Fantastic bread, not too sweet, a nice option for a Valentine's Day special baking
It will be on my blog at some point, but the recipe is on one of the best bread blogs out there, Farine
http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy163/4ebay_bucket/Food/sallybread_zps70cb7339.jpg
Chocolate and Currant Levain
Ingredients: (for two small-loaves)
200 g Zante currants
80 g semisweet chocolate chips
330 g unbleached all-purpose flour (Hadjiandreou says to use "strong or bread flour" which contains a high amount of protein (up to 17%) to trap the carbon dioxide during fermentation and give the bread a good texture. That would be considered too high here in the US but then our flours are quite different. To be on the safe side, if you do live in the UK, your best bet is to follow Hadjiandreou's advice)
8 g salt
20 g cocoa powder
170 g white levain (sourdough starter) at 100% hydration*
250 g warm water
Method (slightly adapted):
Mix the currants and chocolate and set aside
In one small mixing bowl, mix the flour, salt and cocoa powder together. This is the dry mixture
In a larger mixing bowl, mix the sourdough starter and water together until well combined. This is the wet mixture
Add the dry and chocolate-currant mixtures to the wet mixture and mix until incorporated
Cover and let stand for 10 minutes
After 10 minutes, stretch and fold the dough inside the bowl by going twice around the bowl with four stretches and foldings at each 90° turn (8 stretches/foldings in all)
Let rest 10 minutes again. Repeat twice
Complete a fourth stretch and fold cycle and let the dough rest one hour (I actually let it rest closer to three hours before it was fermented enough, probably because my house was colder than the lab where the recipe has been tested)
When the dough has doubled in volume, punch it down to release the air (I didn't really punch it as I am always weary of completely deflating it), lightly flour a clean work surface and transfer the boule of dough to it
Divide the dough into two equal portions and roll each one into a ball
Dust two small proofing baskets with flour (Hadjiandreou uses a long oblong one into which he fits the two balls snugly together but I don't own one like that) and set the boules in them, seam-side up
Let the dough rise until doubled in size (it can take between 3 and 6 hours)
About 20 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 475°F/240°C with a baking stone on the middle shelf and an empty roasting pan at the bottom. Fill a cup with water and set it aside
When the boules have doubled in volume, tip them out seam-side down on a parchment-lined semolina-dusted rimless half-sheet pan and slide them onto the baking stone. Pour the reserved water into the empty roasting pan and lower the oven temperature to 425°F/220°C
Bake about 30 minutes. To check if the bread is ready, tip it out upside down and tap the bottom. It should sound hollow
Let cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!
http://www.farine-mc.com/2012/04/chocolate-and-currant-sourdough.html
https://picasaweb.google.com/SallyBR2007/February22014?authkey=Gv1sRgCKv8svTX7ZrjXw#5975942809296415394
It will be on my blog at some point, but the recipe is on one of the best bread blogs out there, Farine
http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy163/4ebay_bucket/Food/sallybread_zps70cb7339.jpg
Chocolate and Currant Levain
Ingredients: (for two small-loaves)
200 g Zante currants
80 g semisweet chocolate chips
330 g unbleached all-purpose flour (Hadjiandreou says to use "strong or bread flour" which contains a high amount of protein (up to 17%) to trap the carbon dioxide during fermentation and give the bread a good texture. That would be considered too high here in the US but then our flours are quite different. To be on the safe side, if you do live in the UK, your best bet is to follow Hadjiandreou's advice)
8 g salt
20 g cocoa powder
170 g white levain (sourdough starter) at 100% hydration*
250 g warm water
Method (slightly adapted):
Mix the currants and chocolate and set aside
In one small mixing bowl, mix the flour, salt and cocoa powder together. This is the dry mixture
In a larger mixing bowl, mix the sourdough starter and water together until well combined. This is the wet mixture
Add the dry and chocolate-currant mixtures to the wet mixture and mix until incorporated
Cover and let stand for 10 minutes
After 10 minutes, stretch and fold the dough inside the bowl by going twice around the bowl with four stretches and foldings at each 90° turn (8 stretches/foldings in all)
Let rest 10 minutes again. Repeat twice
Complete a fourth stretch and fold cycle and let the dough rest one hour (I actually let it rest closer to three hours before it was fermented enough, probably because my house was colder than the lab where the recipe has been tested)
When the dough has doubled in volume, punch it down to release the air (I didn't really punch it as I am always weary of completely deflating it), lightly flour a clean work surface and transfer the boule of dough to it
Divide the dough into two equal portions and roll each one into a ball
Dust two small proofing baskets with flour (Hadjiandreou uses a long oblong one into which he fits the two balls snugly together but I don't own one like that) and set the boules in them, seam-side up
Let the dough rise until doubled in size (it can take between 3 and 6 hours)
About 20 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 475°F/240°C with a baking stone on the middle shelf and an empty roasting pan at the bottom. Fill a cup with water and set it aside
When the boules have doubled in volume, tip them out seam-side down on a parchment-lined semolina-dusted rimless half-sheet pan and slide them onto the baking stone. Pour the reserved water into the empty roasting pan and lower the oven temperature to 425°F/220°C
Bake about 30 minutes. To check if the bread is ready, tip it out upside down and tap the bottom. It should sound hollow
Let cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!
http://www.farine-mc.com/2012/04/chocolate-and-currant-sourdough.html
https://picasaweb.google.com/SallyBR2007/February22014?authkey=Gv1sRgCKv8svTX7ZrjXw#5975942809296415394