Orange Chocolate Sourdough
This orange chocolate sourdough is light and airy, scented with fresh orange zest and juice and filled with rich dark chocolate chunks.
It’s been a while since I’ve experimented with different sourdough flavours and I’m happy to report back that my steps back into it were very successful! I love how this orange chocolate sourdough turned out. I’ve added in fresh orange zest, because that brings the best flavour, but also some fresh orange juice for sweetness and it gives the baked dough an ever so subtle yellow hue. Then, coupled with rich dark chocolate pieces, it’s the perfect combo.
Sourdough starter
You’ll need an active sourdough starter for this recipe. I like to make a small offshoot starter, called a levain, specifically for my breads. This is a portion of starter that’s fed and then used entirely in the dough. If you feed your starter differently, that’s fine! Just use an active and not too acidic starter for best results.
Baker’s Schedule
The timing can be tweaked to suit your schedule, but here is a guide of the timeline I currently use when it’s spring. It will change a bit in winter.
- 9 am: Create your levain.
- 2 pm: Mix the dough
- Between 2 pm-5 pm: Over three hours, stretch and fold the dough every 30 minutes. After the last fold, add in the chocolate.
- 5-7pm: Bulk fermentation continued for another 1-2 hours.
- 7 pm: Shaping and refrigerate overnight.
- The next day – The bread can be baked the next morning.
Tools you’ll need
Here’s the equipment I use.
Instructions
- Begin by feeding your starter.
- When the starter is ready, combine flour, orange zest, orange juice, water and sugar into a shaggy dough. Let this rest for 15 minutes then add in the starter and salt.
- Over the next three hours, stretch and fold the dough, a set every 30 minutes to give the dough strength.
- On a dampened surface, stretch the dough into a rectangle and add on chopped chocolate. Fold the dough like a pamphlet to trap the chocolate, then add on another layer of chocolate. Roll it up into a log, then shape it into a ball with the palms of your hands, rolling it on the bench and creating a bit of surface tension as you roll.
- Give the the dough another hour or two to finish the bulk proof. There should be definite signs of activity on the dough, like bubbles forming and the dough will jiggle if you give the bowl a shake.
- Shape the sourdough into a batard or ball depending on what basket you’re using.
Shaping a batard
- Flatten the dough gently into a rectangle.
- Fold the bottom third up, the right and left sides to the center, and the top third down to form a loose ball.
- Pinch small sections from the edges toward the center, working down the dough.
- When you reach the bottom, grab the bottom of the dough and carry it over the stitched dough to meet at the top. This will create a log.
- Roll the dough gently toward you to create some surface tension.
- Place seam-side up in a floured basket or bowl. Cover and proof.
- After the dough has had a cold proof, it’s ready to bake. Preheat your oven and Dutch oven, then gently tip in the bread so it’s seam-side down. Score to release steam, then bake covered for 20 minutes before removing the lid and baking uncovered until deeply browned.
- Let the sourdough cool for at least two hours before slicing.
Related recipes
Orange Chocolate Sourdough
This orange chocolate sourdough is light and airy, scented with fresh orange zest and juice and filled with rich dark chocolate chunks.
Ingredients
Levain
- 25 g sourdough starter
- 50 g all-purpose flour
- 50 g water
Dough
- 400 g all-purpose flour with protein of at least 11%
- 225 g water
- 60 g fresh orange juice
- 2 tbsp orange zest finely grated
- 12 g granulated sugar
- All the levain around 100g active starter
- 8 g salt
- 90 g dark chocolate
Instructions
- Mix together the starter ingredients in a bowl and stir well until thoroughly mixed. Add it to a clean jar and loosely cover it. Leave it in a warm spot until it doubles in size.
- When the starter has almost finished rising, combine the bread flour, water, orange juice, orange zest and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Use a fork or wooden spoon to bring it together, then switch to wet hands to mix it into a shaggy dough ball with no dry bits of flour remaining. Cover the bowl and let it autolyze at room temperature until the starter is ready.
- Add the starter to the dough and squish it in using wet hands. Add in the salt and mix it in.
- Over the next 3 hours, stretch and fold this dough every 30 minutes. Pull the dough up and over itself, turn the bowl a quarter turn, and repeat. Do this on all sides, and always use wet hands.
- After the last fold, let the dough rest for 20 minutes, then pull it out of the bowl using wet hands, onto a bench lightly wetted with water. Stretch it into a rectangle and spread on half the chopped chocolate. Fold the dough like a pamphlet to trap the chocolate, then add on another layer of chocolate. Roll it up into a log, then shape it into a ball with the palms of your hands, rolling it on the bench and creating a bit of surface tension as you roll.
- Place it back in the bowl and give the the dough another hour or two to finish the bulk proof. There should be definite signs of activity on the dough, like bubbles forming and the dough will jiggle if you give the bowl a shake. In a room temperature of around 24°C/75°F my dough needs about another 1 1/2 hours, but in colder temperatures it will take longer.
- Shape the sourdough into a batard or ball depending on what basket you’re using.
Shaping a Batard
- Line a banneton basket with a kitchen towel and flour it well.
- Tip your dough carefully on a lightly floured work surface and gently form it into a rectangle.
- Take the bottom third of the dough and fold it up so it meets the middle. Take the right side of the dough and fold it to meet the middle.
- Then, take the left side of the dough and fold it into the middle.
- Bring the top third of the dough down to the middle to create a little dough packet.
- Now add some stitches down the dough by grabbing some dough from the top left and a little from the top right and bringing them together to meet in the middle.
- Carry on doing this down the length of the dough. When you reach the bottom, grab a flap of dough and carry it over the stitched dough to meet at the top. This will create a log.
- Now, gently grab this log and roll it gently towards you on the bench. This will create some surface tension. All the while, take care not to de-gas your dough too much.
- Place the shaped dough in the floured basket, seam-side up.
- Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and cold-proof in the refrigerator for 8-24 hours.
Baking
- The next day, preheat the oven and a Dutch oven to 450°F/230°C for at least 30 minutes until well-heated.
- Remove the hot Dutch oven and flour the bottom well. Take the dough from the fridge and carefully flip it out of the basket and into the Dutch oven. If baking this in a large pot, it’s best to tip your dough onto a piece of parchment paper. This way, you can lower it into the pot.
- Score the dough using a razor blade or sharp knife.
- Bake covered with the lid for around 20 minutes. Remove the lid and bake uncovered for 20 minutes more, depending on your preference or your oven. Some ovens run hotter and may need less time, while others need more.
- Let the sourdough cool for at least two hours before slicing.
Nutrition
Serving: 1servingCalories: 286kcalCarbohydrates: 50gProtein: 8gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.004gCholesterol: 0.3mgSodium: 393mgPotassium: 142mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 12IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 21mgIron: 2mg
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