This Chocolate Cherry Sourdough Bread is a rich, decadent twist on your classic sourdough, with just the right balance of sweet and tangy. Packed with dark chocolate chips and chewy dried cherries, it's a beautiful bake that's perfect for dessert or a treat with coffee.
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Black Forest Gateau, But Sourdough!
Inspired by the classic German dessert, Black Forest Gateau is known for its layers of chocolate cake, whipped cream, and cherries. This sourdough chocolate cherry bread captures all those familiar flavours in sourdough form.
When served with a swipe of sweetened cream cheese, it tastes just like a slice of the real thing. It's a clever way to enjoy dessert for breakfast!
Don't have cherries? Try our Double Chocolate Sourdough Bread. No cocoa? Try our Sweet Sourdough Focaccia With Cherries and Almonds.
Ingredient Notes
Here's everything you will need to make this Chocolate Cherry Sourdough:
- strong white bread flour: that is, white flour with at least 12% protein content.
- cocoa powder: unsweetened.
- salt.
- caster sugar: or white granulated sugar.
- active sourdough starter: 100% hydration.
- water: use slightly warm water to kickstart the bulk fermentation process, especially if you're short on time or your kitchen is on the cooler side.
- dark chocolate chips: a.k.a. semi-sweet chocolate chips.
- dried cherries: we add them to the dough whole, but you may choose to chop them up into smaller pieces. You can also use glacé cherries, but we don't recommend fresh cherries, as they tend to release juices into the dough.
Find ingredient quantities, detailed instructions and nutritional information in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Fancy a quick chocolatey sourdough treat? Try our Double Chocolate Sourdough Zucchini Muffins!
Step-By-Step Method
DAY 1
Feed Sourdough Starter
First thing in the morning, feed your sourdough starter. I typically feed 70g of my starter in a ratio of 1 part starter:1 part water:1 part flour. This simply means that I mix 70g of starter with 70g water and 70g flour.
Scoop the mixture into a clean jar, and leave it in a warm spot (ideally, 21-27°C), semi-covered for 4 hours. Your starter should at least double in volume and be full of air bubbles in this time. If it doesn't, it may need a couple of good feeds before it's fit for purpose.
I use 160g of active starter for baking and feed the remaining 50g before storing it for the future.
Mixing The Dough
1. When your sourdough starter is active and bubbly, mix the dough. In a bowl of your stand mixer, combine the flour, cocoa powder, salt and sugar.
2. Pour in the water and sourdough starter, and run your stand mixer, fitted with a dough hook attachment, for 10 minutes on medium speed.
Folds, Adding Mix-Ins and Bulk Fermentation
1. Using a dough scraper, scoop the dough into a clean large bowl, cover it with cling film (plastic wrap) or a damp tea towel and leave it in a warm place for 30 minutes.
2. After 30 minutes, perform the first set of coil folds: using wet hands, lift the dough from the sides and fold it inwards to form a coil. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and coil fold again. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
3. Repeat the coil folds twice more at 30-minute intervals. Then leave the covered dough in a warm place for 30 minutes.
4. Now, scatter ¼ of the chocolate chips and cherries over the surface of the dough, and stretch one side of the dough over (just like stretch and folds method). Scatter another ¼ of the mix-ins and fold the dough over. Repeat with the remaining two sides of the dough. Alternatively, you can use the sourdough lamination method to incorporate your mix-ins.
5. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Then, at 30-minute rests, perform two more sets of coil folds. For more information on how to coil fold and when to know when you've done enough folding, head to our dedicated article about Sourdough Coil Folds.
6. Once all the folds have been completed, cover the dough and let the dough rise at a warm room temperature for 2-4 hours to finish the bulk fermentation process (fermentation time will depend on the environmental temperature). Your dough should just about double its original size. If you are using a see-through glass bowl for bulk fermenting, you should see a lot of activity and bubbles forming at the base and sides of the bowl.
Shaping and Cold Retardation
1. At the end of bulk fermentation, scoop the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Try and make sure that the smooth top of the dough (the side that is not intact with the bowl) is placed on the floured work surface. Then swiftly fold the four corners of the dough into the centre.
2. Flip the dough seam-side down and use your hands to cup and rotate it, pulling it slightly against the surface to form a smooth, tight ball.
3. Place the dough ball into a well-floured banneton basket (or any proofing basket alternatives). We recommend using rice flour for dusting your proofing baskets. The smooth side of the sourdough ball should be at the bottom, with the seam at the top.
4. Pinch the seam together with your fingers, if the dough starts spreading in the bowl to make sure the dough is tight. Sprinkle with some flour, and cover the dough with a clean fabric napkin or small lightweight tea towel.
5. Place the proofing basket in a large plastic bag - it will protect the dough from drying out. Then place the whole thing in the fridge for its final rise (a.k.a. second rise) in the fridge for 12-18 hours.
DAY 2
The next day, place the Dutch Oven in the oven, and preheat it to 240°C (typically, it is the highest temperature home ovens will go to) with the Dutch oven in it. It needs to be piping hot!
Scoring The Dough
1. Once the oven is hot, take the dough out of the fridge and out of the bag.
2. Invert the dough gently onto a large piece of parchment paper. You will notice that your cold dough is a lot stiffer than usual due to the cocoa powder in it.
3. Using a bread lame, a sharp knife blade or a razor blade, score the dough deeply (approximately 1cm deep) at a 30- 45º angle. One single deep slash is all that's needed for that sought-after sourdough "ear".
The blade may catch on the chocolate chips and cherries, but be assertive.
Baking
1. Take the hot Dutch Oven out of the oven, take the lid off, and lift the sourdough into it, holding the edges of the parchment paper. Be mindful of how you lift the paper. Sometimes, the scored slash can begin to close up during this process. To prevent this, lift the parchment from the sides that won't push the two edges of the scored dough back together.
2. Place the lid back on the Dutch Oven and place the bread into the hot oven for 25-30 minutes.
3. After 25 minutes, take the lid off, and return the sourdough to the oven for another 20-25 minutes. If you don't want your loaf of bread too dark in colour, you can reduce the oven temperature to 200°C. When baked, the internal temperature of your sourdough should reach 96-99°C (205-210°F).
Cooling
1. Once baked, take the Dutch Oven out of the oven. Lift the bread out by holding the corners of the parchment paper. Place the bread onto the wire rack, and slide the parchment paper from underneath the loaf.
2. Leave the sourdough to cool down to room temperature before slicing.
How Do Cocoa, Cherries & Chocolate Affect Sourdough Baking?
HYDRATION. Cocoa powder is very absorbent and dries out dough quickly, so you'll need a little extra water to achieve the right consistency. Dried cherries also soak up moisture during bulk fermentation, which is another important thing to consider when adjusting hydration.
BULK FERMENTATION. Enriched doughs like this one tend to ferment faster due to sugar and fat content, but cocoa can slightly inhibit yeast activity. From my personal experience, bulk fermentation takes a little while longer, but rely on visual cues, like volume and bubbles, not just time.
DOUGH HANDLING. Cocoa affects gluten development, making the dough less elastic and more prone to tearing. To manage this, reduce handling to gentle coil folds and allow the dough to rest fully between each set.
CRUST AND CRUMB. The addition of dark chocolate chunks and cherries can weigh the dough down, leading to a denser crumb and less oven spring. They also create moist pockets in the loaf, which can make the dough look slightly underbaked when you first cut into it. The crust is also softer due to the fat in cocoa powder.
More Sourdough Recipes With Inclusions
Plain Everyday Sourdough Bread is great, but if you're thirsty for adventure, consider some of our favourite sourdough recipes with inclusions:
Chocolate Cherry Sourdough Bread
Equipment
- Bench Scraper
- Proofing Basket
- Razor Blade or Bread Lame
- Cooling Rack
Ingredients
- 350 g strong bread flour with at least 12% protein content
- 50 g cocoa powder unswetened
- 5 g salt
- 50 g caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 160 g active sourdough starter 100% hydration
- 280-300 ml water
- 100 g dark chocolate chips
- 80 g dried cherries
Instructions
DAY 1
Feed Sourdough Starter
- First thing in the morning, feed your sourdough starter. I typically feed 70g of my starter in a ratio of 1 part starter:1 part water:1 part flour. This simply means that I mix 70g of starter with 70g water and 70g flour. Scoop the mixture into a clean jar, and leave it in a warm spot (ideally, 21-27°C), semi-covered for 4 hours. Your starter should at least double in volume in this time. If it doesn't, it may need a couple of good feeds before it's fit for purpose.
- I use 160g of active starter for baking and feed the remaining 50g before storing it for the future.
Mixing The Dough
- When your sourdough starter is active and bubbly, mix the dough. In a bowl of your stand mixer, combine the flour, cocoa powder, salt and sugar.
- Pour in the water and sourdough starter, and run your stand mixer, fitted with a dough hook attachment, for 10 minutes on medium speed.
Folds, Adding Mix-Ins and Bulk Fermentation
- Scoop the dough into a clean large bowl, cover and leave it in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, perform the first set of coil folds: using wet hands, lift the dough from the sides and fold it inwards to form a coil. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and coil fold again. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
- Repeat the coil folds twice more at 30-minute intervals. Then leave the covered dough in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- Now, scatter ¼ of the chocolate chips and cherries over the surface of the dough, and stretch one side of the dough over (just like stretch and folds method). Scatter another ¼ of the mix-ins and fold the dough over. Repeat with the remaining two sides of the dough. Alternatively, you can use the sourdough lamination method to incorporate your mix-ins.
- Let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Then, at 30-minute intervals, perform two more sets of coil folds. For more information on how to coil fold and when to know when you've done enough folding, head to our dedicated article about Sourdough Coil Folds.
- Once all the folds have been completed, cover the dough and let the dough rise at warm room temperature for 2-4 hours to finish bulk fermentation. Your dough should just about double its original size. If you are using a see-through glass bowl for bulk fermenting, you should see a lot of activity and bubbles forming at the base and sides of the bowl.
Shaping and Cold Retardation
- At the end of bulk fermentation, scoop the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Try and make sure that the smooth top of the dough (the side that is not intact with the bowl) is placed on the floured work surface. Then swiftly fold the four corners of the dough into the centre.
- Flip the dough seam-side down and use your hands to cup and rotate it, pulling it slightly against the surface to form a smooth, tight ball.
- Place the dough ball into a well-floured banneton basket (or any proofing basket alternatives). We recommend using rice flour for dusting your proofing baskets. The smooth side of the sourdough ball should be at the bottom, with the seam at the top.
- Pinch the seam together with your fingers, if the dough starts spreading in the bowl to make sure the dough is tight. Sprinkle with some flour, and cover the dough with a clean fabric napkin or small lightweight tea towel.
- Place the proofing basket in a large plastic bag - it will protect the dough from drying out. Then place the whole thing in the fridge for its final rise (a.k.a. second rise) in the fridge for 12-18 hours.
DAY 2:
- The next day, place the Dutch Oven in the oven, and preheat it to 240°C (typically, it is the highest temperature home ovens will go to) with the Dutch oven in it. It needs to be piping hot!
Scoring The Dough
- Once the oven is hot, take the dough out of the fridge and out of the bag.
- Invert the dough gently onto a large piece of parchment paper. You will notice that the dough is a lot stiffer than usual due to cocoa powder in it.
- Using a bread lame or a razor blade, score the dough deeply (approximately 1cm deep) at a 30- 45º angle. One single deep slash is all that's needed for that sought-after sourdough "ear". The blade may catch on the chocolate chips and cherries, but be assertive.
Baking
- Take the hot Dutch Oven out of the oven, take the lid off, and lift the sourdough into it, holding the edges of the parchment paper. Be mindful of how you lift the paper. Sometimes, the scored slash can begin to close up during this process. To prevent this, lift the parchment from the sides that won't push the two edges of the scored dough back together.
- Place the lid back on the Dutch Oven and place the bread into the hot oven for 25-30 minutes.
- After 25 minutes, take the lid off, and return the sourdough to the oven for another 20-25 minutes. If you don't want your loaf of bread too dark in colour, you can reduce the oven temperature to 200°C.
Cooling
- Once baked, take the Dutch Oven out of the oven. Lift the bread out by holding the corners of the parchment paper. Place the bread onto the wire rack, and slide the parchment paper from underneath the loaf.
- Leave the sourdough to cool down to room temperature before slicing.
Nutrition
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