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Cocoa Chocolate Chip Sourdough Bread (Using Unfed/Discard Starter)

Ingredients

  • 80 grams discard (unfed/spent starter) (must be at room temp)
  • 1/2 tsp dry yeast
  • 370 grams warm water (85-95ºF)
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 200 grams bread flour
  • 260 grams all-purpose flour
  • 10 grams cocoa powder
  • 5 grams salt
  • 50 grams chocolate chips
  • 50 grams chopped pecans

Instructions

  • {timing: first night at 6pm} If you have some discard in your fridge, take it out to come to room temperature; if you don't have any discard and you want to feed you starter, take out 80 grams and feed remaining starter (if you want to use it for something)...Stir together the unfed starter, yeast, sugar and water in a bowl, distributing the mixture while mixing together; add both flours, salt and cocoa powder, mixing well, cover the bowl with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let sit for one hour.
  • {timing: first night 7pm} Add the chocolate chips and salt to the dough mixture in the bowl. Combine the dough using a wet hand and folding the dough over from the bottom to top and "pinching" the dough (the Ken Forkish method I talked about above)....
  • {timing: first night 8pm} Repeat the above method, cover and rest for another hour
  • {timing: first night 9pm} Depending on the temperature of your kitchen your dough should have doubled in size (warmer kitchen would take less time and a cooler one, more time); give the dough one more turn and pinch, cover and either leave on the counter for 8-10 hours (or 15-20 hours in your fridge).
  • [timing: next morning 7am} Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface (the dough will relax when you take it out of the bowl). Taking one section of dough at at time, fold the sections over the rest of the dough until you have a  tight ball shape. Then tighten the dough by pulling it towards you by cupping the dough with both your hands. Place a piece of parchment onto your work surface and gently transfer the dough to the paper and gently place into another similar sized bowl to your baking pot. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for another 2 hours or until it is doubled again. 
  • {timing: next day- bake 9am}  This recipe uses a dutch oven for baking. Preheat your oven to 500ºF with a rack in the center of the oven. Put the dutch oven with the lid on the rack while the oven preheats. Once the oven has reached temperature, take the dough out of the refrigerator and invert it onto a piece of parchment paper, leaving enough paper on either side to be able to lift it. Take the ends of the parchment paper and carefully lift and transfer the dough to the dutch oven. Cover the dutch oven and place it back in the oven. Lower the temperature to 475ºF and bake, covered for 30 minutes then uncover and bake for another 15 minutes, and then lift the bread out of the pot and bake on the oven rack for another 10 minutes (check the bottom for too much browning in case your oven runs hot). When done, tilt the bread out of the dutch oven and let it cool on a rack for at least 20 minutes before slicing.