The recipe you are about to read for Braids with Sourdough Starter has been on my blog since April 23, 2014, and at that time I was using the sourdough starter that was kindly given to me by an aunt. I named the sourdough starter Tinkerbell, after Peter Pan’s fairy friend, because with it I created small culinary magic.
One example is these Chocolate Chip Braids that I’ve made numerous times, and they always come out good, light, not too sweet, and with a nice leavened dough. I remember finding the recipe online somewhere back then, but I honestly can’t remember where, and I made some modifications to the quantities, like drastically reducing the sugar. Let me know if you try them because you won’t be disappointed!
These braids with sourdough starter are perfect for both breakfast and snack time. If you don’t have the sourdough starter, don’t worry, they can be made with fresh yeast, the kind you find in blocks in the fridge section of the supermarket, and you only need 7 grams of product, or with dry yeast, the granulated kind, you only need 4 grams of product. I’ve tried both the sourdough version and the fresh yeast version. I’ll let you know if I try the dry yeast version as well
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economic
- Rest time: 18 Hours
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 256.04 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 43.39 (g) of which sugars 9.55 (g)
- Proteins 7.46 (g)
- Fat 6.35 (g) of which saturated 3.50 (g)of which unsaturated 2.26 (g)
- Fibers 1.05 (g)
- Sodium 239.45 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 60 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for 7 Braids with Sourdough Starter:
The recipe yields about 7 braids, but you can make them smaller and get more, or make them larger and get only 4 or 5.
- 160 g sourdough starter (or 4 g of dry yeast or 7 g of fresh yeast)
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups Manitoba flour
- 3 tbsp butter (at room temperature)
- 1 egg
- 1 packet vanillin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- to taste lemon zest
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup milk (at room temperature)
- 1 egg yolk
- to taste chocolate chips
- to taste sugar sprinkles
Tools for the Sourdough Braids Recipe
- 1 Stand Mixer
- 1 Baking Sheet
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Scale
- 1 Oven
- 1 Dough Scraper
- 1 Dish Towel
- 1 Work Surface
- 1 Work Surface
Preparation of Braids with Sourdough Starter:
Process with the Stand Mixer and the Sourdough Starter
Take the stand mixer and pour into its bowl the two types of flour, our sourdough starter, sugar, grated lemon zest, vanillin, and salt. Then beat the whole egg in the milk and pour it into the mixer bowl slowly while operating it at the lowest speed.
Once the ingredients have combined, start adding the butter, breaking it into pieces and incorporating each piece only when the previous one has been completely absorbed by the dough.
When the dough detaches from the sides and hooks well to the hook, it’s time to turn off the mixer. Form a nice ball with your hands, flour the bottom of the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a towel, and let our dough rise in the oven for at least 16 hours.
If you don’t have a stand mixer, create a well on a wooden work surface with the two types of flour, beat the egg with the milk, and pour everything into the center, working everything with the sourdough starter placed in the center as well. Combine all the other ingredients, working the dough with your hands until you get an elastic and soft ball, then let it rise in a floured bowl covered with plastic wrap and a towel in the turned-off oven for at least 16 hours.
After the 16 hours of rising, which is why I classify it among the long-rising sweet breads, remove the bowl from the oven. Take a baking sheet and cover the bottom with parchment paper.
Now let’s focus on the actual preparation of the Braids with Sourdough Starter and Chocolate Chips.
Dust a work surface with flour and divide the dough into 7 parts. Work each portion of dough one at a time. You can either make a braid with just two strands or divide each portion into three smaller parts to form our braids.
Stretch the dough with your fingers and the palm of your hand to create logs as if you were making gnocchi.
Then braid the logs into sticks to form our beautiful braids. Once all the braids are ready and positioned on the baking sheet, brush the surface with the egg yolk beaten with milk. Sprinkle with sugar sprinkles and chocolate chips.
Let them rise in the oven, turned off but with the light on, for at least two hours. They will puff up a lot, a little more than doubling in size.
Once this time has passed, which is the final rise for this dessert, preheat the oven in static mode to 356°F. Once the oven has reached the right temperature, bake the braids with sourdough starter for about 20 – 25 minutes. They should be nicely golden on the surface; of course, this depends on the oven, but around 25 minutes they should be perfect!
And here are our beautiful braids with sourdough starter!
Enjoy your meal!!!
As I mentioned, it’s not essential to have the sourdough starter; you can substitute it with fresh yeast using the grams indicated in the ingredient list or with dry yeast using the dose indicated above.
Storage of Braids with Sourdough Starter:
The Chocolate Chip Braids can be stored for a few days well-sealed in freezer bags; they will remain soft and fragrant.
Other Recipes:
This is the second recipe I make with sourdough starter as the base ingredient. I would say if they all turn out this good, I’ll enjoy it and never give it up! Another recipe you can try is the Nutella Croissants with Sourdough Starter. If you don’t have the sourdough starter and want to try long-rising sweets, try this Pan Brioche with Chocolate Chips!
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