A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about Peter’s idea for the cake we should bake, in the manner of the Great British Baking Show, which he finds so very compelling. He was here again, for a few days, and had an additional idea for a “Bread Week” challenge (for our imaginary bakers). Chocolate Bread. It seemed like the very most perfect way for us to spend our Sunday afternoon. He thought I would be able to locate a recipe for chocolate bread, and, of course, in another time it might have been difficult. These days, “Chocolate Bread” in the search bar brings up all sorts of ideas. I chose one and checked my supplies and made a list of what else we’d need, which we purchased on Friday. Sunday, after church and after lunch, we got to work.
We mixed the dry ingredients together in a big container. Then, we combined warm water and yeast with the dough hook in the mixer, added the dry ingredients, and used the dough hook for the first mixing. After that, we added enough more flour so that the bread dough was sturdy enough for kneading. Kneading is pretty messy work, at least until all the extra flour is getting kneaded in.
The next step is rising. Our bread didn’t rise very well, maybe due to a too cool temperature in the kitchen. The dishwasher was running while we were working, and, when I opened the dishwasher to take out the clean dishes, we felt how very nice and warm the dishwasher was, so . . .
we put the covered pan of bread dough inside the nice, warm dishwasher (with the door open a bit), and the dough rose quite nicely in there.
Then, we made four round loaves, and let them rise. (One of those loaves rather collapsed, so we tossed it out.) The remaining three loaves, after having slashes made across their tops, were baked.
The chocolate bread turned out pretty tasty. A perfect accompaniment for breakfast cereal. There was a loaf for Peter to share with the boy next door, who came to play with Peter on Saturday afternoon and loaned Peter a few of his own toys to use for the rest of the weekend. And, Peter and Kevin took home a loaf to share with April.
And, because I’m so sure that everybody is going to want to know how to make real Chocolate Bread, here’s the recipe:
Chocolate Bread
Ingredients
7 cups of bread flour (scoop and level off)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup natural cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (we used a bag of dark chocolate chips)
2 teaspoons salt
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
3 1/4 cups water
Directions
Combine the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix well, breaking up the lumps of brown sugar as needed.
Combine the yeast and water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook; beat on low speed. When the yeast has dissolved, add the flour-chocolate mix and knead with the dough hook attachment. At first it will look as though you have just wasted great chocolate, but soon the dough will pull together. After about 4 minutes, turn off the mixer and use your finger to poke at the dough. If it seems too soft and sticky, knead in more flour a tablespoon at a time.
Lightly flour a work surface. Transfer the dough to the surface and knead by hand for 4 or 5 minutes.
Use a little neutrally flavored oil to grease the inside of a large bowl. Shape the dough into a ball, place it in the bowl and cover with a damp dishcloth. Let it rise for 90 minutes to 2 hours
or until it has doubled in size. (The temperature of the area should not be so warm that the chocolate starts to melt.)
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.(I don’t know what kind of baking sheet and oven this writer has, but we needed two baking sheets to hold the four loaves and only two at a time fit in my oven.)
Gently knock down the dough (in the bowl), then divide it into 4 equal portions. Knead each one into a ball and place on the parchment paper with enough space in between to keep the risen loaves from touching; cover with a damp cloth. When dough has almost doubled in size (about 90 minutes), it is ready to freeze or bake.
TO BAKE: Place a cast-iron skillet or small, shallow baking pan on an oven rack positioned on the next level below the middle rack. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Use a very sharp knife to make 5 shallow slashes, cut parallel on the diagonal, on the tops of the loaves. As the dough rises in the oven, these slashes will expand, giving the finished loaf a fat football shape. Place the loaves in the oven (still on the cooking parchment) and toss about 1/2 cup of water into the hot skillet or pan below the bread. Close the oven immediately. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the bread has reached an internal temperature of 198 to 205 degrees.
Transfer the loaves to a wire rack and allow them to cool to room temperature.
TO FREEZE: Place the risen, unbaked loaves in the freezer (on the parchment-paper-lined baking sheet). After they have frozen solid, wrap the loaves individually (including the parchment under them) in plastic wrap, then wrap again in resealable plastic food storage bags. The unbaked loaves can be frozen for 2 or 3 months.
To defrost, remove the wrapped loaves from their plastic bags and set them on a flat surface in the refrigerator (still wrapped in plastic) to defrost overnight. When the loaves have completely defrosted, carefully remove the plastic wrap. Then wake up the yeast in the bread dough with a warm, moist sauna by boiling 1/2 cup of water in the microwave on HIGH; carefully move the boiled water to one corner of the microwave, then place the unwrapped, unbaked loaf in the center of the microwave and close the door. Let it sit for 1 hour.
After the sauna, slash and bake as directed above.
Go, eat your bread with pleasure, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already accepted your works.
Ecclesiastes 9:7
Today, 70% of the world’s cocoa beans come from four West African countries: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon. Originally, it grew in Central and South America. And I guess that, if I didn’t know about chocolate, then I wouldn’t be able to feel unhappy about not having it.