Is it bread or dessert? Good news, it can be both! This S'mores Sourdough Bread is infused with the flavors of graham crackers, marshmallows, and milk chocolate in every bite, giving you the most amazing bread you've ever had.
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This S'mores Sourdough Bread is made with a base from my standard Low Hydration Sourdough Bread, with just 65% hydration as the starting point. This sourdough bread is very easy to handle and perfect for beginners and people living in humid climates.
We fold chunks of milk chocolate and mini marshmallows into the dough for even distribution, and then, before shaping, we add in a graham cracker swirl that really helps to kick it up a notch.
It took several attempts to get this S'mores Sourdough Bread recipe perfected, and I'm so happy to finally be able to share it with you. It's sweet, but not too sweet, packed with flavor and chewy goodness in every bite. This is so much more than just bread; it's a snack you'll want to make over and over again.
S'mores sourdough bread is one of our favorites (for obvious reasons), but don't forget to try our Cranberry Orange Sourdough Bread, Apple Sourdough Bread, and Caramel Apple Cider Sourdough Bread. They're amazing too!
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💛 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Easy to handle. This lower hydration dough is more solid and manageable than high hydration loaves, making it a smooth transition from yeast breads like my 5 Ingredient White Bread to sourdough.
- Balanced flavor. A lightly sweet, vanilla flavored dough pairs perfectly with melty chocolate and buttery graham crackers for classic s'mores flavor.
- Minimal extra effort. It follows a standard sourdough process with stretch and folds, shaping, and an overnight chill, plus one quick added step that fits easily into a normal routine.
🛒 Ingredients
- Bread flour- I recommend using bread flour or making your own (See: How to Make Bread Flour) for the base of this dough. Bread flour has more protein than all-purpose flour and will yield much better results.
- Vanilla- We add some vanilla into the dough to help give it more flavor and make it feel like it's more of a luxurious dessert rather than a slice of bread with chocolate on it.
- Chocolate and marshmallows- I recommend milk chocolate, either chopped candy bars or chocolate chips, just make sure to weigh them out. The same goes for the marshmallows- make sure to weigh them.
See the recipe card below for full ingredients and instructions.
🔀 Substitutions & Variations
- Chocolate. Milk chocolate is classic, but semi sweet or dark chocolate adds richness. White chocolate works too, though it is sweeter and caramelizes faster.
- Marshmallows. Mini marshmallows melt most evenly. Larger ones can be chopped, just keep the amount consistent to avoid large pockets.
- Graham crackers. Classic grahams work best, but honey, cinnamon, or gluten free graham cookies are easy swaps.
- Swirl options. Replace the graham swirl with crushed Oreos, Biscoff cookies, or pretzels for a sweet salty twist.
- Flavor twists. Add peanut butter chips for peanut butter s'mores, chopped mint chocolate for a mint version, or fold in pecans, walnuts, or almonds for extra crunch.
💰 Budget-Friendly Tips
Use Store Brands: Generic chocolate bars, marshmallows, and graham crackers taste just as good here and cost far less than name brands.
Stretch the Mix-Ins: Instead of packing in extra chocolate or marshmallows, keep the base loaf simple and serve slices with a drizzle of homemade chocolate syrup or a spread of Nutella for that over-the-top flavor without extra cost.
Seasonal Shopping: Stock up on marshmallows and chocolate after summer (s'mores season!) or holidays when they often go on clearance.
Personal Note: While large marshmallows can be cheaper during sales, stick to the mini ones! Having tried this recipe with large marshmallows and halved large marshmallows, I can honestly say that mini marshmallows work soooo much better!
🥄 Instructions for S'mores Sourdough Bread
Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, combine starter, water, bread flour, vanilla, and salt (Image 1) into a shaggy dough. Rest for 30 minutes. (Image 2).
Step 2: Over the next 2-3 hours, perform your usual stretch-and-folds. During the last fold, gently fold in the chopped chocolate and marshmallows. (Images 3 & 4).
Step 3: Let dough rise, covered, at room temperature (70-75°F) for a few hours until it has risen 75-90%, looks airy, and jiggles when nudged.
Step 4: Turn the dough out onto a floured surface (Image 5) and push out into a rectangle with your hands. Leave it there for a moment to mix together the graham cracker swirl. This momentary break will allow the gluten to relax a little so it'll be easier to push out into a bigger rectangle.
Step 5: Mix the ingredients for the graham cracker swirl in a bowl. (Image 6).
Step 6: Push the dough out into a rectangle (Image 7). Spread graham cracker swirl over the top of the dough (Image 8). Note: I recommend only using about half of the swirl, any more than that can weigh down the dough and make it dense from too much moisture.
Step 7: Roll the dough up like a log (Image 9), like you would cinnamon rolls except do not roll it tightly, a loose log works best. Once rolled into a log, fold the bottom edges under into a tri-fold so it makes a lump on top and edges are on the bottom. (Image 10). Let rest while you prep the banneton.
Step 8: Flour the inside of your banneton with rice flour and if desired, sprinkle some unused graham cracker swirl in the banneton (Image 11).
Step 9: Grab your loaf and gently fold the sides under as you work it to be round with your hands. I do this by folding my hands from the sides of the dough to under it while working it in a circular pattern.
Step 10: Carefully lift the dough up and place it upside down, leaving the edges up. (Image 12). Pinch and seal edges closed before covering with plastic wrap and transferring to the fridge overnight.
Step 11: Place your Dutch oven with lid into the oven while cold and preheat it to 450°F.
Step 12: Once preheated, take your dough from the fridge and place onto parchment paper or a silicone sling. Score the dough with a razor. (Image 13).
Step 13: Carefully place the bread into the Dutch oven (Image 14) and return to the oven with the lid on. Bake for 30minutes, then remove the lid and bake for another 20 minutes uncovered. (Image 15).
Step 14: The bread is ready when it reaches an internal temperature of 205°F. If it hasn't reached that temp yet, return to the oven and check the temp every 5-10 minutes until done. Tent with foil if it's browning too much.
Step 15: Remove the bread from the Dutch oven and place it onto a cooling rack to cool for at least 3 hours or until cold to the touch. Cutting into it too early will result in a gummy texture and a melted chocolate mess.
Slice, serve, and enjoy!
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
- The internal temperature matters. Make sure to use an instant-read thermometer on this bread when the baking time has completed. There's a good chance you could have to bake for an additional 10-15minutes to reach the desired goal of 205F.
- Tent with foil if it's too brown. If you don't want your S'mores Sourdough Bread to darken any more during this additional bake time, lay a sheet of foil over the top of your Dutch oven.
- Let. The. Bread. Cool. Let the loaf cool at least 3 hours before slicing, otherwise the chocolate will ooze, and the bread may be dense or gummy. The cooling time helps to finish the baking process and is necessary.
❄️ Storage, Reheating & Make Ahead
Storage and freezing. Store the cooled loaf in a bread bag or airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, slice and freeze in freezer safe bags for up to 3 months.
Reheating. Warm slices in a 300°F oven for 5 to 7 minutes, toast in a toaster oven for a lightly crisp finish, or microwave for 10 to 15 seconds for a quick option, noting marshmallows will melt more.
Make ahead. This recipe naturally lends itself to making ahead thanks to the overnight fridge proof. Prepare the dough one day, bake the next, or freeze baked slices for future treats.
🥗 Side Dishes
This bread is sweet enough to stand alone, but here are a few pairing ideas:
- Fresh fruit like strawberries or raspberries.
- A scoop of vanilla or chocolate ice cream.
- Hot cocoa or a warm latte for the ultimate cozy treat. Try it with our Cinnamon Toast Crunch Latte.
❓ S'mores Sourdough Bread FAQs
Yes. Some will caramelize into the crust (yum!), while others melt away and create pockets of flavor in the bread.
White chocolate should work well, but some things to note are that you will want to use a high quality white chocolate because lower quality ones tend to burn at normal baking temps and would no doubt burn at the much higher temp that our sourdough requires.
Anywhere from 65-70% hydration is ideal (meaning 65-70g of water for every 100g flour). Higher hydration loaves (75-85%) are trickier to handle but give larger holes in the crumb.
This can be from shaping (air bubbles trapped during shaping), uneven add-ins (like clumps of chocolate or nuts), or melted marshmallows leaving gaps. It's totally normal, and the bread will still taste amazing!
🍽️ More Recipes You'll Love
- Sourdough CornbreadRecipe $2.14 / Serving $0.27
- Sourdough Bread PuddingRecipe $1.98 / Serving $0.33
- Sourdough Thumbprint CookiesRecipe $4.01 / Serving $0.13
- Sourdough Chicken and DumplingsRecipe $4.96 / Serving $0.83
🐝 If you tried this S'mores Sourdough Bread, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your buzz in the 💬 comments below. I'd truly appreciate it!
📖 Recipe
S'mores Sourdough Bread
Equipment
- Silicone Bread Sling *or parchment paper
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 310 g water - ($0.00)
- 100 g active sourdough starter - ($0.10)
- 25 g granulated sugar - ($0.03)
- 15 g vanilla extract (1 tablespoon) - ($0.04)
- 500 g bread flour - ($0.86)
- 10 g salt - ($0.01)
Mix-ins
- 75-80 g milk chocolate bars, chopped, or chocolate chips - ($1.20)
- 60 g mini marshmallows - ($0.27)
For the Graham Cracker Swirl:
- 28 g unsalted butter, melted - ($0.23)
- 4 sheets graham crackers, crushed into crumbs - ($0.24)
- 13 g brown sugar - ($0.03)
- 1 pinch salt - ($0.01)
Instructions
- Mix dough. In a large mixing bowl, combine the water, sourdough starter, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, bread flour, and salt. Mix until a shaggy dough forms. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
- Stretch and fold. Over the next 2 to 3 hours, perform 3 to 4 sets of stretch-and-folds. During the final fold, gently incorporate the chopped chocolate and marshmallows.
- Bulk ferment. Let the dough rise at room temperature (70-75°F) until increased by about 75 to 90 percent in volume, airy, and slightly jiggly when the bowl is nudged.
- Prepare graham swirl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently stretch into a rectangle. Let rest briefly. In a small bowl, mix together the melted butter, graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and salt.
- Add swirl. Spread about half of the graham cracker mixture evenly over the dough. Avoid overfilling, as too much can weigh down the loaf.
- Shape dough. Roll the dough loosely into a log, similar to a cinnamon roll. Fold the bottom edges under using a tri-fold motion to create surface tension.
- Cold proof. Lightly flour a banneton with rice flour. Optionally sprinkle some of the remaining graham mixture inside. Place the dough seam-side up in the banneton, pinch edges to seal, cover, and refrigerate overnight for 8 to 12 hours.
- Preheat oven. Place a Dutch oven with the lid on into a cold oven and preheat to 450°F.
- Bake. Transfer the dough onto parchment paper or a silicone sling and score the top. Carefully place into the hot Dutch oven. Bake covered for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake an additional 20 minutes.
- Check doneness. The bread is done when the internal temperature reaches 205°F. If needed, bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes, tenting loosely with foil if browning too quickly.
- Cool and serve. Remove the bread from the Dutch oven and cool on a wire rack for at least 3 hours, or until completely cool before slicing.
Notes
- Check doneness with a thermometer: Bread is ready when it reaches 205°F internally.
- Foil tent if needed: If the crust darkens too quickly, cover loosely with foil during the last part of baking.
- Marshmallow pockets are normal: They melt during baking and can leave airy spots, this is expected and delicious!
- Cool before slicing: Let bread rest at least 1 hour so chocolate and marshmallows set.
- Storage: Keep at room temperature up to 3 days, or freeze slices for up to 3 months.
Nutritional Information
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Nicole Durham says
One loaf is never enough around here when it comes to smore flavored sourdough bread.