High Altitude Double Chocolate Sourdough Bread

This Double Chocolate Sourdough Bread is what happens when rich brownies meet rustic sourdough.

Made with cocoa powder and studded with mini chocolate chips, every slice is soft, deeply chocolatey, and just slightly tangy from the sourdough starter. The crust bakes up beautifully while the inside stays tender and moist, creating a loaf that feels equal parts artisan bread and indulgent dessert.

Try these other HIGH ALTITUDE SOURDOUGH RECIPES…soft & fluffy SOURDOUGH DINNER ROLLS, perfectly moist SOURDOUGH CINNAMON ROLLS, easy SOURDOUGH SANDWICH BREAD, and easy SOURDOUGH ARTISAN BREAD.

This High Altitude double chocolate Sourdough Bread recipe is made at 8,000 ft elevation. No need to make adjustments for other altitudes.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe:

1. RICH CHOCOLATE FLAVOR – Cocoa powder in the dough and mini chocolate chips throughout create a deep, chocolatey flavor in every bite
2. A PERFECT CROSS BETWEEN BREAD & BROWNIES – This loaf has the tender crumb of sourdough bread with the indulgent taste of a rich brownie
3. PERFECT FOR BREAKFAST OR DESSERT – Enjoy a slice warm with butter for breakfast, or serve it as a sweet treat with coffee or a scoop of ice cream
4. BEAUTIFUL ARTISAN-STYLE LOAF – With its dark chocolate crumb and melty chocolate chips, this bread looks just as impressive as it tastes
5. INCLUDES TIMELINE – A step-by-step baking schedule is provided so you know exactly when to mix, fold, shape, and bake, taking all the guesswork out of sourdough

Recommended Tools:

You don’t need fancy or expensive tools to make sourdough breads. Sourdough has been made for centuries with the simplest equipment.

• LARGE MIXING BOWL or ELECTRIC STAND MIXER with dough hook
• DIGITAL SCALE – this provides the most accurate measurements
• PROOFING CONTAINER – a 9″ bowl with a tea towel or a banneton basket
• BAKING SHEET
• SHARP KNIFE or RAZOR BLADE (bread lame)
• PARCHMENT PAPER
• COVER FOR PROOFING CONTAINER – a damp tea towel, shower cap, or plastic wrap
• BAKING DISH or CAST IRON SKILLET – for steam if using a baking sheet. Do NOT use a glass baking dish.

Ingredients:

• ACTIVE STARTER – An active sourdough starter is a mixture of flour and water that’s alive with wild yeast and bacteria, bubbling with activity and ready to leaven bread. Feed the starter 12 hours in advanced a 1:5:5 ratio.
• BREAD FLOUR – Bread flour is often the best choice for sourdough bread because it has a higher protein content (at least 12%) than all-purpose flour. The extra protein develops into more gluten, which gives the dough better structure and elasticity
• BROWN SUGAR – just a little bit adds to perfect kiss of sweetness to the loaf
• COCOA POWDER – creates the beautiful coloring of the loaf and adds the chocolate flavor
• MINI CHOCOLATE CHIPS –trust me on this! I tried regular chocolate chips several time and it looked like a deer pooped on top of the loaf…I’m not kidding.
• WARM WATER – the water should be around 100-110° F. NOTE: if you have treated tap water filtered water would be beneficial to use, otherwise your water can weaken or kill off the natural yeast in the starter
• KOSHER SALT – kosher salt has a slightly milder and more pure taste compared to table salt
• OPTIONAL: RICE FLOUR – to flour the banneton basket. Rice flour doesn’t absorb water as well, which helps to prevent the dough from sticking

BAKING TIP: the most accurate way to measure flour is by weighing it. If you plan on measuring the flour never scoop it up, always spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off

How To Make Sourdough Bread:

1. FEED STARTER 12 HOURS IN ADVANCE – feed the started 1:5:5 or 10 grams starter : 50 grams Bread Flour : 50 grams water.
2. MIX ACTIVE STARTER & WATER – mix in a large bowl until the water is creamy without chunks
3. ADD FLOUR, BROWN SUGAR, COCOA POWDER, & SALT– initially the dough will be dry just keep mixing. The dough will eventually become wet and shaggy
4. REST FOR 45 MINUTES – cover with a moist towel, plastic wrap, or lid
5. COIL FOLD & REST X 2 – grab the center of the dough and pull up, allowing the edges to fall underneath, repeat another 2-3 times. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and do 3-4 more coil folds. Cover the dough and rest for 30 minutes then repeat the coil fold, cover, and rest time.
6. ADD MINI CHOCOLATE CHIPS – dump the chocolate chips into the bowl on top of the dough. Using your fingers gently press the chocolate chips into the dough.
7. COIL FOLD & REST X 2 – grab the center of the dough and pull up, allowing the edges to fall underneath, repeat another 2-3 times. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and do 3-4 more coil folds. Cover the dough and rest for 30 minutes then repeat the coil fold. TIP: only perform coil folds until the dough become to tight or starts to tear. That is the dough indicating the gluten needs to rest.
8. BULK FERMENT – cover the dough and let sit at room temperature. The amount of time needed for this will be different for each kitchen & day. Anticipate 8-10 hours from the time you START mixing your ingredients.
9. PRE-SHAPE & REST – dump the bread dough onto a clean work surface. Using a bench scraper or your hands pre-shape the dough. Gently push the edge of the dough in and away from you then rotate pushing the dough in and toward you to create a ball and tension in the dough. Continue this rotating motion until the dough is smooth on top and you create a tight ball. Rest the dough on the counter for 20 minutes.
10. SHAPE – lightly flour the banneton basket or tea towel in a bowl with Rice Flour or Bread Flour. In one quick motion scoop up the bread dough with a bench scraper or your hands. Flip the dough over (the smooth surface on the bottom in the palm of your hands) and fold the dough in half. Place the dough smooth side down into the floured basket. Pinch the seam of the dough together creating additional tension to the bottom.
11. PLACE IN FRIDGE – cover the dough with a moist tea towel or shower cap. Place it fridge for a minimum of 12 hours or up to 72 hours.
12. PREHEAT OVEN – preheat the oven to 450° F. Add the empty baking sheet while preheating the oven.
13. PREPARE STEAM – when open baking on a baking sheet steam needs to be added to the oven. Place a 9×13 baking dish (NOT glass) or cast iron skillet to the lowest rack of the oven. Prepare boiling water.
14. FLOUR & SCORE – gently dump the dough onto parchment paper. Lightly flour the top of the dough. Cut one simple, deep cut across the dough. You can additional cuts if you want to be creative but they are hard to see on the dark crust.
15. BAKE – add the dough to the baking sheet by using the parchment paper. Pour the boiling water into the heated 9×13 pan and immediately close the oven door. 20 minutes into baking remove the water and bake an additional 15 minutes at 425° F.
16. COOL & ENJOY! – I know its hard but allow the bread to cool completely before cutting into it.

Find the full ingredients list and directions in the recipe box below.

Sourdough Timeline:

• 8 PM FEED STARTER – feed the starter 1 : 5 : 5 = 10g Starter : 50g Water : 50g Bread Flour
• 8 AM MIX INGREDIENTS – mix all ingredients and rest 45 minutes
• 8:45 AM COIL FOLD – coil fold, cover, and rest 30 minutes
• 9:15 AM COIL FOLD – coil fold, cover, and rest 30 minutes
• 9:45 AM ADD CHOCOLATE CHIPS & COIL FOLD – coil fold, cover, and rest 30 minutes
• 10:15 AM COIL FOLD – coil fold, cover, and bulk ferment
• 6-10 HOURS LATER – (time dependent on dough and temperature) pre shape dough, rest 20 minutes, shape, and put into fridge
• 10 AM BAKE

Other High Altitude Recipes:

If you make this delicious easy High Altitude Sourdough Double Chocolate Bread recipe please rate this recipe and leave a comment below about how it turned out. If you have any questions, post them below and I would love to help you out.