This Chocolate cherry sourdough, made from Pain de campagne dough, incorporates a firm starter for great structure and flavor. It features bittersweet chocolate, soaked dried cherries, and optional orange zest.
This month marks another anniversary bake with the Bread Baking Babes, a virtual bread-baking circle that has been baking together, month after month, for years.
For our anniversary bake, we turned to Della Fattoria Bread by Kathleen Weber, where the base pain de campagne dough became a canvas for creative fillings such as chocolate and cherries, garlic and cheese, citrus and herbs, or wherever your imagination takes you.
Why I chose chocolate + cherry
Our hostess chose the Meyer Lemon Rosemary Campagne Boule, and it truly is a lovely, flavorful bread. I’ve made that version before, so I decided to branch out.
The Garlic Jack Campagne Boule nearly won me over (cheese + roasted garlic in a country loaf? Yes, please), but February nudged me in a sweeter direction. So, Chocolate Cherry Campagne Boules, it was.
The firm starter twist
The Della Fattoria pain de campagne formula uses a firm starter, which behaves more like a biga than a loose, bubbly 100% hydration starter. I normally keep a 100% hydration starter going, but for this bake, I converted mine into a firm starter build.
I loved working with the firm starter, especially with the chocolate and cherries in the dough. The dough felt strong and easy to handle, and the starter’s flavor supported the bread without overpowering the add-ins.
What the firm starter gave me
Here’s what stood out to me using a firm starter in this dough:
- Strength + structure: The dough felt easier to handle during shaping, even with inclusions.
- Balanced fermentation: The flavor stayed mild and “bread-forward,” letting chocolate + cherries shine.
- Cleaner crumb with add-ins: Less smearing and stickiness than I sometimes get with very wet starter builds.
My flour + flavor changes
- The original dough is made with all-purpose flour. I swapped in white whole wheat for part of the flour (roughly ~20%).
- In my second bake, I added orange zest, and both my taste tester and I preferred that version. The zest brightened the chocolate and made the cherry flavor pop.
(If you try more whole wheat than I used, let me know. This feels like a bread that could handle it, but I haven’t tested the upper limit yet.)
Flavor notes + serving ideas
- Without zest: deep cocoa + sweet-tart cherries, almost “dessert bread” but still very bready.
- With orange zest: brighter, more aromatic, and the chocolate tastes even more chocolatey.
Serving ideas:
- Toasted with butter
- Toasted with mascarpone
- Cheese board pairing (soft + creamy or assertive cheeses both work well)
Schedule + timing
- Add inclusions + finish early folds
- Bulk ferment with 2-3 folds
- Divide + pre-shape
- Shape + short room proof
- Overnight cold proof
- Bake the next day in a Bread cloche/Dutch oven
Chocolate Cherry Sourdough Campagne Boules-Firm Starter + Orange Zest Option
- Yield: 2 Medium Boules, ~790 g per loaf 1x
Description
Bake chocolate cherry sourdough using a firm starter (biga-style) for a strong, flavorful dough. Step-by-step method with chocolate chunks, dried cherries, and an orange zest option.
Ingredients
Campagne dough (makes ~1.35 kg / ~3 lb dough; 2 medium boules):
- Firm starter: 126 g (about 1/2 cup)
- Water (80°F / 27°C): 506 g (about 2 cups + 2 1/2 Tbsp)
- All-purpose flour: 704 g (about 5 cups)
- Salt (fine gray salt or kosher): 19 g (about 1 Tbsp)
Optional flour variation:
Keep total flour the same (704 g), but use:
- All-purpose flour: 583 g
- White whole wheat flour: 141 g (this is ~20% of total flour)
Inclusions (Chocolate + Cherry):
- Dried cherries, soak briefly in hot water or brandy, drain well
- Bittersweet chocolate (around 70%), chop into chunky pieces
- Optional (highly recommended): zest of 1 medium orange
Tip: Keep chocolate pieces on the larger side so they stay as pockets instead of streaking into the dough. Sift the chocolate to remove any small pieces and chocolate dust.
Instructions
Firm starter build:
If you maintain a 100% hydration starter, you can convert a small portion into a firm build like this:
- 23 g ripe 100% hydration starter (seed)
- 90 g all-purpose flour
- 10 g white whole wheat flour
- 50 g water (add a few extra grams if it feels dry and won’t come together)
Mix until fully combined, knead briefly into a stiff ball, cover, and let ferment until expanded and domed.
Note: If you take a portion of your active starter and feed it the day before, the firm starter should be ready to use the next day. Use what you need for the dough and save the remainder to seed your next firm build.
Mix the dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, break up the firm starter in the mix water. The water should be around 80°F so the starter disperses more easily.
- Add the flour and mix to combine. You’re looking for a cohesive dough with no dry flour pockets. Let the dough sit for 20 minutes, uncovered.
- Add the salt and continue mixing, ~6 minutes, until the dough begins to feel smoother and more elastic.
Add cherries + chocolate
- Transfer the dough to a clean (or lightly oiled) mixing bowl. Rest the dough briefly (covered), so it relaxes before adding inclusions.
- Scatter the well-drained cherries and chocolate chunks over the dough.
- Fold the dough over itself to enclose the add-ins, then continue folding gently until the inclusions are evenly distributed.
- If using orange zest, add it during this step so it spreads evenly.
Note: Avoid using the mixer for this step. The cherries can bleed and discolor the dough if worked too aggressively.
Bulk fermentation + folds
I did two folds early in bulk to strengthen the dough and finish distributing the inclusions:
- Fold #1 about 30 minutes into bulk
- Fold #2 about 30 minutes after that
Then let the dough continue fermenting until it looks lighter, slightly domed, and shows bubbles at the edges.
(In my kitchen, the dough needed roughly a couple of hours at around mid-70s°F, but I always go by the dough more than the clock.)
Divide, pre-shape, bench rest
- Turn the dough out and divide into two equal pieces (mine were about ~793 g each).
- Pre-shape gently into rounds.
- Cover and rest 20 minutes.
Shape + proof
- Shape each piece into a boule, building surface tension without tearing the dough.
- Place seam-side up in floured bannetons.
- Let them sit at room temp for a short proof (I did about 30 minutes).
- Refrigerate overnight for a cold proof.
Bake (Dutch oven or Bread cloche)
I baked mine in a bread cloche, but a Dutch oven works the same way.
- Preheat the oven with the cloche/Dutch oven inside to 450°F.
- When ready to bake, turn the dough out onto parchment.
- Score with an X plus a couple of decorative slashes, if desired.
- Bake covered 20 minutes, then uncovered 15-20 minutes, until deeply browned.
Cool completely before slicing. This is one of those breads that’s even better once the crumb sets.
- Category: Country Sourdough Bread
- Method: Firm Starter Sourdough, Stretch and Fold, Cold Proof
- Cuisine: French
Who are the Bread Baking Babes?
We are a group of bakers who bake bread together every other month! Tanna, of My Kitchen in Half Cups, is the host kitchen this month.
There’s something extra special about baking with friends, even when those friends are scattered across the world. Please join us in baking Pain de Campagne, and share your results.
I’d love to hear what filling you chose. Did you go citrus-herb, garlic-cheese, chocolate-cherry, or something original? Drop a comment with your variation (and your favorite way to eat it).
Check out our Facebook group and the BBB blogs (links below) to see our baking results.
My Kitchen in Half Cups – Tanna (host kitchen)
Bread Experience – Cathy
A Messy Kitchen – Kelly
Karen’s Kitchen Stories – Karen
blog from OUR kitchen – Elizabeth
Judy’s Gross Eats – Judy
Thyme for Cooking – Katie (roundup)
Happy Baking! See you in the kitchen!
Cathy
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