No-Knead Chocolate Bread Dough (+ Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bread and Chocolate Prune Bread) for Bread Baking Babes

There's a moment early in my marriage that I will never forget. Okay, plenty of moments, but...

We were living in our first little house. It was probably the first year of our marriage. Our kitchen was ridiculously tiny. My total counter space was 12-inches by 13-inches. That made not only cooking and baking things hard (the prep part), it also meant we had limited space to put things. So, our loaves of bread were stored on top of the refrigerator - right next to the cereal, of course.

I was in the kitchen doing dishes, or something equally exciting, when I heard the crinkle of a cello bag.  The hubs was going in. He reached around me to grab a clean plate, then plopped a couple of slices from the bag onto it. Thirty seconds later I hear sounds of protest. This isn't chocolate. I thought it was chocolate!

Nope. It was Rye-Pump Swirl.

It's true. He went in thinking he was in for a bit of a sweet treat. So, let's back up for a minute. If you don't know me, you may not realize that my husband is from Mexico. Straight-up Mexican, born and raised. He moved here as an adult. But apparently there was no Rye-Pumpernickel (or even just Rye or just Pumpernickel) in Mexico. Not in his small town, at least.



He declared that he was glad. And so did I - because that meant from here on out, I had the whole loaf of Rye-Pump Swirl to myself. And I love me some Rye-Pump Swirl. Rye-Pump Swirl. That's fun to say.



So, you'd think, being the amazing wife that I am, I would have baked him an actual loaf of chocolate bread. Well, I did. And it only took 9 more years to do it. No wonder he loves me.

No-Knead Chocolate Bread Dough (+ Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bread and Chocolate Prune Bread)

by Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez

Prep Time: 3 hours (mostly unattended)

Cook Time: 50-60 minutes

Keywords: bake bread nut-free soy-free vegetarian chocolate flour

Ingredients (4 pounds of dough / 1-4 loaves)

for the no-knead chocolate dough:

• 565 grams (2-1/2 cups) lukewarm water


• 170 grams (3/4 cup) vegetable oil


• 10 grams (1 tablespoon) active dry yeast


• 200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar


• 780 grams (5-1/2 cups) all-purpose flour


• 85 grams (3/4 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder


• 17 grams (1 tablespoon) sea salt or kosher salt


• 170 grams (1-1/2 cups) chocolate chips or chunks (I used a mix of bittersweet, dark, and milk)

to finish (for each loaf - either variety):

• soft butter, for greasing the pan


• egg wash (1 egg + 1 tablespoon water, beaten) OR melted butter


• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

for Chocolate Prune Bread (one loaf):

• 55 grams (2 ounces) bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks


• 3/4 cup chopped prunes

Instructions

making (and storing) the dough:

Combine oil, yeast, and sugar in a large bowl or container (6 quart). Add in the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and chocolate chips. Mix until well-combined using a wooden spoon, or your hands, if needed. Dough will be very thick, more like a batter (seriously, it looks like you're making brownies).

Cover loosely and let sit at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses a bit onto itself (flattens), ~2 hours.

At this point, the dough is ready to use, but like all no-knead dough, it is easier to work with after it has been refrigerated. So, transfer the lidded container to the refrigerator, if you like, and use within the next 5 days. You can also freeze the dough in 1-pound portions in an airtight container for up to a month. To use the frozen dough, thaw in fridge for 24 hours, then proceed as usual.

to bake Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bread (one loaf):

Grease an 8-1/4" x 4-1/2" (approx) loaf pan well with softened butter, then sprinkle some of the sugar in and move it all around to coat well (reserve remaining sugar).

Dust the dough with a little bit of flour, then use a serrated knife to cut off a 1.5 pound portion. Form the dough into a ball, then flat the dough into a large oval and roll into a football shape. Set into prepared pan. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature for 90 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350° F. Brush the top of the dough with egg wash or melted butter, and then sprinkle the remaining sugar over the top; you should have a good, thick coating (which is gives you an awesome crackle crust on the top after baking).

Slide into preheated oven and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until firm on when pressed in the center on top (and registers at least 190° F on an instant-read thermometer). Loosen edges, if needed, then carefully tip out of pan and allow to cool.

to bake Chocolate Prune Bread (one loaf)

Grease an 8-1/4" x 4-1/2" (approx) loaf pan well with softened butter, then sprinkle some of the sugar in and move it all around to coat well (reserve remaining sugar).

Dust the dough with a little bit of flour, then use a serrated knife to cut off a 1.5 pound portion. Dust with a little more flour (because it's fairly sticky), then form into a ball. Gently roll/pat dough out into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle. Scatter with the chocolate and chopped prunes, and then roll it up jelly-roll style. Pinch the seams together and set into prepared pan. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature for 90 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350° F. Brush the top of the dough with egg wash or melted butter, and then sprinkle the remaining sugar over the top; you should have a good, thick coating (which is gives you an awesome crackle crust on the top after baking).

Slide into preheated oven and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until firm on when pressed in the center on top (and registers at least 190° F on an instant-read thermometer). Loosen edges, if needed, then carefully tip out of pan and allow to cool before slicing.

note:

The keen eye will notice that there are no prunes in these photos. That is because I made this bread on one of the days when we were snowed in, and there were no prunes in the house. Now, I love prunes. Probably far too much. If I buy a sack of the tender sticky delight, they don't last long. Hence, no prunes in the pantry. Just pretend they're there. Or leave them out, if you'd rather. Either way, this is some fantastic bread.

I tried both melted butter and egg wash on the top of the bread before adding sugar. I found that I liked the end result of the egg wash crackle better than the one using melted butter. (Egg wash crackle visible in last photo of dough collage above; melted butter crackle in larger photos.) The egg wash crackle was more brittle and delicate, whereas the melted butter one seemed thicker. But again, either way is delicious.