Knowing this week would end with Valentine’s Day, I wanted to make two things happen, first, to find and use a new flavor/recipe, and second, to learn how to make a heart-shaped boule. Both of these tasks were a fun challenge but no problem at all.

The first of course, was to select the right recipe which I found at Kate’s Pantry Mama. Entitled “Sourdough Bread with Coffee & Maple Infused Dates,” which she claimed could be the only recipe she would ever bake if she only had one choice. She wrote: “This meant to be a flavor combination will take your sourdough to a whole new level. Sweet, coffee-infused dates nestled in sweet, airy sourdough—you’ll be hooked!”

Not having any coffee, and not liking the flavor anyway, she explained, “you could substitute good quality vanilla paste dissolved in hot water in place of the coffee.” But I had dates and mocha syrup on hand so I went ahead with the recipe, doubling it and noting my changes and measurements as I went.

Pantry Mama’s Sourdough Bread with Coffee & Maple Infused Dates

Kate’s Sourdough Bread with Flavor Infused Dates—Heart Shaped for Valentine’s Day

Serving Size:
2-2 pound loaves
Time:
Difficulty:

Ingredients

  • ½ cup [113g] Active Sourdough Starter
  •  2⅔ cups [640g] Cold, filtered water
  •  8 cups [1016g] Bread Flour
    or 7cups [900g] All-purpose flour plus 7/8 cup [100g] Vital Wheat Gluten
  •  1¾ tsp [10g] Salt
  •  ¼ cup [60ml] Strong Espresso Coffee, vanilla paste, or mocha flavored syrup
  •  2 Tbsp [40ml] Maple Syrup
  •  20 Dried and pitted dates, whole or chopped

Directions

  1. An hour before mixing your sourdough, prepare the dates by soaking them in hot coffee (vanilla or mocha syrup0 and maple syrup. Stir them well to cover all the dates. Cover and set aside until you are ready to use them.
  2. Mix the active sourdough starter with the water.
  3. Then add your flour, mix well, and allow to rest (autolyse) for 30 or more minutes.
  4. Combine the salt and the liquid from the dates, then mix them into the flour and water mixture. The dough will be quite shaggy, having just come together.
  5. Allow this to rest for 30 minutes. Then working your way around the bowl, grab the dough from the outside and stretch and fold it over itself. Turn the bowl, folding and stretching in four turns (12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock).
  6. Over the next two hours, repeat the stretching and folding to develop the gluten in your dough.
  7. On your final set of stretch and folds, says Kate, “add the coffee & maple-infused dates. Try to incorporate them without disturbing all the beautiful bubbles that will be forming in your dough. I find it easiest to do the last set of stretch and folds in the bowl when incorporating the dates so that you can catch any stray juice.”
  8. Cover the dough and allow it to ferment for 8–12 hours. Because this is a sweet dough, you may have to retard this ferment in the fridge.
  9. Once the bulk ferment is finished, form it back into a ball, tensioning the dough as you shape it. Kate suggests, “to flour your countertop with some rice flour for this.” Then, “turn your dough onto your lightly floured surface and pull it up and over itself 4 times to create a round boule shape. It can be a little tricky, but you want to create as much surface tension as you can. Try to pull the dough in a firm but gentle way to create structure and tension, but also keep the gases and bubbles intact. Once you’re happy with the shape, place your dough into your banneton or bowl, ensuring that you’ve liberally floured whatever you are using.”
  10. Cover this loosely with a plastic bag (or damp tea towel) and place this back into the fridge for 5 hours or more hours. “The longer you leave it, the better your bread will be,” she promises.
  11. When you are ready to bake the bread, preheat your oven to 450°F [230°C]. At the same time, preheat the Dutch Oven to ensure it is hot before placing the bread into it, but Kate suggests, “Leave your dough in the fridge until the very last minute.
  12. When ready to bake, take remove the sourdough out of the fridge and shape it into heart shapes. This is a bit tricky so we have included this video to help:

Shaping Heart Loaves

13. Bake the bread tor 30 minutes with the lid on. Then take the lid off and bake for an additional 12-15 minutes. But warns Kate, “Keep an eye on your bread at this stage, because it has maple syrup and dates in it, the sugar can make the top go very dark, very quickly.”
14. Once baked let the bread cure and cool in the oven with the door ajar for 1–2 hours.

I am very happy with my bread shapes as you can see above the recipe. I cannot wait to cut into this bread to taste its goodness tomorrow.