Chocolate and Peanut Butter – the perfect pair for dessert focaccia. This Double Chocolate Sourdough Focaccia Bread is thick and chewy, dotted with bittersweet chocolate chunks, and topped with a rich peanut butter topping. Chocolate focaccia bread makes for a decadent dessert that is not only easy to prepare, but a chocolate and peanut butter lover’s dream come true.
Growing up, I never liked Reese’s peanut butter cups. If you know me now, this would come as a complete shock. How my younger self did not realize the absolute magic there is between chocolate and peanut butter is beyond me. Luckily, I have learned from my silly ways.
But now there is a new flavor that has taken captive of my tastebuds and that is sourdough! Once I had my very own homemade sourdough starter and I baked my first sourdough loaf, I was hooked!
Don’t have your own sourdough starter? What are you waiting for?! Let me be your guide. All you need is flour, water, and one week before you can be taking a crack at every sourdough recipe in sight. Find simple step-by-step instructions plus a free printable with a feeding schedule to make your own bubbly active sourdough starter from scratch.
So naturally, I had to find some way to combine chocolate, peanut butter, and sourdough into one – then came this Double Chocolate Sourdough Focaccia with a Peanut Butter topping recipe.
This chocolate sourdough focaccia bread is made with simple ingredients but is a decadent dessert you didn’t know you needed. The tang from the sourdough and bitterness from the cocoa powder is perfectly balanced with the sweetness from the chocolate chunks and peanut butter topping. Plus anything served warm with melted chocolate chunks is a winner in my book.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
Great for beginners:
Baking focaccia is a sourdough beginner’s safe haven. With minimal stretching and shaping, it is a fool-proof recipe that is simple to follow, but just as delicious.
No-Knead Recipe:
Many sourdough bread recipes require multiple sets of stretch and folds in order to build strength in the dough and develop gluten. This process isn’t necessary for focaccia. Only a minute of mixing is needed until you bake and are met with a delectable finish.
Delicious and Impressive:
Traditional focaccia is a fantastic side dish to a bowl of grandma’s meatballs, but sprinkle in some cocoa powder and dot it with chocolate chips and you have a delicious after-dinner dessert. Not only can focaccia be strikingly beautiful with all the dimples and toppings, but it’s like the best chocolate cake with the signature sourdough chewy – unmatched!
Ingredients:
Dough
Cocoa Powder
Sea Salt
Active Sourdough Starter
Cool Water
Maple Syrup
Vanilla Extract
Chocolate Chunks
Butter – unsalted
Toppings
Peanut Butter
Cream Cheese
Butter
Powdered Sugar
Supplies
Large Bowl
Tea Towel / Plastic Wrap / Shower Cap
How to Make Chocolate Sourdough Focaccia:
Make the Dough:
In the evening, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, and salt until combined. Add the active starter, cool water, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Mix with a Danish dough whisk or by hand until the dry ingredients have been combined and you create a shaggy dough. Cover with a tea towel and let the dough rest for an hour.
After its first rest, sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the dough and knead for no more than a minute or until the chocolate is incorporated throughout the sourdough focaccia dough.
Bulk Fermentation:
Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel, plastic wrap, or I like to use a reusable shower cap. Leave at room temperature overnight in a warm spot to rise for 12-18 hours.
Second Rise:
The next day, melt the butter in the microwave or in a small saucepan on low heat. Pour the butter into a 10-inch cast iron skillet or baking sheet. Swirl to cover the bottom of the pan.
Gently transfer dough from the bowl into the cast iron pan. Flip to completely cover the surface of the dough with the melted butter. Cover again to rest for an hour or until it has doubled from its original size and is very puffy. Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, the butter may solidify – totally fine.
Shape the Focaccia:
Gently dimple and stretch the focaccia dough to reach the edges of the pan. Sprinkle another handful of chocolate chunks on top of the dough and press them in.
Bake:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees f.
Place the cast iron skillet on the middle rack of the hot oven and bake for 35-40 minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool for at least 10 minutes on a wire rack.
While still warm, top the focaccia with dollops of the peanut butter cream cheese topping and extra chopped chocolate chunks. Sprinkle with a dusting of powdered sugar, cut as wedges, and enjoy warm.
Topping:
In a stand mixer, mix the butter and cream cheese together until creamy. Add the powdered sugar in 3 stages, that way you don’t have sugar flying everywhere. Mix until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes on medium. Finally, add the peanut butter and mix until fully corporated.
How to Serve Chocolate Sourdough Focaccia:
Chocolate Sourdough Focaccia Bread is best when served warm with the peanut butter topping slightly melted. Ligurian tradition is to dip your focaccia in a strong cup of coffee. The bitter-and-sweet combination is simply delightful!
If chocolate and peanut butter aren’t your favorite combo, substitute for Nutella, fresh fruit, cream cheese, chopped chocolate, chopped nuts, or serve as is!
How to Store:
Chocolate Sourdough Focaccia is best eaten on the day it was baked, but it will stay fresh for 2-3 days. Store the focaccia in an airtight container or gallon-sized bag.
FAQs:
What kind of flour is best for chocolate sourdough focaccia?
Bread flour has a higher protein volume than all-purpose flour. Baking chocolate sourdough focaccia with bread flour gives the best result for an airy and chewy bite. However, if you do not have bread flour, it can be substituted with all-purpose flour. I opted to use a combination of flour for a chewy and light crumb.
Should you bake chocolate sourdough focaccia in glass or metal?
Metal heats faster than glass. Baking the chocolate focaccia bread in a cast iron skillet contributes to a higher rise and crispier edges. If you do not have a cast iron skillet, bake on a baking sheet before baking in glass.
Why do you have to dimple focaccia?
Dimpling the chocolate sourdough focaccia keeps the focaccia from baking flat, while also preventing a well-proofed dough from rising too quickly. It keeps the dough in perfect balance. Also, dimpling the dough helps to create little pockets for the butter to pool, which gives the delicious bread a perfectly crisp crust.
Happy baking!
More Recipes You’ll Love:
Chewy Sourdough Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies
Chocolate Sourdough Focaccia Recipe with Peanut Butter
Chocolate and Peanut Butter - the perfect pair for dessert focaccia. This Double Chocolate Sourdough Focaccia Bread is thick and chewy, dotted with bittersweet chocolate chunks, and topped with a rich peanut butter topping. Chocolate focaccia bread makes for a decadent dessert that is not only easy to prepare, but a chocolate and peanut butter lover's dream come true.
Ingredients
Dough
- 250 g bread flour
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- 30 g cocoa powder
- 5 g salt
- 50 g active starter
- 400 g cool water
- 40 g maple syrup
- 4g vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup chocolate chunks
- 70 g butter, melted
Topping
- 2.5 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 3 Tablespoons peanut butter
Instructions
Chocolate Sourdough Focaccia
Make the Dough:
- In the evening, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, and salt until combined.
- Add the active starter, cool water, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Mix with a Danish dough whisk or by hand until the dry ingredients have been combined and you create a shaggy dough.
- Cover with a tea towel and let the dough rest for an hour.
- After its first rest, sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the dough and knead for no more than a minute or until the chocolate is incorporated throughout the sourdough focaccia dough.
Bulk Fermentation:
- Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel, plastic wrap, or I like to use a reusable shower cap. Leave at room temperature overnight in a warm spot to rise for 12-18 hours.
Second Rise:
- The next day, melt the butter in the microwave or in a small saucepan on low heat. Pour the butter into a 10-inch cast iron skillet or baking sheet. Swirl to cover the bottom of the pan.
- Gently transfer dough from the bowl into the cast iron pan.
- Flip to completely cover the surface of the dough with the melted butter.
- Cover again to rest for an hour or until it has doubled from its original size and is very puffy. Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, the butter may solidify - totally fine.
Shape the Focaccia:
- Gently dimple and stretch the focaccia dough to reach the edges of the pan.
- Sprinkle another handful of chocolate chunks on top of the dough and press them in.
Bake:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees f.
- Place the cast iron skillet on the middle rack of the hot oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. Place a baking sheet underneath the cast iron skillet, just in case some butter bubbles over.
- Remove from the oven and cool for at least 10 minutes on a wire rack.
- While still warm, top the focaccia with dollops of the peanut butter cream cheese topping and extra chopped chocolate chunks.
- Sprinkle with a dusting of powdered sugar, cut as wedges, and enjoy warm.
Peanut Butter Topping
- In a stand mixer, mix the butter and cream cheese until creamy.
- Add the powdered sugar in 3 stages, that way you don't have sugar flying everywhere. Mix until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes on medium.
- Finally, add the peanut butter and mix until fully incorporated.
Notes
Chocolate sourdough focaccia is best eaten on the day it was baked, but it will stay fresh for 2-3 days. Store the focaccia in an airtight container or gallon-sized bag.
If chocolate and peanut butter aren't your favorite combo, substitute for Nutella, fresh fruit, cream cheese, chopped chocolate, chopped nuts, or serve as is!
Did you have any issues with the butter spilling over the edge of your cast iron skillet while baking? I didn’t put a pan under my skillet and had a very smoky oven when the butter dripped over the sides of the skillet onto the bottom of my oven.
Sorry about that! Personally, I did not. But I will add a recommendation in the recipe to place a baking sheet underneath, just in case. Thank you for sharing!