This Pistachio Sourdough Bread With Chocolate Chips brings a touch of Dubai chocolate to your everyday loaf, combining nutty depth with bursts of rich sweetness. With every bite, you'll enjoy the contrast of crunchy pistachios and melty chocolate tucked inside a beautifully fermented sourdough crumb.
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Dubai Chocolate Flavours In Sourdough Bread
Have you given in to the Dubai chocolate madness? If so, I don't blame you.
This sourdough is inspired by the luxurious flavours of the modern-day obsession - Dubai Chocolate! My mix-ins include chocolate and pistachios, and the crispy sourdough crust echoes the delicate crunch of kadayif pastry, bringing texture and contrast to the melty chocolate and nutty interior.
Love pistachios in sourdough? Try our Sourdough Baklava Focaccia and Raspberry Pistachio Sourdough Muffins next!
Ingredient Notes
Here's everything you will need to make this beautiful loaf:
- strong white bread flour: with at least 12.5% protein content. You may replace up to 20% of white flour with whole wheat flour, but you will need to add a little bit more water, as wholemeal flour tends to be thirstier.
- water.
- active sourdough starter: 100% hydration.
- salt: we recommend fine sea salt.
- caster sugar: or granulated sugar.
- pistachios: roughly chopped by hand or in a food processor.
- chocolate chips: dark, milk or white chocolate chips - they all work! We used dark chocolate chips on this particular occasion.
Find the ingredient quantities, detailed instructions and nutritional information in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Step-By-Step Method
DAY 1
1. First thing in the morning, feed the sourdough starter and leave it in a warm place (ideally, between 21-27°C), loosely covered, for 4 hours (if you feed it in 1:1:1 ratio).
2. The starter should double in size by then. Sourdough Starter Not Doubling Within 4 Hours? How To Fix It?
Autolyse
1. Before your starter reaches its peak, start the autolyse. In a bowl of your stand mixer, combine the flour and water into a dry-ish shaggy dough. Simply run the mixer, fitted with a dough hook attachment for 1-2 minutes.
2. Then cover the bowl with a damp towel and leave the flour to hydrate for 30-60 minutes.
Mixing The Dough
1. Sprinkle salt and sugar over the hydrated flour and add the active sourdough starter to the shaggy dough mixture.
2. Run the stand mixer for 10-15 minutes until your dough is smooth and elastic. It does not need to pass the windowpane test just yet (the gluten will continue developing when we fold the dough during the bulk fermentation period).
Bulk Fermentation and Coil Folds
1. Scoop the dough into a large bowl, cover with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap (a.k.a. cling film) and leave it in a warm place (21-27°C) for 30 minutes.
2. After 30 minutes, with cold wet hands, perform the first set of coil folds. Simply lift the bread dough with both hands from the sides and tuck it under to form a coil. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and coil again. Cover the bowl again, and let the dough rest for 30 minutes again.
3. Repeat the coil folds three more times. After the last fold, your dough should feel a lot less sticky and feel strengthened and elastic. This is important for the next step - sourdough lamination!
Laminating The Mix-Ins & Finish Bulk Fermentation
1. Wet the surface of a large area of the kitchen surface (you can spray it or simply use your hands to make the surfaces wet). Scoop the dough out onto a wet surface and stretch it out as much as you can without tearing it.
2. Scatter ⅓ of the chocolate chips and ⅓ of the chopped pistachio nuts all over the middle section of the dough. Then fold one side over the mix-ins. Scatter another ⅓ on top of the folded-over area and fold the other side over. This should look like a large dough pamphlet at this stage.
3. Scatter half of the remaining mix-ins in the centre of the pamphlet, then fold the top over. Finally, scatter the remaining mix-ins over the folded-over bit, and fold the bottom over. Please refer to the video below for a better explanation. You should now be left with a parcel of laminated sourdough.
4. Place the dough into the mixing bowl you used before, cover and let the dough rise for 1-3 hours. Watch the dough, as bulk fermentation will be quicker due to added sugar.
Shaping and Cold Retardation
1. At the end of bulk fermentation, using a bowl scraper, 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 and flip the dough over. Flip the dough seam-side down and use your hands to cup and rotate it, pulling it slightly against the worktop to create surface tension and form a tight, smooth ball.
2. 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 side up.
3. 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. Secure it tightly around the proofing basket.
4. Place the proofing basket in a large plastic bag if your fridge tends to dry out your dough. Otherwise, place the covered proofing basket in the fridge to cold retard for its final rise (a.k.a. second rise or cold fermentation) in the fridge for 12-36 hours.
DAY 2
The next day, place the Dutch Oven in the oven, and preheat it to 240°C (465°F) (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 Sourdough
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 sheet of parchment paper. If your dough was properly bulk fermented and shaped correctly, it should not spread once inverted.
3. Dust the surface of the dough with flour. 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".
Baking and Cooling
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 on the Dutch Oven and place the bread into the hot oven for 30 minutes.
3. After 30 minutes, take the lid off, reduce the oven temperature to 200ºC (400ºF) and return the sourdough to the oven for another 20 minutes to turn golden brown.
4. 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.
4. Leave the sourdough to cool down to room temperature before slicing.
Serving Suggestions
We love this delicious bread best on the day that it is baked, as soon as it cools down. Try it with salted butter or a swipe of cream cheese. Or pair it with orange marmalade, mascarpone and honey.
NOTE: We don't recommend toasting it in a regular toaster - the chocolate will melt and burn (don't ask how I know...).
More Sourdough Bread With Mix-Ins
Looking for a thoughtful homemade idea? Sourdough bread packed with unique mix-ins makes a great gift, especially during the holiday season when a personalised loaf is sure to warm hearts (and bellies!). Here are some of our favourite recipes, including Chocolate Cherry Sourdough Bread or Pistachio Sourdough With Chocolate Chips.
Pistachio Sourdough Bread With Chocolate Chips
Equipment
- Dough Scraper
- Proofing Basket
- Razor Blade or Bread Lame
Ingredients
- 400 g strong white bread flour with at least 12.5% protein content
- 240 ml water
- 160 g active sourdough starter 100% hydration
- 8 g salt
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 100 g pistachios roughly chopped
- 100 g chocolate chips dark, milk or white
Instructions
DAY 1
- First thing in the morning, feed the sourdough starter and leave it in a warm place (ideally, between 21-27°C), loosely covered, for 4 hours (if you feed it in 1:1:1 ratio). The starter should double in size by then. If it doesn't, it might need a few more good feedings to be ready.
Autolyse
- Before your starter reaches its peak, start the autolyse. In a bowl of your stand mixer, combine the flour and water into a dry-ish shaggy dough. Simply run the mixer for 1-2 minutes, then cover the bowl with a damp towel and leave the flour to hydrate for 30-60 minutes.
Mixing The Dough
- Sprinkle salt and sugar over the hydrated flour and add the active sourdough starter to the shaggy dough mixture. Run the stand mixer for 10-15 minutes until your dough is smooth and elastic. It does not need to pass the windowpane test just yet (the gluten will continue developing when we fold the dough during the bulk fermentation period).
Bulk Fermentation and Coil Folds
- Scoop the dough into a large bowl, cover with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap (a.k.a. cling film) and leave it in a warm place (21-27°C) for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, with cold wet hands, perform the first set of coil folds. Simply lift the bread dough with both hands from the sides and tuck it under to form a coil. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and coil again. Cover the bowl again, and let the dough rest for 30 minutes again.
- Repeat the coil folds three more times. After the third coil fold, your dough should feel a lot less sticky and feel strengthened and elastic. This is important for the next step - sourdough lamination!
Laminating The Mix-Ins & Finish Bulk Fermentation
- Wet the surface of a large area of the kitchen surface (you can spray it or simply use your hands to make the surfaces wet). Scoop the dough out onto a wet surface and stretch it out as much as you can without tearing it.
- Scatter ⅓ of chocolate chips and ⅓ of pistachio nuts all over the middle section of the dough. Then fold one side over the mix-ins. Scatter another ⅓ on top of the folded-over area and fold the other side over. This should look like a large dough pamphlet at this stage.
- Scatter half of the remaining mix-ins in the centre of the pamphlet, then fold the top over. Finally, scatter the remaining mix-ins over the folded-over bit, and fold the bottom over. Please refer to the photos in the text above for a better explanation. You should now be left with a parcel of laminated sourdough.
- Place the dough into the mixing bowl you used before, cover and let the dough rise for 1-3 hours. Watch the dough, as bulk fermentation will be quicker due to added sugar.
Shaping and Cold Retardation
- At the end of bulk fermentation, using a bowl scraper 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 and flip the dough over. Flip the dough seam-side down and use your hands to cup and rotate it, pulling it slightly against the worktop to create surface tension and 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 side up.
- 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. Secure it tightly around the proofing basket.
- Place the proofing basket in a large plastic bag if your fridge tends to dry out your dough. Otherwise, place the covered proofing basket in the fridge for its final rise (a.k.a. second rise) in the fridge for 12-36 hours.
DAY 2
- The next day, place the Dutch Oven in the oven, and preheat it to 240°C (465°F)(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 Sourdough
- Once the oven is hot, take the dough out of the fridge and out of the bag.
- Invert the dough gently onto a large sheet of parchment paper. If your dough was properly bulk fermented and shaped correctly, it should not spread once inverted.
- Dust the surface of the dough with flour. 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".
Baking and Cooling
- 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 on the Dutch Oven and place the bread into the hot oven for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, take the lid off, reduce the oven temperature to 200 C and return the sourdough to the oven for another 20 minutes to turn golden brown.
- 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.
Video
Nutrition
Gretchen Bazeley says
Loved this recipe and we ate the entire loaf in a day!!
Ieva Greber says
Ahh, thank you for the comment - it made my day to know that you loved it (and that we're not the only ones to finish the whole loaf in one day :))