You will need an active bubbly starter for this double chocolate sourdough bread recipe. Feed the sourdough starter and allow it to rise at room temperature for 4-6 hours. The actual time may vary depending on different factors like the temperature of your kitchen, the strength of your starter, and the ratios you feed your starter. I like to feed my starter a ratio of 1:1:1.
Use a kitchen scale for the most accurate measurement. Add the active sourdough starter, warm water, brown sugar, and cocoa powder to a large bowl stirring to incorporate all of the ingredients. Next, add the salt and bread flour.
Know that the dough will be stiff. I started to mix the dough with my dough whisk but found that kneading by hand was the best way to mix in the bread flour completely.
Let the dough rest so that the flour can properly hydrate and that the dough can relax after being worked. After 30 minutes, do a series of stretch and folds. Grab the edge of the bread dough firmly and lift it straight up to stretch it, then fold and press into the center of the dough. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and do another stretch and fold.
Continue to do 4-5 times or until the dough becomes too stiff to lift and fold. This completes one set of stretch and folds. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes and repeat with another set of stretch and folds.
Before the last set of stretch and folds, add the chocolate chips to the dough. Do your best to keep the chips within the dough and not on the top.
You will do a total of 4 sets of stretch and folds over the two hours. The dough will become smoother and more elastic with each set of folds.