I am trying to make a chocolate yeast bread, and I am looking for some help. I would like some feed back on a couple of things, one being which would be better to use cocoa powder, melted chocolate, or chocolate liquor. Or are there any other suggestions? I am also going to add more sugar to the recipe, should I use just sugar, or honey or some other sweetener?
I would like to thank anyone in advance for any help they can give me.

By Dan on Tuesday, July 27, 1999 - 10:34 am: Edit

I can't imagine wanting to eat chocolate bread. Having said that, there was a bakery in Seattle that I used to go to where they made a challah roll, maybe 3 or 4oz., Braided with a baton au chocolat inside and they were quite delicious.

By MarkG on Tuesday, July 27, 1999 - 04:25 pm: Edit

Is this for a dessert accompanied by something sweet (ice cream, etc.) or will it be a stand alone?

Mark

By Joe Blanchard on Wednesday, July 28, 1999 - 02:55 pm: Edit

Mark I was going to use it as a dessert, either for bread pudding or to use it as a filled dessert after some assembly.
I have also thought about using it as a stand alone if I can get it to come out the way I want it to.

By George Cook (George) on Wednesday, July 28, 1999 - 06:19 pm: Edit

Jeez,

Chocolate bread, add peanut butter and you would have a sandwich even the toughtest eater under 7 (or 40) would devour. ;<)

By Mark G on Wednesday, July 28, 1999 - 09:42 pm: Edit

For bread pudding, the chocolate bread need not be sweet since your cream sauce will be sweet enough.

By Joe B on Thursday, July 29, 1999 - 08:05 am: Edit

Mark thanks for the input. What kind of chocolate do you think would work the best?

By Susan J. Greene, Esq. on Thursday, July 29, 1999 - 08:42 pm: Edit

Maida Heatter in her Great American Dessert book, (I believe, it could be one of the others, but I think I'm right) has a recipe for a Chocolate Bread. It is a not-to-sweet yeast bread with walnuts. I made it and thought it was pretty good. I hope this helps.

By Joe B on Tuesday, August 03, 1999 - 07:03 am: Edit

Thanks for the help Susan. I will take a look at the book for the recipe and see what they do.

By jeee2 on Wednesday, August 04, 1999 - 08:00 am: Edit

Try chocolate brioche for bread pudding, leave some dough without any choc and bake along side so you'll know if the choc brioche is burning.
I'd add cocoa, chill the dough overnite and roll out 1/4inch thick, eggwash lightly and sprinkle chunks of choc, roll it up into a long roll and cut into sections. Bake it a muffin tin (greased) or the brioche will melt out flat and bake dry.

Regards, Gerard

By Joe B on Wednesday, August 11, 1999 - 01:51 pm: Edit

Gerard, This recipe sounds great, I am going to give it a try and see how it comes out.
Thanks for your help.

By Southern (Southern) on Sunday, August 15, 1999 - 07:42 pm: Edit

If it need not be sweet, then this homestyle recipe may be a possibility for you ...


Dark Chocolate Bread

2 teaspoons dry yeast (or 1/2 oz. cake yeast)
1-3/4 cups water
4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3 cups unbleached flour
1-1/2 teaspoons salt

In a small bowl, sprinkle yeast into 1/2 cup water, leave for 5 minutes, then stir in sugar until dissolved. In a large bowl, sift together remaining dry ingredients (i.e.: cocoa, flour, and salt), then make a well in the center and pour in yeast mixture. Pour about half of the remaining water into the well, then mix in flour from sides. Stir in enough of the remaining water to form a stiff dough.

Turn out dough onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until elastic, silky, and smooth (about 10 minutes). Place dough in clean bowl, cover with cloth, and let rise until doubled in size (about 1 hour). Punch down dough, then let rest for 10 minutes. Shape dough into round loaf. Place on lightly floured baking sheet and cover with cloth. Proof until doubled in size (about 45 minutes). Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 °F. Dust loaf with cocoa powder. Make eight slashes (about 1/2 inch deep) in the form of four X’s across top of loaf. Bake until loaf sounds hollow when tapped on bottom (about 45 minutes). Cool on wire rack. Deeply savory and bittersweet, suitable for serving with a rich winter stew of game or beef.

Note: If desired, steam may be applied during baking to produce a thin crisp crust:

1) One informal method uses a bottle fitted with a pump sprayer and filled with water. After placing loaf in preheated oven, mist oven walls 8 to 10 times. (Be careful to avoid spraying oven light, electric heating coils, or oven fan.) Quickly shut oven door to minimize heat loss. Repeat twice at 2-minute intervals.

2) Another method uses ice cubes. During preheating, place a wide dish filled with ice cubes on the floor of the oven. Place loaf in oven before ice cubes have completely melted. Remove dish from oven after cubes have melted, which should occur in the first 15 - 20 minutes of baking time.

3) To obtain the crispest crust of all, use one of these steam methods in an oven lined with unglazed ceramic tiles on the bottom rack, baking the bread directly on the tiles. (Be sure to leave 2 inches of space between the tiles and the oven walls, so that air can freely circulate.) This technique helps the oven retain the most moisture, as well as producing a steady radiating heat.

SOURCE: Eric Treuille and Ursula Ferrigno, “Ultimate Bread” (NY: DK Publishing, Inc., 1998)

By jennifer h akins (Chefjenna) on Tuesday, August 17, 1999 - 09:57 am: Edit

Nich Malgieri's How to Bake has a recipe for Chocolate Orange Bread. It's a not-to-sweet brunch yeast bread that uses cocoa powder for the chocolate along with orange juice and a bit of orange zest, but both the chocolate and orange flavors are very understated. The bread would be perfect for bread pudding as it has a very sturdy crumb. (it's also good with butter and honey to eat warm from the oven)

By Joe B on Tuesday, August 24, 1999 - 02:42 pm: Edit

I would like to thank both Southern and Chefjenna for their help.
Southern the recipe looks great and I am going to try it out this week.
Chefjenna you were right after looking through my books I found Nick's book and the recipe for the chocolate orange bread, I am going to give this a try this week as well.
Thanks again.

By liz young on Thursday, September 02, 1999 - 10:37 pm: Edit

This is a recipe from my class at the French Culinary Institute
Pane Alla Ciocolatta
1 cup water
1 package yeast
1/2 cup levain
4 cups flour
1 cup cocoa powder
2/3cup sugar
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons unsalted butter,softened
1 tablespoon salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup dried sour cherries

The original recipe was in grams but this is the closest I came to converting it
good luck

By Steven Weinstein on Sunday, September 19, 1999 - 01:17 pm: Edit

There is a wonderful bread bakery with several branches in NYC. They sell a killer chocolate bread.The bakery name is Ecce Panis. The branch I use is on columbus ave. There's is a beautiful solid heavy Boule. Not too sweet with thick crust and chocolate chunks. It makes wonderful French Toast and stands alone also.I think they have a recipe book. Try them if you havn't found what you want yet.

By Joe B on Saturday, September 25, 1999 - 11:14 am: Edit

Thanks for the tip Stephen. I seem to have what I was looking for but this bread sounds Great.