Ingredients
Scale
- 450 g bread flour (about 3 3/4 cups; weighing recommended)
- 300 g room-temperature water (about 1 1/4 cups)
- 100 g active 100%-hydration sourdough starter, bubbly and at or near peak (about 1/2 cup)
- 9 g fine salt (about 1 1/2 teaspoons, depending on salt brand)
- 2 teaspoons (about 6 g) white rice flour, for lightly dusting the crust
- 1 teaspoon (about 2 g) black cocoa powder, for stenciling the dark dots
Instructions
- Combine active starter and water in a large bowl. Add bread flour and salt and mix until no dry flour remains. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
- Complete three sets of stretch-and-folds, each about 30 minutes apart. Cover between sets. Continue the bulk fermentation until the dough is airy and about 40–60% larger; allow roughly 4 hours total from mixing at 74–78°F, longer if cooler.
- Pre-shape a round on a lightly floured counter. Rest 15 minutes, then shape into a taut boule. Place seam-side up in a rice-floured proofing basket. Cover and refrigerate approximately 10–16 hours; about 14 hours is a useful starting point.
- Preheat oven and lidded Dutch oven to 475°F for 40–45 minutes. Cut several 1/2- to 3/4-inch circular holes into clean parchment for a stencil. Turn the cold dough onto a sheet of oven-safe parchment.
- Dust the dough very lightly with rice flour. Position the paper stencil over the smooth top without pressing. Sift a thin layer of black cocoa through the holes, then lift stencil straight off. Remove the stencil completely before baking.
- Score one expansion cut about 1/2 inch deep along the side of the top, away from the dots. Carefully lower the dough on parchment into the hot Dutch oven. Cover and bake 20 minutes at 475°F.
- Remove the lid, reduce heat to 450°F, and bake another 20–25 minutes until the loaf is deeply golden and baked through (roughly 205–210°F in the center if checking). Cool on a rack for at least 1 hour before cutting 12 slices.
Notes
- Timing estimate for a moderately warm kitchen: approximately 35 minutes active prep, 4 hours bulk fermentation, 14 hours cold proof, 1 hour cooling, and 45 minutes baking. Total: about 20 hours 20 minutes. Actual fermentation will vary.
- No commercial yeast is used. Feed your sourdough starter first; unfed discard is not a reliable direct replacement.
- The cocoa and rice flour decorate only the surface. The crumb remains plain, not dotted with chocolate or cocoa dough.
- To make white dots instead, omit the cocoa and dust rice flour through the stencil over a relatively bare dough surface. This creates a different appearance.
- This loaf contains wheat gluten. Nutrition is estimated using 450 g bread flour plus about 50 g flour in the starter, divided into 12 slices; coating powder contribution is minimal.
- The baker should use oven-safe parchment and appropriate protection when handling the preheated Dutch oven.
- Prep Time: 19 hours 35 minutes (including proof and cooling)
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Dutch Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan