The Best Chocolate Brownie Sourdough Bread

We’ve all been there. You’re looking at a perfectly good batch of leftover, fudgy brownies, and instead of just eating them with a glass of milk like a normal person, your brain goes: “What if we laminate these into a sourdough loaf?”

No? Just me?

Well, I went ahead and did it anyway, and let me tell you—it was a wild experiment that turned out absolutely perfect. If you are a chocolate lover who also happens to be obsessed with the sourdough crunch, pull up a chair. We are about to change the breakfast game forever.

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The Secret to that Pillowy Soft Crumb

Going into this, I expected a standard, chewy sourdough boule with a chocolatey twist. But when I sliced into the finished loaf, the texture was incredibly soft—way softer than my usual bakes!

My working theory? The cocoa powder.

Cocoa powder acts a bit like a tenderizer in bread dough. Because it doesn’t contain gluten-forming proteins like wheat flour does, it breaks up the gluten network just enough to give the crumb a velvety, cake-like softness, while still keeping that classic sourdough structure. Combined with a sneaky splash of brewed espresso to make that chocolate flavor absolutely pop, this dough is an absolute dream.

But the real magic happened during the shaping phase. I had those leftover baked brownies calling my name, so I decided to gently stretch the dough out into a giant rectangle and laminate them right inside, along with a healthy handful of mini chocolate chips. It’s essentially a brownie inception loaf.

The Hardest Part… Waiting

Let this masterpiece cool completely on a wire rack before you cut into it. If you cut it while it’s hot, the melted chocolate chips and gooey brownie chunks will turn into a messy sludgy situation (though, honestly, still delicious).

Once sliced, toast a piece and slather it with salted butter or cream cheese. It is rich, subtly sweet, incredibly soft, and has those deep, crispy sourdough edges we all crave.

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Chocolate Brownie Sourdough

Created by Sue Mun

Makes One, Sourdough Boule

Ingredients:

For the Chocolate Sourdough:

• 110g active, bubbly starter
• 360g warm water
• 2 tablespoons brewed espresso shot, lukewarm
• 50g brown sugar
• 470g bread flour
• 30g cocoa powder
• 11g salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Inclusions:

• About 1 cup baked brownies, cut into small pieces
• about 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. In a large glass or ceramic bowl, mix together the warm water, lukewarm espresso, and the ripe sourdough starter.
2. Add in the brown sugar, cocoa powder, and ground cinnamon. Mix until dissolved. Then add in the bread flour and salt and mix until a shaggy dough forms.
3. Cover and rest for 1 hour.
   1. Stretch and fold #1. Using wet hands, stretch the dough into itself about 8 times or until gluten develops. The dough will be very sticky but will come together as you perform your stretch and folds. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
   2. Stretch and fold #2. Using wet hands, stretch and fold the dough into itself until it can not stretch anymore. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
   3. Stretch and fold #3. Repeat the steps from above. Cover and rest for 30 minutes. 
   4. Stretch and fold #4. Repeat the steps from above. This is optional but during this step, you can add in about 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips and fold it in. Or wait to add in the inclusions during lamination. Cover the dough and rest for 30 minutes.
4. Cover and bulk ferment for 6-10 hours. Or until the dough has doubled in size and the dough peels away the sides of the bowl easily. If not, continue to proof longer. 

Shape the Dough:

1. Flip the dough over and gently stretch to a long rectangle.
2. Scatter the baked brownie chunks and mini chocolate chips on top of the laid out dough.
3. Then gently make a book fold and then add more inclusions in a single line on top of the dough if you have any more inclusions left. Gently roll up the dough into a tight ball. If the dough feels too delicate, there is no need to do the candy-cane motion to create more tension to the dough. Since there is so much filling, you do not want to risk tearing the dough.
4. Dust with rice flour and place into banneton bread mold. 
5. Gently pull the edges of the round into the center of the dough. Just so it adds tension to the dough and helps improve oven spring when it bakes. 
6. Cover and proof in the fridge overnight (8-10 hours)

The Bake:

1. Preheat oven to 450F and place dutch oven in the oven to also preheat. 
2. Flip onto silpat or parchment and gently score the top of the dough using a lame knife.
3. Carefully place the sourdough into your hot Dutch oven. Cover with the lid. 
4. Bake at 425F for 30 minutes with the lid covered.
5. Lower the oven to 425F. Uncover the lid and bake again for 10-14 more minutes. Or until the internal temp is above 190F.
6. Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting and serving. 

Sue Mun