Sourdough Brown Bread Recipe
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This soft, sourdough brown bread recipe is full of flavor and is begging to be spread with butter at your kitchen table. Whether you're eating it as a starter or pairing it with your favorite soup, it's sure to be loved by all who try it.
Leavened with sourdough starter and flavored with honey, molasses and cocoa powder, this complex flavored bread is so easy to make using a stand mixer.
If you love baking with honey and molasses, along with your sourdough starter, you might also enjoy this honey oat sourdough bread or this sourdough pumpernickel bread.
Why You'll Love This Recipe!
Rich and Flavorful - this sourdough brown bread is so flavorful thanks not only to the sourdough starter, but also to the cocoa powder or dark malt powder, honey and molasses which create a rich and complex flavor profile.
Versatile - you can make this as a sandwich loaf or as two smaller baguette style loaves. The choice is yours! You could even use half and freeze half or give some to a friend.
Perfect Starter - served warm with a dish of cultured butter, this sourdough brown bread makes the perfect starter for any meal!
Ingredients
- Sourdough Starter - This recipe is made using an active sourdough starter which has been fed recently. It should be bubbly, happy and ready to rise your dough!
- Water
- Cocoa Powder - this recipe uses cocoa powder to contribute to it's rich color and flavor profile. As an alternative, you can choose to use dark malt powder instead.
- Butter - you'll need melted butter that's cooled a little. I've used salted butter, but you can use unsalted if you prefer.
- Honey - I've chosen to use both honey and molasses to sweeten this sourdough brown bread. I've used unprocessed honey.
- Molasses - You'll need
- Bread Flour and Whole Wheat Flour - I've used a combination of whole wheat flour and bread flour to create a more complex flavor profile for this loaf.
- Salt - you'll need a little salt, as always, for flavor and to help strengthen the gluten network of the dough.
- Rolled Oats - these are used for topping the sourdough brown bread and giving it a rustic feel. You don't have to use them, but they add a special touch to the finished loaf.
How To Make Sourdough Brown Bread
I've chosen to make this recipe in a stand mixer, but you can easily do it by hand if you prefer.
Add sourdough starter, water, cocoa powder, melted butter, honey and molasses to a large bowl (if you're using a stand mixer, just add it to the stand mixer bowl). Stir together until well combined (it's ok if it's a bit lumpy, you just want to get it moving and mixing to start with).I don't actually use the stand mixer to mix this part, I just use a spatula to agitate it all and mix together.
On top of the liquid mixture you just created, add the bread flour, whole wheat flour and salt. Use the dough hook on your stand mixer and knead for around 2 minutes or until the dough has all come together. The dough should be fairly smooth and not too sticky.
Cover the dough and allow the dough to rise around 50% in the bowl - allow it to sit at room temperature on the counter to do this.
Once the dough has risen, you need to shape it. I have chosen to shape my dough into two long "baguette" style loaves but you can shape it into a large loaf, into rolls or even place it in a loaf pan if you prefer (see notes).
Once the dough has been shaped, cover it with a cloth and allow the dough to rise again (you want it to be nice and puffy and soft).
When you're ready to bake the sourdough brown bread, preheat your oven to 180C (350F).
Brush the top of your loaf with a little water and sprinkle on some rolled oats (this is totally optional).
Bake sourdough brown bread for around 30 minutes. The time to bake will depend on how you shaped it. You'll know it's done when the outside is golden brown and a little crusty and your kitchen is filled with the most amazing aroma!
Baker's Timeline
| TIME | PROCESS |
|---|---|
| 9.30pm | Feed sourdough starter the night before! |
| 7am | Mix the liquid ingredients for sourdough brown bread. |
| 7.05am | Add dry ingredients and knead using your stand mixer until the dough is smooth and elastic. |
| 7.10am | Leave the dough on the counter to bulk ferment until it's risen around 50%. |
| 11am | Shape the dough into desired shape (2 smaller loaves or place into a loaf pan for sandwich loaf). |
| 11.30am | Leave sourdough brown bread to proof. |
| 4pm | Preheat oven, top loaves with rolled oats. |
| 4.45pm | Bake sourdough brown bread ready to enjoy with dinner! |
How To Store + Freeze
This sourdough brown bread is best enjoyed on the day of baking. If you have leftover bread it's best stored in a plastic bag or under a glass cloche to keep the crumb soft.
It does freeze really well. I love making two baguette style loaves and using one and freezing the other for another occasion. You'll find my instructions for freezing sourdough bread here.
Frequently Asked Questions
I prefer using dark malt powder for this recipe, however, I know that it can be really hard to find so I have tested this recipe with cocoa powder as a suitable alternative. The recipe works well with either ingredient.
Yes you can use the same amount of sourdough discard as sourdough starter in this recipe and add 7g of instant yeast as well. Just remember to adjust the baking timeline to suit discard rather than active starter.
You don't have to use the whole wheat flour, you can substitute bread flour for the whole wheat flour, however it will take away some of the flavor complexity that the whole grains bring to the loaf.
Sourdough Brown Bread
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
Ingredients
- 100 g Sourdough Starter
- 350 g Water
- 20 g Cocoa Powder (or dark malt powder) - see notes
- 30 g Butter (melted)
- 20 g Honey
- 20 g Molasses
- 300 g Bread Flour
- 300 g Whole Wheat Flour
- 10 g Salt
- 20 g Rolled Oats (for topping / dusting)
Instructions
- I've chosen to make this recipe in a stand mixer, but you can easily do it by hand if you prefer.
- Add sourdough starter, water, cocoa powder, melted butter, honey and molasses to a large bowl (if you're using a stand mixer, just add it to the stand mixer bowl). Stir together until well combined (it's ok if it's a bit lumpy, you just want to get it moving and mixing to start with).I don't actually use the stand mixer to mix this part, I just use a spatula to agitate it all and mix together.
- On top of the liquid mixture you just created, add the bread flour, whole wheat flour and salt. Use the dough hook on your stand mixer and knead for around 2 minutes or until the dough has all come together. The dough should be fairly smooth and not too sticky.
- Cover the dough and allow the dough to rise around 50% in the bowl - allow it to sit at room temperature on the counter to do this.
- Once the dough has risen, you need to shape it. I have chosen to shape my dough into two long "baguette" style loaves but you can shape it into a large loaf, into rolls or even place it in a loaf pan if you prefer (see notes).
- Once the dough has been shaped, cover it with a cloth and allow the dough to rise again (you want it to be nice and puffy and soft).
- When you're ready to bake the sourdough brown bread, preheat your oven to 180C (350F).
- Brush the top of your loaf with a little water and sprinkle on some rolled oats (this is totally optional).
- Bake sourdough brown bread for around 30 minutes. The time to bake will depend on how you shaped it. You'll know it's done when the outside is golden brown and a little crusty and your kitchen is filled with the most amazing aroma!
Notes
Nutrition
