A basic sourdough loaf, but studded with chunks of sweet almond marzipan straight through the crumb. No dried fruit, no holiday spice, no stollen in sight. Just an easy everyday loaf that turns out you can eat marzipan can go in way more places than cookies
New to sourdough? Start Here!
How To Feed Sourdough Starter Beginners Guide
Easy Sourdough Bread Recipe for Beginners (Artisan Loaf)
A few years back my husband made a Marzipan Challah with some friends. The recipe called for rolling the marzipan into logs, wrapping it in dough and braiding the dough into bread. It was SO good and I was all in on this plan!
I immediately realized American bakers just don’t put enough marzipan into things. So naturally I got curious. What happens if I put marzipan in sourdough?
My first attempt was almost 300 grams of marzipan stuffed into one loaf. It was a full on sugar explosion in the best and worst way. The marzipan exploded out of the bread and it was epic! I knew I was being a little greedy but the results were even more over the top than I expected. This recipe is the dialed back, still-plenty-of-marzipan version that actually works and avoids complete insanity.
Marzipan Sourdough Bread Isn’t Stollen
If you know your holiday breads, marzipan and sourdough together probably makes you think of stollen, the German Christmas bread loaded with dried fruit, spices, and a marzipan log baked into the center.
This isn’t that. There’s no dried fruit here, no holiday spice, no powdered sugar snow on top. This is a basic artisan sourdough loaf with marzipan crumbled into chunks and worked in at shaping. It’s its own thing, and you can make it any day of the year for a lightly sweet sourdough inclusion loaf.
Let’s Talk Marzipan
I use my own homemade marzipan for this, and honestly, it takes five minutes to make. Why wouldn’t you? It’s just almond flour, powdered sugar, almond extract, and water in a food processor. It’s also delicious enough to eat plain, sliced right off the log, so it’s kind of fun to always have some tucked away in the freezer for whenever the mood strikes.
Here, I don’t fold it into the dough smoothly like I do with other inclusions. I pull off little chunks and crumble them in at shaping, so you get pockets of marzipan scattered through the loaf instead of one even layer.
How to Make This Bread
This starts like any of my other sourdough loaves: mix the water, active starter, flour, and salt, then let the dough go through its normal bulk fermentation and stretch and folds.
One note on the salt: it’s a touch higher than what I usually use, and that’s intentional. When I’m working with a sweet inclusion like this, I like to bump the salt up a bit to give it something to push against. It keeps the bread from tasting flat next to all that sweetness.
The marzipan itself doesn’t get folded in during bulk fermentation like many of my other inclusion loaves. Instead, you add it at shaping, crumbling chunks in as you shape the loaf.
If you haven’t worked with inclusions before, my Sourdough Inclusions guide walks through everything you need to know as a beginner or intermediate sourdough baker.
More Sourdough Loaves to Try
- My Favorite Blueberry Sourdough Bread
- Jalapeño Cheddar Sourdough Bread
- Chocolate Chip Sourdough Bread
Marzipan Sourdough Bread
Ingredients
- 350 g water, room temperature
- 100 g active sourdough starter fed and happy
- 500 g bread flour
- 13 g fine grain sea salt
- 100 g marzipan crumbled into chunks
Instructions
Mix the Dough (Autolyze)
- In a large bowl, add the water, starter, flour, and salt. Mix until no dry patches remain and you have a shaggy dough. Cover and rest on the counter for 1 hour.
Stretch and Folds
- Wet your hands so they don't stick. Grab one side of the dough, pull gently until it resists, then fold it back over itself. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat until you've done 4 folds, which is one set. Cover and rest 30 minutes, then repeat for a total of 4 sets over about 2 hours. (Complete guide to stretch and folds here.)
Bulk Ferment
- Cover the dough and let it rise at room temperature until doubled, pillowy, and jiggly, with bubbles visible through the sides of the bowl. Usually 6 to 12 hours depending on your kitchen’s temperature.
Shape the Dough with Marzipan
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly misted counter and stretch it into a rough rectangle. Crumble the marzipan into roughly ½-inch chunks, about the size of a sugar cube, and scatter them evenly over the dough. Roll the dough up tightly into a ball, tucking the seam underneath.
Cold Ferment
- Cover loosely and refrigerate for 5 to 36 hours.
Preheat the Oven
- Place your Dutch oven, lid on, into the oven and preheat to 450°F for a full hour.
Score and Bake, Covered
- Turn the dough out onto parchment paper, score with one long slash, and carefully transfer into the hot Dutch oven. Cover and bake 30 minutes.
Finish Baking, Uncovered
- Remove the lid, lower the oven to 410°F, and bake 10 to 15 more minutes until deep golden brown.
Cool Completely
- Remove the loaf and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
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Nutrition Estimate
A Note on Nutrition
Nutritional info is an imperfect estimate. Please take it with a grain of salt.
New to sourdough? Start Here! How To Feed Sourdough Starter Beginners Guide Easy Sourdough Bread Recipe for Beginners (Artisan Loaf)
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