Chocolate Swirl Sourdough Bread

This post is for the experienced bakers who have the basic knowledge of sourdough bread.

I made this loaf with a friend virtually as a catch up on our Sourdough Fad. She suggested on a chocolate swirl and having been lazy as a toad recently from the cold, I decided to break out from my cocoon and come back to Sourdough making again. This loaf could have had a better swirl as I decided to do a couple more coil fold than necessary as the dough was feeling a little slack like myself. If you are expecting to have a better swirl, do more stretch and folds before lamination then do just one coil fold before pre shaping. Nevertheless, this dough come out with a great crumb and is super soft. I would definitely come back to this again when winter is over.

So, here is a little note from my experience.....

RECIPE

Yield: 1 Loaf

If you are refreshing your Starter

30 g Starter

60 g Water 27°C

15 g Organic Cocoa Powder

75 g White Baker's Flour

(This starter take approximately 12 hours to peak)

Note: If you haven't been feeding your starter frequently, it is recommended that you feed the starter twice a day every 12 hours at least three days prior to making the sourdough and keep them at room temperature.

Levain

30 g Whole Wheat Baker's Flour

30 g White Baker's Flour

60 g Water 27°C

60 g Ripened Starter

This is a 1:1:1 ratio Levain and takes approximately 4 to 5 hours to peak. The time taken can be shorter or longer depending on the ambient of your kitchen.

White Dough

150 g White Baker's Flour

130 g Water 37°C

30 g Levain - at its peak

4 g Fine Salt

Chocolate Dough

120 g White Baker's Flour

20 g Organic Cocoa Powder

130 g Water 37°C

30 g Levain - at its peak

4 g Fine Salt

Work Flow

6 am - Prepare Levain & Autolyze

Prepare Levain by adding in all the ingredients together and mix until well combined. Leave in a jar with the lid slightly loose. Tie a rubber band around the Levain of the Levain to monitor activity.

At the same time, autolyze both whole wheat dough and all white dough both in separate bowls. To do that, add the required water and flours for each dough and mix them separately until a shaggy dough is formed. Cover both bowl and leave to rest until the Levain is ready. This means that you will have one bowl for the plain dough and another dough for the chocolate dough.

Note: The Levain used in this recipe is 100% hydration and will take roughly around 4 to 5 hours depending on the ambient of your kitchen.

If you have not been feeing your starter frequently, it is recommended that you feed them twice a day at a (1:2:3) / (Starter: Water: Flour) ratio. So this means you will need to feed the starter every 12 hours at least 3 days prior to making the sourdough.

11 am - Add Levain

5 hours later

To test if the Levain is ready, gently scoop a small amount of the levain and drop it into a jug of water. If it floats, it means that it is ready. If it sinks, you will need to leave the levain to mature for a little longer and test again at 1 hour intervals. Be careful not to be too rough with the levain as this can knock the air out and the levain will sink into the water even though it is ready. You want to look for an increase in volume of atleast twice or thrice its original volume and the top has domed slightly.

Add the required Levain in each dough by pinching and mixing into the doughs. Cover both doughs and rest for 30 minutes

11:40 am - Add Salt

30 minutes after adding in the Levain

Add in the salt like you would with the Levain until there are no grainy bits of salt into both the dough. Cover and rest for an hour.

The bulk fermentation process starts the moment the salt have been incorporated into the dough

12: 50 First Stretch and Fold

Gently stretch the dough from each corner and fold it over to the opposite end and continue to do so until you have turn the bowl fully twice.

Repeat the same process for the chocolate dough.

Cover both bowl of dough and leave to rest for 30 minutes.

1:20 pm Second Stretch and Fold