Café de Olla Sourdough Loaf

A deeply fragrant, spiced sourdough inspired by traditional Mexican café de olla, with piloncillo, cinnamon, candied orange peel, and Mexican chocolate folded right into the dough.
24 hrs
8
Hard

Fair warning… it’s a long one! Because it’s sourdough. And sourdough is a thing. A slow, slightly obsessive, definitely transformative thing. It’s one of those processes that can’t really be taught, only learned through repetition, failure, adjustment, and more repetition. Which is why so many people picked it up during lockdown… they finally had the time to listen to their dough and learn its language.

I can write the steps for you, but until you’ve made 20, 30, 50 loaves, you won’t quite know what I mean when I say this dough felt ready. But trust me, it’s worth every flour-dusted, sticky-fingered moment.

Now, as for the flavor profile… it came out of nowhere. I was testing coffee samples sent to me by my compadre Chino and comadre Rosana in Mexicali (¡gracias!). They sent four different roasts, and one of them (I’m not even a coffee drinker) stopped me in my tracks. No bitterness, just rich notes of cacao and maybe even a hint of ciruela. I brewed it into café de la olla, light on the piloncillo so I could still taste the roast, and added a slice of raw ginger (for digestion and that subtle spicy perk). It might have been the best café de la olla I’ve ever made.

And because I’m always making sourdough when I’m home, I thought: why not use this café de olla instead of water in my dough?

I wasn’t exaggerating, this might be one of the best loaves I’ve ever made. Think: panettone meets rosca de reyes… with that perfect sourdough chew. The bites of orange peel and melty chocolate? Mouthwatering. I even tried it with chocolate chips and they turned into little fudgy pockets. Ridiculously good either way.

So, here you go. The recipe is below. I hope you make it. And if you do please let me know how it goes!

Preparation

Ingredients

  • 100 grams active sourdough starter
  • 10 grams fine sea salt
  • 365 grams warm café de olla
  • 500 grams high-protein bread flour (14% protein preferred)
  • 1/3 cup chopped candied orange peel
  • 1 ½ cups chopped Mexican chocolate (the kind that comes in discs like Abuelita or Ibarra)
  • Extra flour and water for shaping

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, combine 100g active starter, 10g salt, 365g warm café de olla, 500g high-protein flour. Mix thoroughly with your hands, squeezing and folding until you have a shaggy dough. Scrape down the sides and your hands to incorporate all the flour. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let rest for 1 hour.
  2. After resting, do your first fold. Stretch the dough from the top (12 o’clock) and fold it down to the bottom (6 o’clock). Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the fold. Do this 2–3 more times until the dough has been folded from all sides.
  3. Begin bulk fermentation — every 30 minutes for 4 hours, repeat the folding process described above. During each fold, sprinkle in some of the chopped Mexican chocolate (total 1 ½ cups). Do this evenly over the course of the 4 hours.
  4. After bulk fermentation turn the dough out onto a clean work surface. Use a bit of water or flour on your hands if needed. Fold the dough onto itself and tuck the bottom edges under to form a loose ball with surface tension. Cover with a cloth and let rest for 30 minutes.
  5. Lightly moisten your work surface and stretch the dough into a large rectangle (gently, without tearing). Sprinkle evenly with the 1/3 cup candied orange peel. Fold the dough into thirds (like a letter), then roll tightly like a cigar, creating tension as you roll. Tuck the sides under to form a round loaf.
  6. Place the shaped loaf into a floured banneton or proofing basket, seam-side up. Dust the top with more flour, cover with a towel, and place in the refrigerator to proof for 14–16 hours.
  7. Preheat your oven to 450°F (or as high as it will go). Place your Dutch oven inside to preheat as well. When ready, remove the dough from the fridge and carefully invert it onto a piece of parchment paper. Dust the top generously with flour and gently smooth it with your hands. Score the loaf using a lame or sharp blade. Transfer to the hot Dutch oven, cover, and bake for 20 minutes covered, then 20–25 minutes uncovered, until deeply golden brown.
  8. Carefully remove from the Dutch oven and place on a cooling rack. Let it cool for at least 1 hour before slicing. (This is hard. Do it anyway.)

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