Strawberries and Cream Sourdough Loaf

A close up image of a loaf of strawberries and cream sourdough bread. You can see the pink streaks of freeze dried strawberries stained through the crumb. There is a whole freeze dried strawberry garnishing the bread. It is sitting in a black cast iron bread pan.

Strawberries and Cream Sourdough Loaf

This sourdough strawberries and cream loaf is soft, tangy, and swirled with white chocolate and bursts of bright flavor from freeze-dried strawberries. It’s a beautiful, bakery-style loaf that’s full of summery inspiration!

Course Bread

Cuisine American

Keyword Flavored Sourdough, Sourdough Bread, Sourdough Recipes

Prep Time 4

Cook Time 45

Fermentation Time 22

Total Time 1 2 45

Servings Loaf

Calories 3136kcal

Equipment

Mixing Bowl
Digital Scale
Banneton
Dutch Oven

Ingredients

Bread Dough

100 g Sourdough Starter
350 g Water
500 g Bread Flour
10 g Salt
5 g Vanilla Paste
20 g Maple Syrup

Added During Stretch and Folds

15 g Freeze Dried Strawberries (crushed)
100 g White Chocolate Chunks

Added During Shaping

15 g Freeze Dried Strawberries (crushed)
30 g Cookie Crumbs (crushed)

Strawberry Cream Cheesecake Spread

Instructions

Pre Mix & Autolyse:
Weigh out your sourdough starter, water, vanilla and maple syrup in a glass or ceramic bowl. Mix them together so that the maple syrup, vanilla and sourdough starter are dissolved in the water (or at least really well distributed).
Then add your flour and salt and mix altogether with a spatula. The dough will be fairly dry and only just brought together.
Cover your bowl with cling film or a damp tea towel and let it sit for around 1 hour.
Forming Up Your Dough:
Work your way around the bowl, grabbing the dough from the outside, stretching it up and over itself until a smooth ball is formed. You shouldn't need more than about 20-25 folds to form the ball.
Once the dough has formed into a smooth ball, pop the cling film back on and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Stretch & Fold - Creating Structure:
You need to add the white chocolate chunks and freeze dried strawberries to your dough during the stretch and fold phase. It's very easy to do!
Try to add them around the second or third set of stretch and folds. So do your first set of stretch and folds with the dough as is and then add the inclusions on the second (or third) set depending on how your dough is behaving.
Try to do around 4 sets of stretch and folds with around 15 to 30 minutes between each set.
Bulk Ferment:
Once you've finished your stretch and folds, place the cling film or damp tea towel back over your dough and let it rest and bulk ferment at room temperature. This can happen quite quickly with the maple syrup in the dough and all the inclusions, so keep an eye on that dough.
Shaping Your Dough:
Once your dough has finished its first ferment, it's time to give it some shape and surface tension and add the extra freeze dried strawberries and cookie crumbs inside.
I think this recipe lends itself to a batard however it's completely up to you what shape you would like.
Stretch your dough out into a rough rectangle and sprinkle over a generous amount of the cookie crumbs and crushed freeze dried strawberries. Fold the top of the dough down and sprinkle more of the cookie crumbs and freeze dried strawberries. Fold the sides in and continue to sprinkle all of the ingredients over until you've used them all.
Roll up the dough like a burrito and pull it towards you to create some surface tension and ensure all of those gorgeous strawberries and cookie crumbs are tucked up inside.
Place the shaped dough into your banneton with the seam side up. Stitch the base together if you need to.
Cold Ferment:
Now your dough is in it's "shaping container" cover it loosely with a plastic bag or damp tea towel and place into the fridge to cold ferment.
Try to leave it in the fridge for a minimum of 5 hours. You can leave this in the fridge for up to 24 hours. I don't like to leave this one in the fridge for longer than this because of the added ingredients.
Preparing to Bake Your Sourdough:
Once you're ready to bake your sourdough, you'll need to preheat your oven to 230C/450F.
Place your Dutch Oven into the oven when you turn it on so it gets hot. Try to preheat for around 1 hour to ensure your oven is super hot - but you know your oven so just adjust this time if you need to.
Baking Your Sourdough:
Now it's time to bake!
When your oven is at temperature. Take your sourdough out of the fridge. Gently place it onto a piece of baking paper.
Gently score your bread with a lame, clean razor blade or knife.
Carefully take your dutch oven out of the oven. Place the sourdough into the pot using the baking paper as a handle. Put the lid on and place into the hot oven.
BAKE TIME:
30 Minutes with the lid on at 230C/450F plus
10-15 Minutes with the lid off at 210C/410F
If you're worried about the base of your bread burning, place a baking sheet on shelf underneath your Dutch Oven - it works!
Finishing Your Bake:
When you remove your dough from the oven, carefully remove it from the dutch oven as soon as possible and place on a wire rack to cool.

Notes

Notes on Sourdough Starter - This recipe is based on you having an active starter that you have fed a few hours before starting your bake. For information on whether your starter is ready, go here. I've used 100g of starter, but you can use less if you're baking in warmer temperatures. You can read about how to adjust the amount of starter you use here.

Notes on Stretch & Folds - This loaf requires you to add a lot of inclusions during stretch and folds so just take it easy. The dough will tear a little but just let it rest and it will recover and absorb all of the inclusions.

Notes on Baking - If you're worried about the base of your bread burning, place a baking sheet on shelf underneath your Dutch Oven - it works! If you're worried about your bread not being cooked all the way through, turn the oven off and place your dough straight onto the oven rack.
Leave the door ajar and let your bread rest there for a few hours.
Remember not to cut into your loaf too soon - you'll need to let it cool for at least a few hours (4-6 is best).

Nutrition