Chocolate orange sourdough!

We were experiencing perfect conditions for bread making in Hyderabad. The weather was cool and dry and our starters were rising and falling predictably. We were beginning to get comfortable with the basic sourdough formula and were itching to explore flavours in our breads.

If there is  one combination of flavours that Jini and I are both equally mad about it is definitely chocolate and orange! It is the culinary equivalent of watching two extremely good looking people engage in a round of flamenco; the union is so much greater than the sum of the individuals. The citrus tang adds an additional spunk to the dark chocolate and the chocolate brings out the tanginess of the orange..its divine in cakes and ice creams and we could not wait to introduce this magic into our sourdough!!

Predictably enough we each had a preferred way of infusing these flavours into our bread and fortunately both yielded delicious results. The quantities are the same in both, just a minor modification in the stage at which the flavours are introduced.

What you need:

• Flour blend: 500 grams of which 100 grams is Whole wheat flour (or Emmer or Rye or Multi-grain flour, and 400 grams is unbleached APF / Maida
• Water: 375 grams @ room temperature
• Levain: (fresh & vigorous starter) 100 grams @ 100% hydration (equal proportions of water & flour)
• Salt: 10 grams
• Dark chocolate chips: 40 grams
• Orange rind: from two small oranges

The main ingredients and the method are still predominently what I learnt in the sourdough workshop with Sujit Sumitran

 How we stir:

• Autolyse: Pour 375 gms of water in a large mixing bowl and 100 grams of the levainto the water. Stir till well mixed and add the flour blend to this mix. Mix well till all the flour is well hydrated and you can’t see or feel any dry patches. Let the dough rest for 30 – 45 minutes.
•  Mix: Now add the 10 grams of salt onto the surface of the dough. Pull the dough from under and drop it over the salt while turning the bowl. The salt should be now completely inside the dough. Moisten your fingers and palm and using your thumb and index finger like pincers cut through the dough and remix. Essentially, you want to ensure that the salt is evenly distributed across the dough. The dough will be sticky, so it’s advisable to have a bowl of water close by to moisten your hands every time you find the dough sticking to your fingers and palm.
• Turn: This is essentially a series of Stretch & Folds that you employ to develop the gluten.Do 4 turns every 30 minutes. (If you are baking this now in India, in the blazing heat of the summer, keep a big tray on the bottom of the oven and place the bowl with the dough on a rack. This creates a cooler environment which ensures the dough doesnt sour too quickly)
• Infuse flavours (Method 1): When you are about to commence  a the second turn add in the orange rind and chocolate chips and stretch and fold to ensure the flavourings are evenly distributed in the dough. Continue with the stretches and folds till you have completed the recommended four rounds. Leave the dough covered for 30 minutes or till the dough increases in volume by 30%
• Pre- Shape: Using a flour dusted silicon spatula, gently nudge the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Quickly flour your fingers and stretch the dough (pulling outwards from under the dough) so that it’s flattened on the work surface. Infuse flavours (Method 2): Now, add in the orange rind and finely chopped chocolate on the flattened dough, stretch and fold the dough adding orange and chocoalte in each fold and shape into a ball. If you have already infused the flavours in Method 1, just stretch and fold and shape into a ball. Dust the surface and cover with a kitchen napkin.
• Shape: Take a 50-50 mix of rice flour and whole wheat flour and dust a kitchen napkin with the flour mix generously. Transfer the napkin carefully onto your proofing basket / banneton. Use a dough scraper and push under the dough at a 45 degree angle till the dough turns into a tight ball. Ensure that the surface on which the dough is, is free of flour or there wont be enough friction for the dough surface to tighten.

• Proof: Transfer dough seam-side up on the proofing basket, cover with a plastic bag  and transfer into the fridge. In about 3 - 3 1/2 hours or so, you should be ready. Alternately, cold proof over-night.
• Bake: Pre-heat oven to 250C with a Dutch Oven (DO) in it for 40 minutes. This needs to be timed in a manner that when the dough is proofed and ready, the DO is also hot and ready.Transfer the dough carefully into the DO, seam side down and bake for 20 minutes with the lid on. Take off the lid, drop the temperature to 225°C and bake for another 20-25 minutes till the loaf is a gorgeous chestnut brown. When this is done, transfer to a cooling rack and it rest for at least a couple of hours before slicing.
• We have used an earthen ware cooking dish with a lid and inverted a heavy creamic container over a preheated baking tray with good results. So if you are just starting out and are not keen on the investment in a DO then try either of these.

 If you infuse the chocolate as in Method 1 in the second turn then the chocolate will melt slightly as you stretch and fold and it will spread all over the bread like the image above. If you only put it in the pre shaping stage as in Method 2, you will find chunks of chocolate intact after you bake as in the image below.