Bread & loaves · loaf

Dark Chocolate Espresso Sourdough with Pistachio

Status
Confirmed bake
Dates
not recorded
Format
Dutch oven boule, ~1100 g dough, bakes to about a 2 lb loaf
Leavening
not recorded
Formerly
L05
True hydration
77.3%
Salt
2.0%
Inoculation
18.2%
Total flour
550 g
Total dough
1296 g

Formula

Formula for Dark Chocolate Espresso Sourdough with Pistachio. Baker's percentages are calculated on total flour, including the flour contributed by the levain.
IngredientGrams Baker’s %Notes
Bread flour45081.8%
Whole wheat or rye flour509.1%Keeps chocolate and espresso from flattening the flavor
Water32559.1%
Fresh-brewed cooled espresso509.1%Alternative: 375 g water total plus 12 g espresso powder dissolved in warm water
Active starter10018.2%50 g flour + 50 g water
Salt112.0%
Cocoa powder254.5%Dutch-processed preferred: deeper color, less acidity
Honey or brown sugar152.7%Balances cocoa bitterness, not to sweeten
Dark chocolate 70%+, chopped12021.8%Rough chunks, not chips. Added at lamination
Pistachios, toasted and crushed7012.7%Added at lamination
Candied orange peel, diced8014.5%OMITTED in the actual bake. Keep or drop to taste
Total dough1296

Hydration

Added water68.2%water weighed into the dough
True total77.3%including the levain’s flour and water

425 g total liquid (325 water + 50 espresso + 50 starter water) / 550 g total flour.

Scale

  • Bread flour450g
  • Whole wheat or rye flour50g
  • Water325g
  • Fresh-brewed cooled espresso50g
  • Active starter100g
  • Salt11g
  • Cocoa powder25g
  • Honey or brown sugar15g
  • Dark chocolate 70%+, chopped120g
  • Pistachios, toasted and crushed70g
  • Candied orange peel, diced80g

Total dough 1296 g

Percentages are fixed; only grams change. Rounded to 1 g, or 0.1 g under 20 g.

Process

Combine flours, cocoa, water, and cooled espresso. Mix low with the spiral hook 2 minutes just to hydrate. Autolyse 45 minutes covered. Add starter, salt, honey. Speed 2 for 4-5 minutes, then speed 4 for 3-4 minutes. The dough runs darker and stiffer than plain because cocoa absorbs water differently. Target a rough windowpane. Bulk 5-6 hours at 72-75 F: fold 1 at 30 minutes, fold 2 at 1 hour, fold 3 at 1.5 hours as a lamination fold with the inclusions. Shape, cold proof.

Bake

Preheated Dutch oven. Corrected profile: 475 F rather than 500 F. Baked to 208 F internal.

Outcome

The standout bake of the archive. Most flavor complexity. Chocolate-forward but not sweet, a panettone's sophisticated cousin. Cold proofed 18 hours rather than the planned 36 and still produced a strong open crumb with well-distributed pistachios and chocolate. A dramatic score blowout occurred, caused by slight under-proofing, a too-deep score, and an aggressive 500 F preheat.

Next action

Preheat and bake at 475 F rather than 500 F. Score only 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep at a 30-45 degree angle.

Where this sits

2860920.63.8 True hydration % Salt % F01 Original Barese / Puglian Yeast Benchmark — 60.5% hydration, 3.8% saltF03 Classic Cold-Fermented Sourdough Focaccia — 77.3% hydration, 1.8% saltF05 Focaccia Barese - Sourdough Canon Version 2 — 53.1% hydration, 3.3% saltF06 Potato-Free Fast-Track Focaccia Version 2.0 — 74.5% hydration, 2.0% saltF08 Potato-Free Barese Version 1A - Open-Crumb Adjustment — 91.8% hydration, 3.8% saltF09 Four 6-inch Square Potato-Free Scaling — 88.0% hydration, 3.7% saltF10 Potato Small-Square Focaccia Batch — 68.9% hydration, 2.2% saltF11 6.25-inch Square Sandwich Focaccia — 77.8% hydration, 1.8% saltF12 Chicago-Style Hot-Dog Focaccia — 78.3% hydration, 1.9% saltF15 Shredded-Potato Focaccia Pugliese — 60.0% hydration, 2.4% saltF16 Sourdough Focaccia - Two 6x6x2 Pans — 82.1% hydration, 2.1% saltF17 One-Pan Tomato Focaccia - 475 g Experiment — 77.8% hydration, 1.8% saltF18 Two-Pan Tomato Focaccia - 7 September Comparison Bake — 77.8% hydration, 1.8% saltB01 Standard Sourdough Baseline — 75.0% hydration, 2.0% saltB02 100% Whole-Wheat Integrale Sourdough — 81.8% hydration, 1.8% saltB03 Pane di Altamura - 100% Italian Durum Semola Sourdough — 84.0% hydration, 2.0% saltB04 Rye-Spelt-Honey Base / Five-Grain Seeded Loaf Lineage — 78.0% hydration, 2.0% saltB05 Croissant-Style Laminated Sourdough Loaf — 42.9% hydration, 1.1% saltB07 One Hearty Pan Sourdough - First Loaf-Pan Trial — 77.9% hydration, 1.8% saltB08 One Hearty Pan Sourdough - Revised Multigrain Formula — 77.8% hydration, 1.8% saltB09 Same-Day Enriched Sourdough Loaf — 69.6% hydration, 1.7% saltB12 Everyday Sourdough - 9.8" Banneton — 77.3% hydration, 1.8% saltB13 Control Loaf (Documented Baseline) — 71.7% hydration, 1.9% saltB14 Same-Day Sourdough — 72.2% hydration, 2.0% saltB17 Persian-Inspired Sourdough — 74.5% hydration, 2.0% saltB18 Cinnamon, Blueberry & Cherry Swirl Loaf — 70.2% hydration, 1.9% saltA01 Orange-Pistachio-Espresso Dark Cocoa Sourdough Biscotti — 27.9% hydration, 0.6% saltB16 Dark Chocolate Espresso Sourdough with Pistachio — 77.3% hydration, 2.0% salt
Every formula in this archive with a recoverable hydration and salt figure. Dot size is inoculation; outline is status. This bake is filled.

Tags

  • inclusion
  • chocolate
  • espresso
  • best flavor