Hazelnut and Dark Chocolate Whole Grain Loaf

Introduction

This is the second loaf I’ve made using additional ingredients.

For this bake, I roasted hazelnuts and mixed them while still warm with dark chocolate drops so the chocolate melted slightly and coated the nuts.

Ingredients

Flour

• 650g whole grain wheat
• 500g wheat flour (type 405)
• 350g spelt flour (type 1050)

Sourdough

• 150g whole grain rye sourdough
• 150g wheat sourdough (type 405)

Other

• 1050g water
• 30g salt
• 15g honey
• 200g roasted hazelnuts
• 100g dark chocolate drops

Process

1. Autolyse

Mix all flour (1500g total) with 950g of water until no dry spots remain.

Let it rest for 45 minutes to hydrate the flour and support gluten development.

2. Mixing

Add:

• sourdough
• remaining water
• salt
• honey

Mix until a cohesive dough forms.

3. Kneading and rest

Knead the dough for about 5 minutes.

Let it rest for 30 minutes.

4. Add-ins

During the first stretch and fold, incorporate the hazelnut-chocolate mixture evenly into the dough.

5. Bulk fermentation

Perform two stretch-and-fold cycles with 45 minutes of rest between them.

6. Shaping and cold proof

• Divide the dough into two portions.
• Shape them into rounds.
• Transfer them to proofing baskets.
• Refrigerate for approximately 14 hours.

Notes

The chocolate-coated hazelnuts distributed surprisingly well throughout the dough.

Next time, I may try slightly darker roasted hazelnuts for a stronger nutty flavor.