Chocolate sourdough is a fun twist on traditional sourdough bread, combining the rich, deep flavor of cacao with the tangy flavor of a natural fermentation. It may sound unusual at first, chocolate sourdough is not as sweet as a dessert — instead, it’s often made with small amounts of unsweetened cocoa powder to add earthy depth and complexity to the loaf. I went a step further and added brown sugar for a little more sweetness to the loaf.

Here’s what makes chocolate sourdough special

Flavor Complexity – The slight bitterness of cocoa pairs beautifully with the natural tang of sourdough starter. This creates a unique taste that’s rich and sophisticated—perfect for cheese boards or alongside soups.
Nutrient Boost – Cocoa contains antioxidants, which support heart health and reduce inflammation. When added to nutrient-dense sourdough, it enhances both flavor and function.
Great Base for Pairing – While not overly sweet, chocolate sourdough can be toasted and served with honey, butter, or even melted dark chocolate for a treat.
Beautiful Appearance – The dark hue from the cocoa gives this bread an elegant look—great for impressing guests or adding visual interest to your baking rotation.

Just keep in mind: true chocolate sourdough isn’t cake-like—it’s still bread first! For something sweeter, bakers sometimes make chocolate-raisin versions or slightly sweetened iterations—but classic versions stay on the savory side. I prefer my bread to be on the sweeter side, so I add homemade chocolate sauce into the bread during stretch and folds.

Why sourdough?

Sourdough is a type of bread that is made using natural fermentation and wild yeast, rather than commercial yeast, to leaven the dough. Here are some of the key benefits of sourdough:

Better digestion: Sourdough bread is easier to digest thanks to the fermentation process, which breaks down carbohydrates into beneficial pre-biotics and makes the bread more easily digestible.
Higher nutrient content: Unlike commercial breads that are made with refined white flours, sourdough breads often contain more nutrients.

How to incorporate chocolate sourdough?

Some people have reported that they use the chocolate bread with soups and sandwiches. That has never been my favorite as the chocolate loaf is a little more dense. I prefer to pair chocolate loafs with sweet options. I have made French toast with the chocolate bread and added it on a charcuterie board with honeys and cheeses.

How to store your chocolate sourdough loaf

To ensure your chocolate sourdough stays fresh, follow these simple storage tips:

Cool It Down – Allow the bread to cool completely before wrapping it up. Wrapping while it’s still warm can trap moisture and promote mold growth.
Loose Wrap – Use a breathable material like paper bags, beeswax wraps, or tea towels instead of plastic wrap or airtight containers – you want some airflow around your sourdough.
Room Temperature – Keep your chocolate sourdough at room temperature. Refrigeration can dry out the bread quickly.

I will always recommend to eat your bread fresh and plan on making it around activities that you can bring it to.

Here is where you can learn to start your chocolate sourdough starter

Other sourdough recipes you might want to try

Homemade chocolate sauce- to add to your chocolate sourdough loaf

How to start a sourdough starter from scratch.

The famous Chocolate Sourdough Tres Leches

Chocolate Sourdough Bread

Serving Size 1 loaf

Equipment

1 Dutch Oven Pan
1 Parchment Paper
1 Bread Lame
1 sourdough banneton basket

Ingredients

130 grams Active chocolate sourdough starter
400 grams Filtered water use 375g and save 25g for later
500 grams all purpose flour
10 grams salt
50 grams brown sugar
10 g cacao powder

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl whisk together active starter, 375g water, brown sugar, and cacao powder until milky.
Add your flour and use your hands to mix together thoroughly.
Cover with a tea towel and let sit for 30 minutes.
After it has sat, add 10g salt and the rest of the 25g filtered water and combine using your hands.
Over the next 2 hours, every 30 minutes perform “stretch and folds”. Grab the corner of your bread dough, pull up and stretch to the opposite side. Do that for every corner. Cover the dough with a towel between stretch and folds. Your dough will become less sticky and have a more “dough-like” shape the more stretch and folds you perform. Add homemade chocolate sauce and chocolate chips if desired.
Once the stretch and folds are done you can place the covered bowl in the fridge for approximately 8hrs or until doubled in size. This is the fermentation process. You can also leave on the counter top until doubled in size.
One doubled in size dump the dough out on the table. Stretch to make a rectangle and fold the sourdough “hotdog” style until there is one long rectangular piece. Roll that piece into a loaf and push and pull the bread to build tension.
Let rest for 20-30mins uncovered on the counter top. After resting perform that step again.
Next you take your flour-ed sourdough bannetons and place the dough in right side down.
Cover with a plastic wrap, I use plastic shower caps, and place in fridge for 3-4hours up to 3 days.
Pre-heat oven to 450℉
Place sourdough loaf on parchment paper and score the loaf.
Place an ice cub in your cast iron pan, place sourdough loaf with the parchment paper in the cast iron pan, put lid on and place in oven.
You will bake for 30 minutes with lid on. After 30 minutes remove lid and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
Remove and let cool before cutting into. Enjoy with some of that homemade chocolate sauce or a sweet topping of choice.