The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Dark Chocolate with a Splash of  Maple Syrup Porridge Sourdough 

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

Dark Chocolate with a Splash of  Maple Syrup Porridge Sourdough 

 

I don’t remember how I stumbled on this combo but I must give Kristen Dennis, from Full Proof Baking, the credit for inspiring this version. 

 

Recipe 

 

Makes 3 loaves

 

Porridge 

100 g large rolled oats

200 g water

35 g Maple Syrup

30 g butter

 

Add-ins

200 g 50%  dark chocolate chips 

 

Dough

800 g strong bakers unbleached flour

200 g freshly milled wholegrain Durum flour 

50 g freshly ground flax seeds

700 g water

23 g pink Himalayan salt

30 g yogurt

250 g levain (procedure in recipe)

Extra wholegrain and unbleached flour of your choice for feeding the levain

 

 

The day before:

1. Take 2 g of refrigerated starter and feed it 4 g of filtered water and 4 g of wholegrain flour. Place in a warm spot for about 8 hours. 

 

The night before:

1. Mill the grains if you are using durum berries. Otherwise use the freshest wholegrain durum flour that you can find (freshly milled flour does make an incredible difference in flavor). Place the required amount of flour in a tub. Grind the flax seeds and add to the tub. Add the unbleached flour to the tub as well. Cover and set aside.

  1. Feed the levain 20 g of water and 20 g of wholegrain flour. Let that rise at cool room temperature for the night. 

 

Dough Making day:

1. Early in the morning, feed the levain 100 g of filtered water and 50 g of strong baker’s flour and 50 g wholegrain flour. Let rise until doubled (about 5 hours). 

2. About two hours before the levain is ready, put 700 g filtered water in a stand mixer’s bowl and add the flours from the tub.  Mix on the lowest speed until all the flour has been hydrated. This takes a couple of minutes. Autolyse for at least a couple of hours at room temperature. 

3. Make the porridge: Add the water, the butter and the maple syrup to the rolled oats and cook on low until the liquids are absorbed and porridge is creamy. Let cool. 

4. Once the autolyse is done and the levain has doubled, add the salt, the yogurt, and the levain to the bowl. Mix on the lowest speed for a few seconds to integrate everything, then mix on the next speed for 8 minutes. At the end of the 8 minutes, add the porridge as well as the chocolate chips, and mix until incorporated.

5. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and place in a lightly oiled covered tub. Let rest 30 minutes in a warm spot (oven with light on). 

6. Do 2 sets of coil folds at 30 minute intervals and then one more set after 45 minutes. I usually do a total of 4 sets but this dough was moving really fast. When I went to do the last set of folds, it had risen 40-50% already so I decided to go ahead with shaping. Total bulk was less than 3 hours. 

7. Tip the dough out on a bare counter, sprinkle the top with flour and divide into portions of ~870 g. Round out the portions into rounds with a dough scraper and let rest 30 minutes on the counter. 

8. Do a final shape by flipping the rounds over on a lightly floured counter. Gently stretch the dough out into a circle. Pull and fold the third of the dough closest to you over the middle. Pull the right side and fold over the middle and do the same to the left. Fold the top end to the center patting out any cavities. Finally stretch the two top corners and cross over each other in the middle. Roll the bottom of the dough away from you until the seam is underneath the dough. Cup your hands around the dough and pull towards you, doing this on all sides of the dough to round it off. Finally spin the dough to make a nice tight boule.

9. Sprinkle a  mix of rice flour and all purpose flour in the bannetons. Place the dough seam side down in the bannetons. Let rest for a few minutes on the counter and then put to bed in a cold (38F) fridge overnight. I try to keep final proof under 12 hours. 

 

Baking Day

1. The next morning, about 11 hours later, heat the oven to 475F with the Dutch ovens inside for 45 minutes to an hour. Turn out the dough seam side up onto a cornmeal sprinkled counter. Place rounds of parchment paper in the bottom of the pots, and carefully but quickly place the dough seam side up inside. 

2. Cover the pots and bake the loaves at 450 F for 25 minutes, remove the lids, and bake for another 20 minutes at 425 F. Internal temperature should be 205 F or more.

 

Holy oven spring! These really decided to explode. 

Comments

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

Would love to taste some of that!

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

wait to cut into it too!

Benito's picture
Benito

I agree with Dan, I’d love a slice of that too.

Hope all is well with you Danni, things have worsened up there in Thunder Bay, stay safe.

Benny

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

Not fun up here! Just got an email that my physiotherapist was exposed to Covid by one of his patients on March 5th, which was 3 days before I was there. He found out the day after that he was exposed. Thankfully he is negative when he was tested a week later. He is still going to isolate for the full 14 days.

Ash got her first vaccine, thank goodness, so at least she has some immunity for her job at the hospital. With this talk of delaying the second vaccines by 16 weeks, she is going to ask if she can still get her second shot as previously scheduled since she is immuno compromised due to the meds she takes for arthritis. No idea if they will agree, but can’t hurt to ask right?

Stay safe! 

Benito's picture
Benito

Looking at the studies done to date, in particular on the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, the antibody levels after a single dose 3 months later are high enough that they are giving >90% protection against serious disease.  It is very reasonable to delay the second shot for 16 weeks, I would have no concerns about that now that the data is out there.  Now for someone who is on immune suppressants we don’t know very well how well this works.  It might be totally the same or maybe not.  If she shares with them the medications that she is on, they might be able to give her the second dose on schedule.  

Benny

bread1965's picture
bread1965

Glad to hear Ash got her first shot! And your breads are of course so beautiful! Yet another amazing bake!

 

Floydm's picture
Floydm

This sounds soooo good.

May I feature this on the homepage for a bit? It is time for me to update those.

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

I’d be honored! 

Here is a crumb shot. 

 

Benito's picture
Benito

Congrats on the front page feature Danni, well deserved.

Benny

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

Wow! With butter on it, it’s a slice of heaven! Highly recommend trying this one! 

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

You got great rise for sure! The maple syrup made the sourdough very happy. Sorry you are in an area of high rates of infection. One of our universities had a huge rise last week and they are meeting tomorrow to decide if they should close for the rest of the year . It’s certainly a virus that just won’t slow down for long. Be safe!! c

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

You got great rise for sure! The maple syrup made the sourdough very happy. Sorry you are in an area of high rates of infection. One of our universities had a huge rise last week and they are meeting tomorrow to decide if they should close for the rest of the year . It’s certainly a virus that just won’t slow down for long. Be safe!! c

syros's picture
syros

Danni, it’s been ages since I’ve been on TFL but you always have a gorgeous bake! Love it and love the recipe. This is one I am going to try for sure! And glad Ash got her vaccine. I received my first one on March 3rd. The second one is May 26th. I made it before they extended the time to 16 weeks. Good to know Pfizer is still 90% effective, but I wish the shots were sooner! We are still on curfew here in Montreal. 

cfraenkel's picture
cfraenkel

Chocolate, maple syrup and oatmeal....who could ask for more.  I think I might even have some durum hanging about somewhere too.  Will have to try this one.  Glad to hear Ash got her first jab, Monica has had 2 doses, so a little weight off her shoulders.  She said "at least I don't have to worry about PPE as much if I rush in to save someone's life." (she works in Emergency) Your loaves, as always look amazing.  I just came here looking for something Irish soda bread ish for St. Patricks day.  It might be sourdough with currants, not sure I like the idea of soda bread any more!  It was good to see a post from you.  :-)

 

MichaelLily's picture
MichaelLily

Here I am, sitting on the couch drinking citron tea that I read about on this forum, out of one of the mugs you gave me, thinking about how I can convince you to visit Duluth with one of those loaves in tow. But Alack! the border is closed. By the time it is open, I may have a shiny new Bongard Soleo oven that you may have to see next time you are passing through.

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

up on the offer to visit, as soon as the border opens, which hopefully is sooner than later. And I’ll bring you a loaf. This one is definitely special. 

MichaelLily's picture
MichaelLily

I'm looking forward to it. Have you had a chocolate cherry sourdough yet? If not, I'll make you one when the time comes.

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

If they are anything like the rest of your baking that I’ve had, I’m sure they are to die for! 

Isand66's picture
Isand66

Congratulations on the cover shot.  This one sounds delicious for sure.  Glad you’re staying safe and your daughter was able to get her first shot.

Best regards,

Ian

vdalis's picture
vdalis

Hi there, I am new to this site and found your post. Beautiful loaves. I've bookmarked this. Can't wait to try it. I may omit the chocolate, but love everything else. I also love that everything was mixed in a mixer. Want to try that. Quick question. Did you score them before popping them into the oven, or does each loaf break open on its own? I love how they look!

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

Side up so I don’t have to score. What that means is that when I shape them, the seam is under the loaf and I place them seam side down in the banneton. Then when it’s time to bake, I flip the banneton over on the counter and the seam ends up at the top. Then I pick up the loaf by the tips of my fingers and carefully drop them in the parchment lined dutch oven. The loaves naturally tear at the weak points which are the seams.  Hope this helps. 

vdalis's picture
vdalis

TY for your quick response. So interesting to learn how people shape. I've always seen instructions for seam side up in the bannetons. Love how yours look. Want to try it.When you say that you pick up the loaves with the tips of your fingers to place them in the pan, are you picking up the whole loaf from the top, with your fingers? I am trying to visualize what you are saying. As an aside, do you place all breads into your bannetons with seam side down?

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

But you should get the idea. The dough is much smaller than the baked loaf so there is room between my fingers and the pot.

And yes, I proof all my breads seam down. 

KatinaP's picture
KatinaP

This sounds delicious! Am building my levain for it as I type. 

Question: What's the value of doing a slow build over a day and a half on the levain? Why not feed it just once the night before or morning of instead of three times with thee different amounts?

Thanks,

Katina

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

So it’s dormant. The 3 builds wake it up and make it very active. If you keep your starter on the counter and feed it daily, you can just feed it once. Be sure that you end up with 250 g of levain. 

KatinaP's picture
KatinaP

Got it. I don't normally feed my refrigerated starter that much before using but I'll try that out here and see how it responds. Thank you!

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

A picture of the final loaf. ?

KatinaP's picture
KatinaP

This bread is delicious. It's almost croissant-like. I don't know how I'm going to eat anything else this weekend! Thank you, Danni!

Next time I'm going to try it with a regular levain build (one feeding the night before or the morning of) and I'll add the yogurt to the porridge, either before or after cooking. 

As requested here are some photos.

 

 

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

You got fantastic loaves there! Good job! I’m so glad you love it! ?

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

Just lovely and cover worthy for sure.  Well done and happy baking Danni

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

from you, Dab! I’m still baking weekly even though I’m not participating much in the forums. Keeping busy by planning to build a pottery studio in the backyard and looking after the slew of house pets and the two horses we have (own one and sort of adopted the other ??‍♀️). Took the two of them for a walk this afternoon. No idea why the pictures are sideways. 


dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

your life sideways.  My last one was a Tennessee Walker I trained to be the worst roper you ever saw.  My Dad said he died standing up and froze stiff during a cold January.  I told him to take a picture because I didn't believe him that a horse was standing up dead and frozen\.  Never saw a picture so pretty sure it was a typical Hillbilly Tale O'Yarn.

NotBadBread's picture
NotBadBread

Really excited to try this! What kind of yogurt do you recommend? And if I can't find good durum flour... any thoughts on substitutions? Thanks.

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

is what I use but Greek would work too as long as it’s full fat. 

As to durum, feel free to use spelt, Kamut or a different kind of wheat like Einkorn. I find I can freely sub out grains with my mixing method as it really develops the gluten. 

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

You could skip the yogurt. I use it to tenderize the crust. 

NotBadBread's picture
NotBadBread

This bread is really delicious. Earlier in the thread, KatinaP mentioned that it's almost croissant-like, which I totally agree with (chocolate croissant, that is). With butter, it entered into the "I can't stop eating it" zone, which is my personal metric for how good something is. For anyone considering this bake who wants to use a "classic" KA stand mixer, as I did, I'd recommend making 2/3 or maybe even 1/2 of the recipe-- my old KA was overwhelmed with this amount of dough! It still came through in one piece, but just barely, and I don't think the inclusions were mixed as well as you'd hope for. Obviously this is because I'm inexperienced using a mixer to make bread, and not because there's anything amiss about the instructions-- up until recently, I've done everything by hand. 

I stuck to the recipe, although I did use einkorn instead of durum. I used full-fat greek yogurt. Since I don't have a mill, I used pre-ground flax. Here are some photos... it looks like I could have let the bulk ferment go a little longer, but overall, really not too bad! Thank you, Danni, for posting this and for answering my earlier Q's.

 

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

I have a KitchenAid pro line so yes, the motor is stronger than your average KitchenAid.

I’m glad you really enjoyed this bread.