Double Chocolate Espresso Sourdough Bread Recipe

Double Chocolate Espresso Sourdough Bread is the perfect combination of sourdough tang and chocolatey goodness. This indulgent bread is rich in cocoa powder, dotted with chunks of dark chocolate, and lightly sweetened with brown sugar and hints of ground cinnamon. Serve warm with quality butter for a satisfying sourdough treat.

Chocolate has my heart, especially dark chocolate. A few weeks ago, I shared my recipe for Chocolate Focaccia Bread. This recipe is so indulgent, as you serve it with a Cream Cheese Peanut Butter topping. Delicious! Then it got me thinking, could this be done with my easy sourdough bread recipe?

Why, yes, it can!

Rich chocolaty sourdough bread with chunks of chocolate scattered throughout – it is heavenly. Just like my everyday sourdough bread, each bite is paired with a crusty crunch and chewy center, but with all the chocolaty goodness you could ever want.

Besides rich cocoa powder and chocolate chunks, I incorporated two additional ingredients into this recipe: brown sugar and espresso. Both of these ingredients help to elevate the richness of the chocolate flavor in this delicious bread, while the brown sugar adds just a hint of sweetness.

All you need is a good slab of quality butter spread across a warm, melty slice of this chocolate bread, and you will be living large. Or transform this loaf into a delicious twist on a classic breakfast/brunch recipe – Chocolate Sourdough French Toast Casserole!

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe:

Rich Chocolate Flavor:

Double Chocolate Espresso Sourdough Bread is rich with the delicious flavor of chocolate. Natural cocoa powder and chunks of melted chocolate chunks will have all chocolate lovers go back for another slice again and again.

No-Knead, Easy recipe:

Forget strenuous and time-consuming kneading by hand or with a stand mixer. A few simple sets of stretch and folds are all you need to build the perfect structure in this Chocolate Sourdough Bread.

Delicious fermented sweet treat:

Chocolate Espresso Sourdough Bread is long-fermented to give you all the gut-healthy benefits of sourdough. The sourdough starter helps to break down the phytic acid naturally found in flour, making the bread easier for your body to digest.

Ingredients

Active sourdough starter: Before you bake Chocolate Espresso Sourdough Bread, feed your sourdough starter a 1:1 ratio. This means equal parts water and flour.

When your starter has doubled in size and has bubbles on top and throughout (usually 4-12 hours after a feeding), it is ready to bake delicious sourdough!

If you are still unsure, you can use the float test. Take a spoonful of your starter and a glass of water. Drop the starter in the water. If it floats, it is ready! If it sinks, it still needs some extra time to ferment.

Warm, filtered water – Be sure it’s not too hot, as this can kill your starter.

Bread Flour: My favorite brand to use is King Arthur Bread Flour.

Salt: Any salt will do, but my favorite is Redmond’s Unrefined Fine Sea Salt for extra natural minerals.

Raw Cocoa powder: I prefer using natural cocoa powder, like Ghirardelli, since it has a richer chocolate flavor than Dutch-processed cocoa powder, but use what you have.

Brown Sugar: I used light brown sugar.

Espresso Powder: Espresso and chocolate are best friends, they bring the best out of each other. Strong black coffee is a great substitute.

Ground Cinnamon: Aromatic cinnamon in this sourdough bread makes me think of Mexican hot chocolate, and it is heavenly.

Dark Chocolate Chips: Chopped chocolate bars, chunks, chips, or whatever you have will do.

Supplies

Large bowl

Kitchen Scale

Proofing basket / Banneton 

Dough Whisk

Dutch Oven

Lame / Razor blade / Sharp knife

Tea towel, plastic wrap, or what I like to use, a shower cap

Parchment Paper

Baking Sheet

How to Make Chocolate Espresso Sourdough Bread:

In a small bowl or a coffee cup, mix hot water with instant espresso. If you don’t have espresso powder, instant coffee powder can be used as a substitute. Mix with a spoon and set to the side.

MAKE THE DOUGH

In a large mixing bowl, add the mature starter, warm water, espresso shot, and brown sugar. Mix the wet ingredients with a dough whisk or your hand until combined.

In a medium bowl, mix the bread flour, cocoa powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Whisking these together first helps you to get a consistent brown color in your loaf, instead of streaks.

Then, add the dry ingredients to the sourdough mixture. Be sure to mix until all of the flour is incorporated. The dough will look shaggy, not like a uniform dough ball.

Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel (I use a reusable shower cap) and let the sourdough bread dough rest for at least 30 minutes before you move on to the next step.

STRETCH AND FOLDS

With slightly wet fingers, scrap the dough away from the bowl. Grab a section of the dough and stretch the bread dough above the bowl, then fold it over on top.

Rotate the bowl clockwise a quarter of the way and repeat identical stretches and folds until you come full circle. You will notice the dough will start to look smoother than before.

Cover the dough and let rest for another 30 minutes.

MIX-INS

Before starting your second round of stretch and folds, gather 1 cup of dark or milk chocolate chunks.

Sprinkle chocolate chips over the top of the dough and repeat the same stretches and folds as before. Some chunks may break through the dough – that’s totally fine. They will continue to be mixed in during your next rounds of stretch and folds.

Cover and let rest for another 30 minutes.

Repeat the identical stretch and fold routine three more times (for a total of 4 different rounds), waiting at least 30 minutes between each stretch and fold.

Cover the dough with a damp tea towel or shower cap after each stretch and fold and leave in a warm place to rest.

BULK FERMENTATION

Now this is the most finicky part of sourdough. There isn’t a set time for your bulk ferment. It is greatly dependent on the temperature of your environment. The warmer it is, the faster your dough will ferment. The opposite is true for cooler temperatures.

In an environment of 68-70 degrees, doughs will typically bulk ferment for 6-9 hours, but again, you will have to look for the signs that your dough is done fermenting, rather than the clock. Warm temperatures will be faster, while cooler will be slower.

Here’s what to look for:

• The dough should have increased in size by 50%
• The dough looks light, and jiggles when shaken.
• The dough should easily pull away from the bowl.
• There should be visible bubbles in the dough.
• The dough doesn’t tear when you do a windowpane test

SHAPE

The next day, your first peek! The dough should have doubled in size and shouldn’t look dense.

With slightly wet fingers, gently release the dough from the sides of the bowl. Be careful not to pop all of those lovely bubbles.

Tilt the bowl and let gravity move the dough onto your lightly floured surface.

Carefully stretch the dough on your workspace to create a thin rectangular shape. Then, take the top 1/3 of the dough and fold it towards the center. Then take the bottom 1/3 of the dough and fold it towards the center as well. This is a tri-fold.

Next, from the right side of the dough, roll the dough to the left to create a ball shape of the dough.

Leave to rest for 5-10 minutes with seam side down.

PREP BANNETON

While you’re waiting for the dough to rest, prepare your proofing basket. This can be a banneton or a small mixing bowl lined with a tea towel.

Dust the banneton or the tea towel with rice or all-purpose flour to prevent your sourdough from sticking.

FINAL SHAPING

After 5-10 minutes of rest, gently cup your hands around the dough ball. Turn the ball clockwise about a quarter turn. Then softly pull the dough towards you. Repeat until you see the dough form a tighter and round shape.

Using a bench scraper, carefully scope the dough and lay it upside down (smooth side down) into your floured proofing basket. Cover it with a damp tea towel or a shower cap.

COLD PROOF

Place your proofing basket in the fridge for cold proof for 8-72 hours!

Placing your dough in the fridge slows down the fermentation process, which deepens the flavors of your loaf.

It also gives you flexibility in when you want to bake your bread.

But don’t wait too long! If left in the fridge for too long, your dough will over-ferment, causing the dough to not be able to rise.

SCORE

30 minutes before baking, place your dough in the freezer. This helps with the scoring design.

Place parchment paper on your workspace and gently flip the banneton upside down over the parchment paper. Since you dusted the banneton, your dough should slowly release and fall onto the parchment paper, landing in the middle with the floured side facing up.

Dust the surface of the dough with extra flour as this helps the scoring design to pop.

With a lame / razor blade or sharp knife, score a crescent moon shape or any other fancy design you might find on Pinterest that you are dying to try!

Grab the corners of the parchment paper and place your sourdough into your Dutch oven.

BAKE:

With its lid on, place your Dutch oven on a baking sheet – this helps prevent the bottom of your loaf from burning and getting too crispy.

Slide the baking tray and Dutch oven into the COLD oven on the middle oven rack and preheat it to 450 degrees. Bake for 55 minutes, this includes the preheat time.

After 55 minutes, remove the lid from the Dutch oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until the loaf is beautifully golden brown. The internal temperature of a baked loaf of bread should be between 205-210 degrees f.

Immediately remove the Dutch oven from your hot oven. Using the corners of the parchment paper, lift the sourdough bread out of the pot and place it onto a cooling rack.

Allow your homemade bread to cool on a wire rack for 1 hour before cutting into it. (I know!! How can you possibly wait when it looks and smells so good?! But trust me, if you cut in too soon, your masterpiece will turn mushy and gummy.)

In the meantime, listen to your loaf “sing” its little tune to you with every crinkle and crack.

Once the hour is up, slice into your work of art and slather on some butter.

How to Serve:

A thick slice of warm Chocolate Espresso Sourdough Bread with a healthy slab of quality butter is more than enough to make your heart sing.

Other delicious spreads include:

• Peanut butter or any nut butter
• Chocolate nut spread
• Fruit jams & preserves
• Cinnamon & sugar (tastes like Mexican hot chocolate!)
• Honey

If you happen to have leftover bread past 3 days, and it’s starting to get dry and tough, don’t toss it into the trash! Instead, make it into a Chocolatey French Toast Casserole. What a rich and indulgent twist on a breakfast classic.

How to Store:

Chocolate Espresso Sourdough Bread will stay fresh for 2-3 days. Cover with a tea towel with the cut side facing down of the countertop and leave at room temperature. This storing method with keep the crust crunchy, while the center is chewy.

FAQs:

Can I add other mix-ins besides chocolate chips?

Absolutely! Other delicious variations could include cherries, chopped nuts, white chocolate chips, espresso chips, peanut butter chips, or a dash of cinnamon.

Can you use coffee instead of espresso?

Instant espresso offers a rich coffee flavor that elevates the chocolatey flavor of this sourdough bread. If you are not able to run to the grocery store, strong black coffee is a great substitute.

Happy baking!

More Sourdough Recipes:

Chocolate Sourdough French Toast Casserole

Chocolate Sourdough Focaccia Bread with Peanut Butter Topping

Roasted Garlic, Rosemary & Asiago Cheese Sourdough Bread

Easy Sourdough Bread for Beginners