
If you're new to making sourdough bread, you might find my Beginner's Guide To Making Sourdough Bread helpful too.
Autolyse - Premixing The Dough
Weigh out your sourdough starter and water into a large ceramic or glass bowl.
Mix the water and starter together briefly. Then add your flour and salt and mix whole lot together to form a shaggy dough.
The dough will be fairly shaggy and only just brought together.
Cover your bowl with cling film or a damp tea towel and let it sit for around 1 hour. It's ok if it's a little bit longer, it's not going to matter too much.
This process is called the "autolyse" and allows your flour to soak in all the water and become hydrated.
Forming Up The Dough
After the dough has been through autolyse you need to bring it together into a ball. Work your way around the bowl, grabbing the dough from the outside, stretching it up and over itself, into the centre, until a smooth ball is formed. You shouldn't need more than about 20-30 stretches to form the ball.
You'll notice that the dough is fully hydrated after soaking all the water up. It will be fairly sticky but as you bring it into a ball, it will become smoother and shinier.
Once the dough has formed into a smooth ball, pop the cling film back on and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Stretch & Fold - Creating Structure
Over the next few hours you need to create some structure for your dough by "stretching and folding".
Aim to do around 4 sets of stretches and folds.
For each set, stretch the dough up and over itself 4 times. Leave around 15 minutes in between each set. Again you do not have to be exact with time, but you need to do 4 sets over 2 hours.
Lamination of Chocolate Chips
Once your dough is nice and elastic, spray your counter with water and pop the dough out of the bowl. Gently stretch the dough out so that it forms a rough square - it doesn't have to be exact.
If you've never laminated dough before, check out these detailed instructions.
Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the dough and then roll it up into a log and place back into the bowl for bulk ferment.
If you don't want to laminate the chocolate chips, see notes above for how to add them during the stretching and folding stage.
Bulk Fermentation
Once you've finished your stretch and folds, place the plastic wrap or damp towel back over your dough and let it rest and bulk ferment at room temperature (a plastic cover is a better option for this stage).
Shaping The Dough
Once your dough has finished its bulk ferment, it's time to shape it into either a boule or a batard (see notes for more info).
You will need a banneton to put your dough into. If you do not have a banneton, then a bowl or basket lined with a floured tea towel is perfectly fine. Make sure your bowl isn't too big though, you want your dough to retain some shape.
Placing Dough Into The Banneton
Liberally dust your banneton with rice flour to stop it sticking.
Place the shaped dough into your banneton smooth side down, so your seam is on the top - this way the top of your dough will get the pretty lines from the banneton.
If you are worried about the dough sticking, you can also add a bit of rice flour around the sides of the dough too, just carefully lift the dough gently with your fingers.
Cold Ferment
Now the dough is in its "shaping container" cover it loosely with a plastic bag or damp tea towel and place into the fridge.
I use a large plastic bag to cover it - I just reuse it each time.
Try to leave it in the fridge for a minimum 5 hours.
Preparing To Bake
Once you're ready to bake your sourdough, you'll need to preheat your oven to 230C/450F.
Place your Dutch Oven into the oven when you turn it on so it gets HOT. Try to preheat for around 1 hour to ensure your oven is super hot - but you know your oven so just adjust this time if you need to.
Leave your dough in the fridge until the very last minute - placing a cold dough into a hot oven will give you a great "spring".
Bake Time!
Now it's time to bake!
When your oven is at temperature, take your sourdough out of the fridge. Gently place it onto a piece of parchment paper.
Make sure that you make the baking paper big enough to use the edges as a handle to lower to dough into your Dutch Oven.
Gently score your bread with a lame, clean razor blade or knife. I find a single slash is best for this recipe as the chocolate chips can be tricky to cut through. You can find my full guide on how to score sourdough bread here.
Carefully take your dutch oven out of the oven. Place the sourdough into the pot using the baking paper as a handle. Put the lid on and place into the hot oven.
If you want to you can spritz your dough with extra water before you put the lid on.
BAKE TIME:
30 Minutes with the lid on at 230C/450F plus
10-15 Minutes with the lid off at 210C/410F
Finishing The Bake
When you remove your dough from the oven, carefully remove it from the dutch oven as soon as possible and place on a wire rack to cool.
Tips for Making This Sourdough Bread
While the process of making sourdough chocolate bread is relatively easy, there are a few things you can do to make sure you have success when making this bread, especially for the first time.
- try not to let your dough get too warm during the fermentation process once you've added the chocolate chips as they will start to melt and make the dough really difficult to shape.
- smaller chocolate chips work better than larger chunks for this recipe.
- when shaping, you may find that some of the chocolate chips pop through the outer skin of your dough. This is ok and the dough will repair itself in the banneton - just make sure you flour it liberally. I find that this happens less when I laminate the chocolate chips as oppose to stretching and folding them.
- to take this bread to the next level, sprinkle a little flaky sea salt on the top of the dough before you put it in the oven (I don't recommend putting the salt in the banneton as it can draw moisture from your dough during cold fermentation).
- For best results, I don't recommend adding extra chocolate chips to the top of the dough before baking as they generally burn - even if you're using a Dutch Oven to bake your sourdough in.
- If you would like to add some dried fruit to this sourdough loaf, you can reduce the chocolate chips to 100g and then add 100g of dried fruit. Raisin, blueberries or cherries are lovely in this bread dough.
Can I Make This Recipe with Whole Wheat Flour?
Yes, you can use some whole wheat flour in this sourdough recipe, but I wouldn't substitute more than half of the bread flour for whole wheat. If you are going to use some whole wheat, consider adding some vital wheat gluten to ensure you still get the best oven spring. I don't recommend adding rye flour to this recipe.
Do I Need To Add Anything Else To This Dough?
There's no need to add anything else to this dough - the chocolate chips are sweet enough to give this sourdough bread the most amazing flavor! There's no need for cocoa powder or brown sugar or anything else. If you are after more of a brioche style chocolate chip loaf, you can easily add chocolate chips to this sourdough brioche loaf or even make this sourdough chocolate star bread.
Chocolate Chip Sourdough Bread
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Digital Scales
- Banneton
- Dutch Oven optional
Ingredients
- 50 g Sourdough Starter Fed and Bubbly
- 350 g Water
- 500 g Bread Flour
- 10 g Salt (increase or decrease according to your taste)
- 200 g Chocolate Chips (use your favorite ones!)
Instructions
- Autolyse - Premixing The DoughWeigh out your sourdough starter and water into a large ceramic or glass bowl. Glass is always good as you can see what's happening underneath your dough. This recipe is based on you having an active starter that you have fed a few hours before starting your bake.Mix the water and starter together briefly. Then add your flour and salt and mix whole lot together to form a shaggy dough. The dough will be fairly shaggy and only just brought together.
- Cover your bowl with cling film or a damp tea towel and let it sit for around 1 hour. It's ok if it's a little bit longer, it's not going to matter too much.This process is called the "autolyse" and allows your flour to soak in all the water and become hydrated.
- Forming Up The DoughAfter the dough has been through autolyse you need to bring it together into a ball. Work your way around the bowl, grabbing the dough from the outside, stretching it up and over itself, into the centre, until a smooth ball is formed. You shouldn't need more than about 20-30 stretches to form the ball. You'll notice that the dough is fully hydrated after soaking all the water up. It will be fairly sticky but as you bring it into a ball, it will become smoother and shinier.
- Once the dough has formed into a smooth ball, pop the cling film back on and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Stretch & Fold - Creating StructureOver the next few hours you need to create some structure for your dough by "stretching and folding". Aim to do around 4 sets of stretches and folds. For each set, stretch the dough up and over itself 4 times. Leave around 15 minutes in between each set. Again you do not have to be exact with time, but you need to do 4 sets over 2 hours.If you don't want to laminate the chocolate chips in the step below, see notes for how to add them during stretch and folds.
- Lamination of Chocolate ChipsOnce your dough is nice and elastic, spray your counter with water and pop the dough out of the bowl. Gently stretch the dough out so that it forms a rough square - it doesn't have to be exact. If you've never laminated dough before, check out these detailed instructions.Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the dough and then roll it up into a log and place back into the bowl for bulk ferment.If you don't want to laminate the chocolate chips, see notes for how to add them during the stretching and folding stage.
- Bulk FermentOnce you've finished your stretch and folds, place the cling film or damp tea towel back over your dough and let it rest and ferment (a plastic cover is a better option for this stage).See notes below for more info on this step.
- Shaping The DoughOnce your dough has finished its bulk ferment, it's time to shape it into either a boule or a batard (see notes for more info).You will need a banneton to put your dough into. If you do not have a banneton, then a bowl or basket lined with a floured tea towel is perfectly fine. Make sure your bowl isn't too big though, you want your dough to retain some shape.
- Placing Dough Into The BannetonLiberally dust your banneton with rice flour to stop it sticking.Place the shaped dough into your banneton smooth side down, so your seam is on the top - this way the top of your dough will get the pretty lines from the banneton. If you are worried about the dough sticking, you can also add a bit of rice flour around the sides of the dough too, just carefully lift the dough gently with your fingers.
- Cold FermentNow the dough is in its "shaping container" cover it loosely with a plastic bag or damp tea towel and place into the fridge. I use a large plastic bag to cover it - I just reuse it each time. Try to leave it in the fridge for a minimum 5 hours.
- Preparing To BakeOnce you're ready to bake your sourdough, you'll need to preheat your oven to 230C/450F. Place your Dutch Oven into the oven when you turn it on so it gets HOT. Try to preheat for around 1 hour to ensure your oven is super hot - but you know your oven so just adjust this time if you need to.Leave your dough in the fridge until the very last minute - placing a cold dough into a hot oven will give you a great "spring".
- Bake Time!Now it's time to bake!When your oven is at temperature, take your sourdough out of the fridge. Gently place it onto a piece of baking paper. Make sure that you make the baking paper big enough to use the edges as a handle to lower to dough into your Dutch Oven.Gently score your bread with a lame, clean razor blade or knife. I find a single slash is best for this recipe as the chocolate chips can be tricky to cut through. You can find my full guide on how to score sourdough bread here.Carefully take your dutch oven out of the oven. Place the sourdough into the pot using the baking paper as a handle. Put the lid on and place into the hot oven. If you want to you can spritz your dough with extra water before you put the lid on.BAKE TIME:30 Minutes with the lid on at 230C/450F plus10-15 Minutes with the lid off at 210C/410F
- Finishing The BakeWhen you remove your dough from the oven, carefully remove it from the dutch oven as soon as possible and place on a wire rack to cool.
Notes
- Notes on Flour: This recipe is written using strong Bread Flour. Bread flour has a higher protein content than All Purpose flour. If you choose to use All Purpose flour you may have a different result because of this. You can read more about the differences between All Purpose Flour and Bread Flour here.
- Notes on Sourdough Starter: This recipe is based on you having an active starter that you have fed a few hours before starting your bake. For info on how to make a sourdough starter, go here.
- Chocolate Chips - I've used milk chocolate chips in this recipe but you can use any chocolate chips you prefer. If you want a less chocolatey loaf, just use 100g instead of 200g. If you don't want to laminate the chocolate chips, you can add them during the stretch and fold process. Add them around the second to third stretch and fold.
- Notes on Stretch & Folds: If you are going to do the stretch & folds on your bench top, spray your surface with water mist rather than using flour. You can leave the dough in the bowl if you want to. Wet your hands to stop the dough sticking - although it shouldn't be too sticky. It will get less sticky as you do your stretches and folds. For more information on how to do stretch and folds, go here.
- Notes on Bulk Fermentation: If your home is warm then your dough will ferment a lot faster and could be done in as little as a few hours. If it's colder, it will take longer, possibly overnight.
I would recommend that you try to do your first few bulk ferments during daylight hours so that you can watch your dough closely.
Once you're more familiar with the process - and the temperature of your home - you will be able to do overnight ferments. You will know your dough is ready to move to the next stage when it has *just* doubled in size. It will be fairly wobbly and full of bubbles. You should be able to see large air bubbles under the surface of the dough.
You don't want to let it go any further than doubled as it will be over fermented.
If you want to do an overnight ferment, but your home is warm, consider using a little less starter (ie 25g).
Less starter means your dough will take longer to ferment and you will reduce the risk of over fermenting your dough. You'll find more information on these topics here:
When is my bulk ferment finished? What is the difference between cold ferment and bulk ferment? Why does the amount of starter matter?
- Notes on Baking: If you're worried about the base of your bread burning, place a baking sheet on shelf underneath your Dutch Oven - it works! If you're worried about your bread not being cooked all the way through, turn the oven off and place your dough straight onto the oven rack. Leave the door ajar and let your bread rest there for a few hours. Make sure you don't close the door or your sourdough will sweat and you'll get a wrinkly, soggy crust. Remember not to cut into your loaf too soon - you'll need to let it cool for at least a few hours (4-6 is best).
Nutrition
