Chocolate Cherry Bread ... Recipe
Chocolate/Valentine recipe #2... Are you all familiar with Great Harvest Bread? Only during February do they produce a wonderfully dense chocolate cherry bread - just in time for Valentine's Day. Every year I have waited for that bread to be made...I bought a few loaves, one to eat and some to freeze, and tried to recreate it at home - so I could have it at other times of the year - but each attempt has failed - miserably - until now!
This bread has a soft, chewy crumb and in between that softness are chunks of bittersweet chocolate ready to melt in your mouth - with bits of cherries that add their own zing of sweet. Eat it for breakfast - start your day with a bang! I know it's hard to believe but this bread, which is so incredibly good at room temperature, can even be more seductive if toasted...the chocolate melts into submission for a bite of instant romance in your mouth. Wow, if I smoked I'd need one now!
This makes two loaves, one to keep, one to give away. Just one word of caution here...because this is so good, and so unique, make sure if you give a loaf or two away that the people you are giving it to are BREAD WORTHY. Seriously. This bread is so delicious that I didn't bother sharing it with the mister - after all, he is a not a fan of chocolate so I couldn't bring myself to waste one piece of this on him! It's dang, dang, dang, dang, dang good folks - yep, 5 dangs worth.
Here's the skinny - start this bread late in the day. After the yeast proofs for ten minutes, everything is mixed in the bowl of an electric mixer, first with the paddle and then with the bread hook. The dough is then set aside to rise for two hours. After that, you punch it down and put it in the refrigerator for overnight or up to TWO days! When you're ready to bake it, you shape it, let it rest for an hour and then pop it into the oven. It couldn't be easier! Just promise me one thing...you'll use good chocolate...no chocolate chips either, they're formulated NOT to melt and using them would be like taking a hot dog to a banquet. So promise me...here and now...only the best chocolate for this bread!
- Chocolate Cherry Bread - Adapted from T. Susan Chang and a Godiva Chocolate Recipe
- 1 1/2 cups warm water, divided (or, if not using espresso powder, 1/2 cup warm water and 1 cup warm coffee)
- 2/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, divided
- 2 teaspoons dry yeast
- 4 1/2 cups bread flour
- 2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder, optional (see above)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 8 ounces good-quality dark chocolate, chopped into 1/2-inch chunks
- 1 (6 oz.) package Mariani Cherries
- Egg Glaze
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon water
In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup of the warm water with 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and set the mixture aside for 10 minutes, until foamy.
In the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer, place the flour, the remaining 2/3 cup of granulated sugar, the light brown sugar, the cocoa, the espresso powder (if using) and the salt. Using the paddle attachment, mix at low speed for 1 minute, until combined. If mixing by hand, use a whisk and combine thoroughly.
Add the remaining 1 cup warm water (or warm coffee, if not using the espresso powder) and the egg to the yeast mixture. Add this to the flour mixture while continuing to mix at low speed. Increase the speed to medium and continue to beat the mixture for 2 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. At low speed, beat in the softened butter 1 tablespoon at a time, until it is incorporated into the dough. Remove the paddle attachment and replace it with the dough hook. (Alternatively, you can knead by hand. Just make sure the butter is well softened.) Knead the dough at low speed for 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and knead the dough for 2 minutes longer.
Add the chocolate chunks and cherries and knead just until incorporated. Transfer the dough to a buttered bowl (the dough will be quite moist). Cover the dough closely with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place for 2 hours (or until almost doubled in bulk).
After the chocolate dough has risen, punch the dough down and cover again with plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or up to 2 days.
Butter two 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-by-2 1/2-inch loaf pans. On a lightly floured work surface, divide the chocolate dough in half. Divide each dough half into 6 equal pieces so that you have 12 equal pieces in all. With lightly floured hands, shape each piece into a smooth, round ball. Place 6 dough balls — two by two, at a diagonal (see above photo) in each prepared pan, pressing them lightly together if necessary. Cover the pans with a tea towel and allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 1 hour.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and water until blended. Using a pastry brush, brush the egg glaze over the tops of the loaves.
Bake the loaves for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake the bread for an additional 30 minutes. Cool the bread in the pans set on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Unmold the bread and cool the loaves on the rack completely. (If you can wait until the bread is completely cooled it will slice much better - the aroma will play tricks on your mind and you'll want to tear into it immediately but be strong!)
" Oh, if it be to choose and call thee mine, love, thou art every day my Valentine!" ~Thomas Hood
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