White Chocolate Almond Sourdough Bread

Adding the white chocolate almond flavor 

This White Chocolate Almond loaf was inspired by the Almond Croissant Sourdough by Charity Lighten. It is sweet, buttery, and flaky! Think of it as sourdough bread crossed with an almond croissant. Trust me, it’s as incredible as it sounds!

To create the signature almond flavor, you will make a simple almond paste to add to the dough right before shaping. This mixture contains softened butter, powdered sugar, almond extract, and a little bit of flour. The flour helps the butter mixture from leaking out of the bread when baking. Next, you will add in a layer of white chocolate chips and almond slices. After you try this you need to try my Honey Butter Sourdough Bread.

Shaping the dough with the butter mixture can be a little tricky because it prevents the dough from wanting to stick together. My tip for you is to shape the dough quickly and touch it as little as possible. I also recommend rolling it into an oval shape rather than a round one because the oval shape requires a little less handling. If the dough becomes too hard to handle, place it in a proofing basket and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Then, do your best to stitch the dough together and seal in the butter before placing it in the fridge for the second proof. 

Ingredients for the White Chocolate Almond Sourdough Bread

• Bread flour- Sourdough bread is a higher hydration dough, so using flour that is efficient at absorbing water is ideal. Bread flour has a high protein content and works well for that purpose. You can use all-purpose flour, but I recommend reducing the water by 25 grams. 
• Active sourdough starter- You will need to use a starter that has been recently fed, bubbly, and has doubled in size in order to give the bread the natural rise. 
• Water – Despite what many people say about only being able to use filtered water, I’ve always used tap water with no issues.
• Sugar– Adds a little sweetness to the dough. You can sub for 25 grams of honey if preferred.
• Salt – Any type of salt will work.
• Butter- I prefer to use unsalted to control the amount of salt in the recipe. 
• Powdered sugar- This is added to the almond butter mixture to create a sweet flavor. 
• Almond extract- This is what gives the bread its signature almond flavor. 
• White chocolate chips – You could do any type of chocolate but the white chocolate compliments the almond flavor well. 
• Almond slivers- I just use raw slivered almonds, but you can opt for roasted. 

Sample Baking Schedule

This schedule is based on rough estimates. The temperature of your dough, kitchen, humidity, and strength of starter will all impact the times, so while this will give you an estimate, it is best to look at the signs the dough is ready to move on. You are looking for about a 75% rise.

There is flexibility in this schedule to make it work for you. If 8am is not a convenient time to feed your sourdough starter, you could opt for a smaller feeding ratio like 1:1:1, 4-6 hours before mixing the dough. If you don’t have time to bake the bread around dinner time, you can always leave the dough in the fridge for an extra day or two. Do what works for you!

If you are looking for more precise timelines based on the temperature of your dough The Sourdough Journey put together a great resource. It looks at different temperatures and percentages of sourdough starter to give you an estimate of how long the first rise will take. My recipe below calls for 10% sourdough starter.

How temperature affects sourdough

Temperature is very important when it comes to sourdough and fermentation. If your house is cooler than 68F, the dough will have a hard time rising. If your house is cold, I recommend using a dough mat (use code country10 for 10% off) or finding a warmer spot in your house. Placing the dough in a draft-free area like a turned off oven or microwave may help. You could also try placing near a heating vent.

If your house is above 75F, I wouldn’t recommend leaving the dough overnight, as it is more likely to overproof. Instead use my Same Day Sourdough Bread recipe in place with these mix-ins. Or you can try using cold water to help cool down the dough and stick to a shorter timeline like 8 hours as that may help it from getting too warm.

How to make White Chocolate Almond Sourdough Bread

Feed Sourdough Starter

The first step to making bread is to feed your sourdough starter. The temperature of your house, activity level of your starter, and how much you feed the starter will all impact how quickly your starter rises. A 1:1:1 ratio meaning 1 part starter: 1 part flour: 1 part water will rise in about 4-6 hours. Whereas a 1:5:5 ratio meaning 1 part starter: 5 part flour: 5 part water will rise in about 12 hours. Feed based on the timing you want to make bread. Once the starter doubles or exceeds its size and becomes bubbly, it is ready for use. If you can’t use the starter while it is at peak place it in the fridge until you are ready.

Mix Ingredients

Mix together the flour, water, salt, sugar and starter together with a danish dough whisk (10% off with link), spoon or hands until incorporated. The dough will look shaggy at this point. Cover bowl with a lid or dinner plate and let it sit for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Stretch and Folds

Stretching the dough helps build strength and aerates the dough. Typically I aim for 3-4 sets in my traditional recipe but with this simplified version I aim for 1 or 2. If you do 2 sets wait 20-30 minutes in between the sets to let the dough relax. You can also do more sets if you have time. Cover the dough in between sets.

To stretch and fold grab one side of the dough with a damp hand and gently shimmy the dough up and then fold it on itself. Repeat this 3 more times rotating the bowl 90 degrees each time.

First Rise

After stretch and folds let the dough sit overnight on the counter covered, about 10-14 hours (depending on the temperature) until the dough has risen about 75%, not completely doubled. The dough should be aerated with bubbles showing on the sides and bottom of the dough and jiggle when the bowl is shook. If it does not show these signs continue to let the dough sit, preferably in a warm spot to finish bulk fermentation.

If the dough is very pillowy, sticky, and deflates when working with it, it is overproofed. At this point you can try to bake it if it will hold some shape. Personally my favorite thing to do with overproofed dough is to make focaccia. Put it in an oiled 9×13 pan with more oil on top. Dimple the dough and bake at 425F for 25-30 minutes. Check out my tutorial.

Make the Almond Paste

Mix together room temperature butter (so it is easy to mix), powdered sugar, flour and almond extract until incorporated and the mixture is smooth.

Shape Dough

The goal of shaping is to create a taut, outer skin on the dough. The skin creates tension, helping the dough to hold its shape when baked, which translates to a good rise and a crispy crust. This will be a little more challenging with the addition of the butter mixture. If the butter is leaking out a lot when shaping just get it in the basket. Trust me, working with it further is going to make an even bigger mess.

Shaping instructions

1. Dump the dough on an unfloured surface and gently spread the dough into a chubby rectangle.
2. Spread half of the butter mixture to the top of the dough and then sprinkle with half of the white chocolate chips and almond slivers. 
3. Bring the two ends to the middle and seal in the butter mixture.
4. Add another layer of the butter mixture on top and the remaining white chocolate chips and almond slivers.
5. Fold the dough like a trifold bringing one side of the dough on top of itself 2/3rds of the way. Then fold the other side on top, stacking them.
6. If you have an oval shaped basket, pinch the ends closed and place the dough seam-side up in the proofing basket.
7. For a round basket take your hands in cupping shape and rotate the dough counter-clockwise towards you to get a smooth surface on top of the dough. If the butter mix starts leaking out, stop touching the dough and place it in the basket seam side up.

Second Proof

Place dough in the fridge covered for the final proof. The fridge slows down fermentation which allows your dough to sit for longer periods of time. You can bake anytime after the two hour mark but ideally you will wait 8+ hours. Longer fermentation times will make for a more sour loaf.

Scoring

Preheat the oven with the dutch oven to 450F once the dough is ready. Flip the dough onto a bread sling or parchment paper and score the dough. Hold the blade at a slight angle and quickly slice the bread about 1/2 inch deep.

Baking

Bake the loaf at 450 degrees Fahrenheit in a dutch oven. Begin with the lid on for 25 minutes followed by an extra 10-12 minutes with the lid off. The loaf should sound hollow when you tap on the bottom. That is how you know it is baked through. Once done baking, remove from the dutch oven and place onto a cooling rack to cool.

Storing White Chocolate Almond Sourdough Bread

Store a whole loaf, or a side that can be placed cut side down with only the crust exposed, on the counter up to 2 days with just a tea towel over it. If the inside of the loaf is exposed I store it in a bread box or in a ziplock back.

Sourdough will not hold its crunch for extended periods of time but can be revived in the oven or toaster. To refresh a loaf preheat the oven to 450F. Run the loaf quickly under water and then place in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the crust is crispy again.

Sourdough bread also freezes really well. To freeze a loaf, either place the whole or half a loaf into a freezer safe bag or preslice the loaf and place parchment paper in between each slice before placing in a freezer bag.

How to eat White Chocolate Almond Sourdough Bread

We love to eat this bread just by itself as a sweet treat, it doesn’t even need any extra butter on top! This loaf would also be delicious turned into french toast or made into a french toast casserole.