Chocolate Artisan Bread

I was looking for new recipes the other day, I wanted to make a chocolate bread. I'd had it a few years ago and it was so good. It was a quick bread, almost like a cake or muffin. But during my search I found recipes for different kinds of Chocolate Bread. Some were like the one I was looking for while others were a more traditional yeast bread. I decided to adapt one I had seen. It appears to be very much like my Artisan Bread. Just a chocolate version! Which okay sounds awesome, especially because that means that its super easy to make!  I love it when an idea changes and that change turns out to be something better and easier than what you were planning in the first place!

I like to eat this bread toasted with a little butter on top! YUM! I bet it would be great with a Raspberry Jam and also it also makes a really decadent French Toast! 

Here's what you'll need:

6 cups flour

1/2 tsp instant or active-dry yeast

2 1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup Cocoa Powder

1 cup Chocolate Chips

1/4 cup Brown Sugar

2 2/3 cup cool water (I added a little more this time a tablespoon or two)

A 6-8 quart heavy covered pot

Here's how you make it:

In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, salt cocoa powder and chocolate chips. Add the water and stir until all the ingredients are well incorporated; the dough should be wet and sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest 12-18 hours on the counter at room temperature. Mine has taken the full 18 hours every time.  When surface of the risen dough has darkened slightly, smells yeasty, and is dotted with bubbles, it is ready.

Lightly flour your hands and a work surface. Place dough on work surface and sprinkle with more flour. Fold the dough over on itself once or twice and, using floured fingers, tuck the dough underneath to form a rough ball.

Generously dust a piece of parchement paper with enough flour to prevent the dough from sticking to the paper as it rises; place dough seam side down on the paper and dust with more flour. Cover with a second piece of parchement and let rise for about 2 hours, until it has doubled in size.

After about 1 1/2 hours, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place a 6-8 quart heavy covered pot, such as a cast-iron Dutch oven, in the oven as it heats. When the dough has fully risen, carefully remove pot from oven. Remove top parchement from dough and slide your hand under the bottom parchement; flip the dough over into the pot, seam side up. Shake pan once or twice if dough looks unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes.

Cover and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and continue baking for 10-15 more minutes, until the crust is a deep chestnut brown. The internal temperature of the bread should be around 200 degrees. You can check this with a meat thermometer, if desired.

Remove the bread from the pot and let it cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

Enjoy!

Honey Oat Bread

I don’t think there are many smells in this world better than freshly baked bread! There also isn’t much better than a slice of fresh from the oven bread with a little butter smeared all over it! It truly is a slice of heaven. I try to make all of our loaf bread, I don’t always succeed though and often end up buying it at the store, which I hate to do! This recipe is so great because there is no waiting for your yeast to proof! You just throw everything into the mixer! I know those of you with a bread machine are thinking “that’s what we do” I don’t happen to have a bread machine though… it is on my list of kitchen gadgetry that I would like to own one day! So this recipe works the best for me! I’ve also recently discovered bread flour, honestly I’ve just never thought about it before, but I am now in LOVE with it! My bread rises higher and has a lighter texture!

 

Here’s what you’ll need:

(Recipe adapted from Kitchen Aid)

1 ½ cups water

½ cup honey

1/3 cup butter

2 packets of Yeast

5-6 cups Bread Flour

1 cup Old Fashioned Oats

1tsp Salt

2 eggs

1 egg white + 1TBSP Water (egg wash)

Oatmeal to sprinkle on the top

                                                Dry Ingrediants ready for a little mix

Honey, Butter and Water

                                         Be Careful poring the hot honey/butter!

                              See how the sides of the bowl are dough free this is a good thing!

A warm oven is a great place to let dough rise!

                                          I love all the pieces of oatmeal poking through!

                                                              Divide in half

                                Covered with egg wash and oatmeal and ready for the oven!

Directions

Combine Water, Honey, and Butter in a small pan. Heat until butter melts.

In a mixer bowl place oats in the bottom and then add the flour, yeast and salt. Give it a slight mix. If you are using a Mixer you are going to want to use the dough hook.  Add the melted honey & butter to the flour mixture slowly. Continue to stir then add in the eggs and mix for another minute or until the eggs are incorporated.

Add in remaining flour a little at a time continuing to mix. Keep adding flour until the dough starts to pull away from the bowl. Then let it mix for a few more minutes, this is kneading the dough (love this)

Place dough into a greased bowl and cover and let rise for an hour or until the dough has doubled in size. I warm my oven @ 200 for 10-15 min then turn it off and place the covered dough in. I find it helps it to rise a little faster, and I just have better results.

Punch dough down and divide in half. Place each half into a greased loaf pan. Cover again and let rise for another hour or until dough doubles in size again.

Make egg wash and spread over loaves and sprinkle oatmeal on top. Bake @ 375 for 30-40 minutes or until a nice golden brown!  Take the loaves out of the pans and place them on a rack to cool… (wait to slice into them as long as you can I know it’s hard)

Slather with butter and honey, or jam or whatever you like the most and ENJOY!