I hid the Oreos.
I genuinely hid them in the corner of my clutter counter behind a couple of brown bananas the basket of spices that are too big to fit in the spice rack. I thought I was being clever. My husband found them within eight hours and saved just enough for me to still make this loaf. I don’t know whether to be impressed or annoyed. Both. It’s both.
Then my kids discovered the gummy worms while I was working and picked through the bag with the quiet, focused energy of people who absolutely know what they’re doing and are hoping you won’t notice. This is what happens when you don’t buy sugary processed treats very often. They become a full family event. Apparently sourdough ingredients are fair game now.
Anyway. I still made the loaf. And it is completely unhinged and I love it.
Let’s talk about what this actually is.
Dirt pudding sourdough is exactly what it sounds like. Chocolate cocoa dough, instant chocolate pudding mix stirred in dry, crushed Oreos and dark chocolate chunks folded in at lamination, frozen gummy worms added last. Cream cheese frosting on top with more crushed Oreos and worms poking out dramatically for the photo. It tastes like a childhood birthday party and a sourdough loaf had a baby and genuinely could not be more chaotic.
The pudding mix was the decision that took this from chocolate sourdough to actually dirt pudding in loaf form. You add it dry — don’t make the pudding first, just tip the powder straight into your flour with the cocoa before you mix. What it does is extraordinary. The cornstarch in the mix tenderises the gluten and gives you this soft, pillowy, almost cake-like crumb that stays moist for days. It deepens the chocolate flavour without you having to add more cocoa. The whole thing tastes genuinely indulgent in a way that plain chocolate sourdough just doesn’t quite hit.
The gummy worm situation.
This is the part that requires actual strategy and I say that completely sincerely. Room temperature gummy worms will dissolve almost entirely during the bake. You will end up with coloured sugar pockets and no worms and you will be sad. Freeze your gummy worms for at least two hours before they go anywhere near your dough. Frozen worms hold their shape, give you actual visible pieces in the crumb, and make the whole thing look as unhinged as it tastes.
For the worms on top — press them in right before baking, not after shaping. They firm up in the oven and hold their position for the photo which is ultimately what all of this is for anyway. Let’s be honest.
Dirt Pudding Sourdough Recipe
9×5 pan loaf — straight starter method
The Dough
300g bread flour
100g whole wheat flour
315g water
80g active starter
30g honey
20g neutral oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
9g salt
25g Dutch process cocoa (mixed into flour before adding water)
34g instant chocolate pudding mix (dry, mixed into flour)
The Inclusions (added at lamination)
80g Oreos, roughly crushed (keep some filling intact)
60g dark chocolate chunks
30g gummy worms, cut in half (freeze for 2+ hours first)
The Topping (before baking)
Crushed Oreos pressed into the top
2–3 gummy worms pressed in dramatically
The Cream Cheese Frosting
½ cup cream cheese, softened (4oz block)
½ cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp crushed Oreos stirred through
The Method
Mix cocoa and pudding mix into flour before adding any liquid
Add water, starter, honey, oil, vanilla and salt. Mix until no dry flour remains. Rest 45 min
4 x stretch & fold every 30 min
Bulk rise on counter for 24 hours (for cold kitchens)
Laminate frozen worms, crushed Oreos and chocolate chunks straight after bulk
Press Oreos and gummy worms into the top
Bake immediately — no cold proof needed
Bake at 425°F covered for 1 hour, then uncovered for 10 min
Pull at internal temp 200°F
Cool completely before frosting
Spread cream cheese frosting over cooled loaf, top with crushed Oreos and gummy worms 🪱🍫
The process.
Same sweet base dough I use for everything — bread flour, whole wheat, water, active starter, honey, oil, vanilla, salt. Before you mix anything, combine your cocoa powder and dry pudding mix straight into the flour. This is important — you want it fully incorporated before the water goes in so it hydrates evenly and doesn’t streak.
Mix, rest forty five minutes, four sets of stretch and fold every thirty minutes. The dough will feel slightly stickier than usual because of the cornstarch in the pudding mix. That is completely normal. Do not add more flour. Trust the process.
Bulk until domed and jiggly. The cornstarch will slow things down slightly so give it an extra few hours compared to your usual bulk time and go by feel rather than the clock.
At lamination — stretch the dough out flat, scatter your roughly crushed Oreos across the surface. Rough chunks, not fine crumbs. You want actual Oreo pieces showing up in the crumb, not just darkness. Scatter dark chocolate chunks on top. Add your frozen gummy worms last, cut in half so they distribute more evenly. Fold everything back in gently and try not to think too hard about what you’re doing.
Shape into a tight cylinder, into your parchment lined 9×5 pan. Bake at 425°F, twenty minutes covered, eighteen to twenty minutes uncovered. Pull at 200°F internal — not 205°F, the chocolate and Oreos add enough moisture that you don’t need to push it further.
Cool it completely before the frosting goes on or it will slide straight off and you’ll be upset.
The frosting.
Cream cheese, powdered sugar, a splash of milk, vanilla, and crushed Oreos stirred through. Spread it over the cooled loaf, top with more Oreo crumbs and as many gummy worms as your family hasn’t already eaten. The contrast of the dark chocolate loaf against the cream cheese frosting with worms on top is genuinely one of the most chaotic and photogenic things I have ever put on my counter.
A few tips.
Freeze the worms. I cannot say this enough. Hide the Oreos better than I did — maybe a locked car, maybe a safety deposit box, use your judgement. Keep some of the Oreo filling intact when you crush them because the cream melts into the dough and adds a sweetness that is completely unreasonable. Pull at 200°F not 205°F. And do not skip the cream cheese frosting because this loaf deserves to fully commit to the bit.
This is the most chaotic thing I have made and I bake gummy worms into sourdough now apparently.
No notes. 🪱🍫
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