Chocolate Bread

It is Day 4 of Bread Week and we just have to

sneak in my recipe for Chocolate Bread

studded with chocolate chips and topped with pink sanding sugar.

This is a yeast bread not a batter bread.

I first had one like this from a local bakery

and they never carried it again, so I had to

create one of my own.

The cute brown bakers in the above photo can be found

at Sur La Table.  They are great to bake in and are

wonderful when you give the loaves as gifts.  They come in all

shapes and sizes.

My son and daughter-in-law made me this wonderful

plaque which has a place of honor in my kitchen.

It is perfect for today's bread.

This could be called Double Chocolate Bread as it has

chocolate chips added.

A good way to tell if your bread is ready to bake is to measure

it.  Get down to eye level and make sure that it has risen about

1 inch from the top of the pan.  Did you know that the

distance between your first two knuckles on your pointer

finger is about 1 inch.  You always have a measuring tape with

you.  Measure the span of your hand with your fingers outstretched,

mine is about 8 1/2 inches.  Your arms outstretched should be the

same as your height from fingertip to fingertip.  Now you can always

get approximate measurements wherever you are!

Be patient and wait for the bread to rise.  Today mine took

2 hours - super long (maybe it was the weight of the chips).

This bread takes extra time to bake too.

Chocolate Bread Recipe

1 C. milk, scalded

2 T. butter

1/2 C. sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 lightly beaten eggs

1 pkg. yeast

1/4 C. warm water

1 T. sugar

2/3 C. cocoa

3 1/2 C. flour 

1 tsp. salt 

1 1/2 to 2 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips

(I used 2 C. but it does make it a little hard to cut.)

Take the scalded milk while hot and add the butter.

Let the butter melt.  Add the 1/2 C. sugar and vanilla

and when it has cooled to lukewarm add the 2 eggs.  Mix.

Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 C. warm water with the 1 T. sugar.

Sift the cocoa, flour and salt.

In the mixer with the dough hook, mix the milk mixture

and the flour mixture.  Let knead for 5-7 minutes.

Add the chocolate chips.

Cover the dough and let rise until double.  

Punch down and shape into desired loaves.

You can form it into 1 standard loaf or two round loaves 

or four mini loaves.

Brush with melted butter and sprinkle on 

sanding sugar (sugar crystals or decorator sugar).

Of course I chose PINK.

Cover and let rise until double - or until it measures

about 1 inch above the loaf pan.

Preheat oven to 350 (325 if using a dark pan).

Bake standard loaf 45 to 50 minutes,  two round

loaves, 35-40 minutes and mini loaves about 30 minutes.

Cool 10 minutes in pan, then run knife around edge

to loosen.  Remove to cooling rack.

Let the bread cool before cutting as the chocolate

chips will be soft.

My absolute favorite way to eat this is to

toast it with a little butter.

This would be a great breakfast bread or a

bread to go with tea.  I bet it would be great with

cream cheese also.

I am glad so many of you are enjoying Bread Week.

All of the breads are very doable, give one a try.

I will be posting with

Foodie Fridays

Favorite Things Saturday

Pink Saturday

Sweets For A Saturday

Tasty Tuesday

Wow Us Wednesday