Chocolate Cherry Sourdough

Before you start

This loaf is a lean country sourdough with two additions that change how you handle it. Dutch-process cocoa replaces a small share of the flour, turning the crumb nearly black and drinking up water, so the dough feels stiffer than its 76% hydration suggests. Chopped dark chocolate and plumped dried cherries go in during the folds, where they can be tucked in without tearing the gluten.

The hardest part is reading doneness. A cocoa crust looks deeply browned well before the center is baked, so color is no guide here. Use an instant-read thermometer, bake slightly cooler than a plain loaf to keep the chocolate on the surface from scorching, and wait two hours before slicing so the melted chocolate sets back into pockets instead of smearing.

Ingredients

• Levain45 g (3 tbsp) active sourdough starter — fed and bubbly
• 45 g (⅓ cup) bread flour
• 45 g (3 tbsp) water — about 27°C (80°F)
• Dough425 g (3½ cups) bread flour
• 25 g (¼ cup) Dutch-process cocoa powder — sifted
• 330 g (1⅓ cups + 2 tsp) water — about 27°C (80°F)
• all of it (about 135 g) levain from above
• 10 g (1¾ tsp) fine sea salt
• 15 g (1 tbsp) granulated sugar — softens cocoa's bitterness; optional
• Mix-ins100 g (⅔ cup) dried tart cherries — soaked 15 minutes in hot water, drained and patted dry
• 100 g (⅔ cup chopped) bittersweet chocolate (60–70%) — chopped into 1 cm pieces

Method

1. Build the levain: stir the 45 g starter, 45 g flour and 45 g water in a small jar. Leave it at about 25°C (77°F) for 4 to 6 hours, until it has roughly doubled, smells pleasantly sour and a spoonful floats in water.
2. Whisk the 425 g bread flour, cocoa and sugar together so the cocoa has no lumps. Add 310 g of the water and mix until no dry flour remains. Cover and rest for 45 minutes; this autolyse makes the cocoa dough far easier to stretch.
3. Add the levain, salt and the remaining 20 g water. Squeeze and fold the dough with a wet hand for 3 to 4 minutes until it pulls back together and feels cohesive. Note the time: bulk fermentation starts now.
4. After 30 minutes, do a set of stretch and folds. Spread the cherries and chocolate over the dough, then on the second set (30 minutes later) fold them in by stretching each side up and over. Do two more sets 30 minutes apart, then leave the dough alone.
5. Bulk ferment at 24–25°C (75–77°F) for about 4½ hours total from mixing. It is ready when it has risen by about 50%, feels airy and jiggles, and shows bubbles on the sides of the tub. Cooler kitchens may need an hour or more longer.
6. Turn the dough onto an unfloured counter and pre-shape it into a loose round with the bench scraper. Rest it uncovered for 20 minutes, then shape a tight boule, pushing any exposed cherries underneath so they do not burn on the crust.
7. Place the boule seam side up in a floured banneton, cover it and refrigerate for 12 to 16 hours. The cold proof firms the dough for scoring and deepens the flavor.
8. Set the Dutch oven in the oven and heat to 250°C (480°F) for 45 minutes. Turn the cold dough onto parchment, score one long curved cut about 1 cm deep, and lower it into the pot. Cover, reduce the oven to 240°C (465°F) and bake 20 minutes.
9. Remove the lid, lower the oven to 230°C (450°F) and bake 22 to 25 minutes more. The loaf is done at 96–99°C (205–210°F) in the center and sounds hollow when tapped underneath. Cool on a rack for at least 2 hours before cutting.

Tips for success

• Dry the soaked cherries well. Surface water on fruit makes slick seams in the crumb that never fully bake.
• Chop the chocolate rather than using chips. Chips contain stabilizers that keep them from melting into the soft pockets that make this loaf worth slicing.
• If your kitchen runs warm, do the folds in the first 90 minutes only and watch the rise more than the clock; chocolate dough over-proofs quietly because you cannot see it darken.

Substitutions

Dutch-process cocoa

Natural cocoa works but tastes sharper and turns the crumb reddish-brown rather than near-black. It also adds acidity on top of the sourdough tang.

Dried tart cherries

Dried cranberries or chopped dried figs fit the same slot by weight. Sweetened cranberries make a slightly sweeter loaf; soak and dry them the same way.

Bread flour

All-purpose flour gives a softer, less lofty loaf. Hold back 15 g of the dough water because lower-protein flour absorbs less.

Variations

Chocolate orange

Swap the cherries for 60 g chopped candied orange peel and add the grated zest of 1 orange to the dough water.

Double chocolate with no fruit

Use 150 g chopped chocolate and skip the cherries; add 50 g toasted chopped hazelnuts if you like.

Troubleshooting

Bitter, scorched spots on the crust

Chocolate or fruit was sitting on the surface. Tuck mix-ins under during shaping and keep the lid-off temperature at 230°C (450°F) or lower.

Dense, tight crumb with a gummy band

Bulk fermentation was cut short or the loaf was sliced warm. Go by the 50% rise and airy feel, not the clock, and let it cool fully.

Dough tore when the mix-ins went in

They were added before the gluten had any strength. Spread them on after the first fold and incorporate on the second, using gentle stretches rather than kneading.

Storage

Keep the cut loaf cut side down on a board, or in a paper or cloth bag, for up to 3 days. Slice and freeze any extra in a sealed bag for up to 2 months, then toast from frozen. Refrigeration stales the crumb faster.

Safety notes

Do not taste the raw dough; raw flour can carry harmful bacteria until it is baked. Contains wheat and may contain milk or soy depending on your chocolate.