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.
