Chocolate Bread

I didn't have a recipe to work from, so I improvised a two-rise French bread and added chopped-up pieces of bittersweet chocolate. I was aiming for something that would evoke eating a slab of chocolate on French bread ( a childhood favourite of mine). I think this is pretty darn close. That said, the bread itself could be improved by less yeast and a long, slow rise. I just wasn't in the mood for a day-long recipe. I must say, for something that only took a few hours the depth of flavour is pretty good and the crust crackled beautifully.

You probably don't need me to tell you how wonderful the smell of chocolate and bread baking is.

I used Callebaut chocolate because I had it on hand. It isn't the greatest chocolate in the world for candy-making, but pretty well suited to baking and at around $9.00 a pound, not likely to break the bank. Honestly, I think a handful of chocolate chips would work fine. I'm just not sophisticated enough to notice the subtle notes people claim to detect in chocolate, though the expensive salt thing is sort of lost on me as well. I like the hunk of Callebaut because it is easier to chop into pieces than those ridiculous little squares of Baker's chocolate-though the taste of Baker's chocolate always seemed perfectly acceptable to me. I would however avoid the Nestle Chocolatier as it is soft, crumbly and tastes sort of waxy. That's really the only chocolate I've ever bought that ended-up in the dustbin. I wouldn't even waste my time making brownies with it.

Do try and resist the desire to cut into the bread before it has completely cooled-it will be well worth the wait.

You Will Need:

3 3/4 teaspoons granulated (not instant) yeast (yes, that is quite a bit)

1 tablespoon sugar

2 cups warm water

1 tablespoon salt

4-5 cups bread flour (more or less depending upon flour and conditions in your house)

1 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate (I left my hunks large-ish).

cornmeal for dusting

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water in a large bowl. Let proof about ten minutes. Add the salt and about three cups of the flour, mixing well with a wooden spoon. Turn it out on a floured surface (I use a baking sheet) and begin working in the chocolate, adding more flour as needed until you have a semi-taut ball of dough. It shouldn't be super-sticky, but you don't want it too dry either-just knead it until smooth (about 5-10 minutes). Place in a buttered bowl and cover. Let rise 1 1/2-2 hours or until doubled in bulk (my house is very cold, so it took just over two hours). Gently press the air out of the loaf and fold it once in each direction. Shape as best you can into a ball or loaf and place on a cornmeal-dusted baking pan. Cover with a towel and let rise again until not quite doubled in bulk (about 45 minutes). Half an hour before baking, pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees F. Do whatever you do to create steam (I heat an old roasting pan on the bottom shelf and toss-in a cup of water after loading the bread. If you do this, be sure to check your owner's manual and for heaven's sake-stand back! This is also a bad idea if you have an exposed bulb in your oven). Bake for 20 minutes. Open door carefully (to avoid any steam blasts) and rotate the pan. Bake another 15-20 minutes or until temperature registers 200 degrees on an instant read thermometer or until quite dark and hollow sounding. The loaf will get quite dark and if it begins burning, place a sheet of foil atop it and keep baking-the bread is better over-baked than under.

Cool on a rack completely before slicing.