THICK and CHEWY and Perfectly Sweet Chocolate Chip Sourdough Bread Recipe! (2024)

FAQs

Does cocoa powder affect yeast? ›

Does cocoa powder affect yeast? The cocoa powder can change the pH of the dough, affecting the yeast.

One of the most common mistakes is having a dough temperature that's too low for the starter to feed on all the flour in the dough, resulting in a crumb that's dense, with fewer openings. "Starter is happiest and most active at around 75 degrees. If it's a lot colder, the process will be much slower.

The outer crust of your sourdough bread should be crispy, crackly, and have a glossy, caramelized brown finish. The key to achieving a healthy crust is getting sufficient steam while baking, as it keeps the outer crust moist while the inside cooks.

Cocoa has several functions in baked goods: Flavor: imparts a rich sweet chocolate flavor. Color: provides a brownish to reddish color. Water absorption: provides a higher water absorption than an equal weight of flour.

When used alone in cakes, cocoa powder imparts a full rich chocolate flavor and dark color. Cocoa powder can also be used in recipes with other chocolates (unsweetened or dark) and this combination produces a cake with a more intense chocolate flavor than if the cocoa wasn't present.

The best flour blend for creating a new sourdough starter is 50% whole-meal flour (whole wheat or whole rye) and 50% bread flour or all-purpose flour. I recommend a 50/50 mix of whole wheat flour and bread flour.

Over-kneading has a tendency to result in chewy bread. Here's how to tell if you've kneaded enough. Another possibility—you used bread flour when all-purpose flour would do. If a recipe with bread flour turned out chewier than you like, try it with all-purpose and knead only as much as the recipe directs.

Generally a more mature and well established starter will produce a more flavorful, sour loaf. Hydration of the Dough - this affects how long your dough will take to ferment. A slightly lower hydration will take longer to ferment than a higher hydration loaf, leading to a bigger depth of flavor and sourness.

Baking soda or bicarbonate of soda can be used in sourdough bread to create a less sour loaf. Added after bulk fermentation, but before shaping, it can help to create a lighter, more fluffy loaf of sourdough.

Too much water can also produce a damp loaf. Try less water with your flour. Uneven heat in your oven can be the culprit – if you loaf is nicely golden on the outside but gummy or moist in the inside, it's baking too quickly on the outside. Trying reducing the temperature you're baking at and bake for a bit longer.

What does overworked sourdough look like? ›

How do you know if sourdough is overworked? Overworked sourdough can become tough and lose its ability to rise properly. If your dough feels tight and is difficult to shape, it might be overworked. Remember, sourdough requires a gentle touch and should not be kneaded as vigorously as other types of bread dough.

Note: As loaves begin to overproof they lose their height and shape. The crumb becomes more dense. The holes become more ragged and irregular in shape. The crust begins to thin and separate from the crumb.

Dough that is over-fermented will start to spread once scored and look bubbly/weak. You'll notice it falling in a bit or a lot. Notice how the whole loaf is collapsing. If you notice your dough is over-fermented be sure to score very shallow and use a minimum of scoring slashes.

More stretch and folds

Typically, people do about 3-5 stretch and folds in the process of making a loaf of sourdough bread. If you do 2-4 more of them, it helps produce a more sour dough.

Avoid caffeinated beverages and foods (including pop, coffee, non-herbal teas, energy drinks, chocolate, etc.). Many of these products contain sugar and/or other sweeteners, which are not advisable when trying to rid the body of yeast.

Antifungal testing by the agar diffusion method showed of extract cocoa pod husk with acetone able to inhibit the growth of the fungus Fusarium oxysporum (fungus pathogen on tomatoes), meaning that the extract has the potential to be developed as natural fungicides to suppress the growth of pathogenic fungi.

Knowing that garlic powder and ground clove inhibits the production of yeast could be beneficial in controlling the process of fermentation in many places.

Consuming a lot of cocoa might increase the risk of bleeding and bruising in people with bleeding disorders. Heart conditions: Cocoa contains caffeine. The caffeine in cocoa might cause irregular heartbeat in some people and should be used cautiously in people with heart conditions.