Monday, February 21, 2011

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bread Loaf

I love all things chocolate, no doubt about that. :) So if you adore chocolate like me, you have come to the right stop today. :) I have a chocolaty bread recipe to share with you folks, sure to satisfy any chocolate craving you have. Its been awhile since I last baked bread for the family, and what's better then to start it off with a Chocolate Chocolate Chip Loaf, yum! :)
I adapted this recipe from the latest bread recipe book I purchased, "Natural Breads Made Easy" (Chinese is "天然麵面包"). There is a Coffee Bread recipe which I modified it to Chocolate version instead. :) This is one of those that requires pre-fermented dough and leaving it to chill in the fridge up to 17 hours. Please refer to my previous Milk Tea Bread Loaf. :) Curious how good this Chocolate loaf is? Well, here is the modified recipe, try it out if you "dare", hahaha!

Ingredients for Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bread:
Pre-ferment Dough:
469g bread flour
268g water
13g fresh yeast (I used instant active yeast)
7g sea salt (I used table salt)
13g skim milk powder

Dissolve the yeast in water. Add bread flour, sea salt, skim milk powder and knead until soft. Cover the dough in cling wrap or a big zip log bag. Refrigerate to let it prove for 17 hours.

Note: The dough will expand in the fridge. So whatever container you put the dough in, do give some allowance for growth.

Main Dough:
201g bread flour
20g unsweetened cocoa powder
7g sea salt (I used table salt)
70g sugar
80g beaten egg
60ml fresh milk
60g quality milk chocolate melted and cooled
7g fresh yeast (I used instant active yeast)
66g unsalted butter, room temperature

Method:
  • Knead all ingredients of the main dough together, except the butter. Add pre-ferment dough piece by piece. Knead after each addition until soft and smooth. Add butter. Knead until stretchable consistency.
  • Put the dough into a big bowl. Cover with cling wrap and let it prove for 30minutes till double.
  • Divide the dough into 6 equal portions. Flatten each portion with your hands to drive the air out. Roll it into square shape, cover and let rest for 20 minutes before shaping.
  • Flatten the dough to drive the air out. Roll each out into a rectangular sheet with a rolling pin. Fold about 2cm from both sides towards the center and roll it out again. Roll the dough up like swiss roll (the width should be the same as the tin) and out them into the mould. Repeat for the rest of the dough portions. Cover with cling wrap.
  • Let it prove for about 45 minutes or until the dough has risen to 80 to 90% of the depth of the loaf tin. You can either cover the lid or bake it open top like mine. If open top, brush with egg wash. Bake in 175C for 30 to 35minutes.
I have actually separate the dough recipe into 2 loaves to bake on separate days. The first loaf was done the very next day after the pre-fermented dough was chilled for 17 hours. While the other portion was used 4 days later...still good! So no worries if you got a little busy and can't make the bread the very next day, the dough will still bake out nicely. :) Cool huh!
The loaf turned out great, easy to knead and also rises pretty fast too. The only mistake I made was to add chocolate chips. :P Why? Because when I slice the loaf, the chocolate get all gooey and stuck onto the knife...not clean cut if you know what I mean.
Once again this method has yield a really soft, tasty and slightly "bouncy" (the Chinese would describe it as Q-Q, heehee) loaf. If you have tasted this, its really hard to go back to those off the shelf store-bought loaves. :P And when it was fresh out of the oven, my little one was really eager to taste it and kept on hurrying me to finish the photo shots, lol! She gobbled up one and half slice!s Yes, she's a choco-lover like me. :D

Okay, hope you folks will try this out and have fun baking it! Have a great week ahead!

37 comments:

The Sweetylicious said...

OMG! it look really soft, fluffy and satisfying for choc lovers! i spotted those choc! so mouthwatering and DELICIOUS! :D

ann low said...

BeeBee, I want this for my breakfast in the morning. Your bread loaf looks so soft and this is definitely good with a cup of hot coffee :)

Cooking Gallery said...

I can imagine eating this for breakfast :), looks so good!!

My Little Space said...

Whoa, you're a bread making expert! Your loaf looks so fluffy & addictive with all those chocolate chips. Definitely kids will love it a lot! Thanks for sharing. Btw, I'm quite interested in the prefermented dough which is so different from other recipes.
Have a great day.
Cheers, Kristy

茄子 said...

面包发的好高哦,这个17小时中种我也很喜欢。你有买这本书哦?羡慕。。巧克力的烘焙我也是不能拒绝的:))

E. said...

wow! I need to try this method out one day. I never tried making a sponge dough yet. You mentioned baking it after a couple of days, the dough won't over rise? I heard that if you proof dough too long it can fall. Also, how big should the pieces of pre fermented dough be when we add it in the dough? Lastly, why do we need to "Fold about 2cm from both sides towards the center and roll it out again."? Thank you so much! The bread looks sooo good. I must make it when the weather here is warmer because I don't like proofing my bread in the oven.

Bakericious said...

Bee Bee, I love chocolate too, this loaf really tempting me so much. When my engery recover, I am going to try this :P.

ReeseKitchen said...

Your bread is always...ALWAYS that lovely and soft, Bee Bee.
By looking at the photos here, I know its very very soft..heehee! I'll try it out someday, but you know me la....very lazy making bread...;p

Joyce @ Chunky Cooky said...

The loaf looks so soft and delectable that it can be eaten on its own completely !

j3ss kitch3n said...

so soft and fluffy i must have a slice of this!

Unknown said...

I simply LOVE this method ^_^

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks Jasmine. ;) you are always so supportive! Thanks for dropping by, hope you will also try out this recipe. ;)

Sure sure Ann, come on over my place and we can have two slices each and a kopitiam to go with it, yum!

Thanks for coming by Cooking Gallery. :) I bet you can make it too, so no need to imagine, try it out! :)

Honey Bee Sweets said...

@Kristy, you are so right about the kids loving is bread! My kids can't get enough of it! I baked it yesterday and now it's only 3 slices left....then my girl said to me, "Mummy, next time bake more okay?" lol!

Thanks so much 茄子. You know it was your blog that I first came to know about this method! That is also partly why I bought the book because seeing you did all those lovely loaves, I can also try it, heehee.

@Esther:actually when I said leaving the dough in the fridge was the pre fermented dough, not the main dough. And no, leaving it in the fridge will not over proof it. Just make sure the container you leave your dough in has some allowance for growth. When you add the pre fermented dough into mixing the main dough, just tear bite sizes of it to let it mix better. As for the folding the sides in is just a technique of dough folding to create more layering and thus a much even proving and nicer end product. Actually I find it good to proof the dough in the oven, just remember to leave a bowl of steamy hot water together into the oven with the dough ( partially covered). This will speed up the proving process.

sanjeeta kk said...

The loaf looks perfect and delicious with those chocolate chips in it. Love the gigantic picture of it.

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Jess my friend, what happen to you huh? Keep hearing you no energy woh? Anyway, hope you feel better soon and seeing more delicious post from you too. Take care yah!

Reese, actually, I only share with you the good ones, that's why it is always good, hahaha! You know nowadays I don't knead my bread dough with hand anymore leh, I leave it all to my kitchen aid mixer and it's doing a even much better job then me, lol! You let your mixer knead for you lah, then less work for you. :)

Thanks for coming to my blog and leaving me a nice comment Chunky cooky! Oh yes, this bread is good to munch on its own, no doubt about it! Try it! ;)

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hahaha, sure can J3ss, come over now and I'll pass you a couple of slices. :D

Me too neyeeloh! :D

Edith said...

HBS, I love this book. I done once with chocolate chip and it also turned out like yours.

ICook4Fun said...

I want to name you Queen of bread making. Just look at all the bread you have here. All look so good and soft. I wish I can have a slice for my breakfast now.

lena said...

that's a beautiful loaf of bread!It looks very soft indeed. forget abt the dirty knife, isnt it better to get to much on those choc chips, just yummylicious!

Anonymous said...

Yum, this looks pillow soft! Chocolate chips bread sure has the upper hand over plain old sandwich bread

DG said...

Wow! Everytime seeing your bread, really make me mouthwatering ... Soft & fluffy, the bread that I'm looking for :)

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

Wow, looks like you really like the recipe and it is yielding great results! Still my objective this year to bake bread! :)

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks Sanjeeta KK! Heehee, I love big pictures, it gives the reader the sense of reality when looking at them...almost life size, if you know what I mean. ;))

Oh Edith, you have this book too? Where did you order yours? It's such a great book isn't it, I love it to bits, lol!

Hahaha, thanks for calling me that Gert! But I think I am more like a lowest grade queen of bread, lol! Becos I serial have so much more to learn my friend, but thanks, you made my day, heehee!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

@Lena: heehee, I totally get what you mean. My daughter love the chocolate chips so much, I doubt she'll eat as much of this bread if I didn't add those chips. :P

Thanks for dropping by crustabakes. :)

Heehee, thanks for e support DG. ;) try this method, it's really good!

Shirley, I thought you made bread before? Anyways, happy bread baking to you! Can't wait to see your bread masterpiece. ;)

Pei-Lin said...

Bee Bee, who cares if the chips got stuck to the knife! As long as the loaf tastes good and chocolaty, that's it! LOL!

Yea, I miss this method, too. But since I got back to Malaysia, been struggling to find time to pursue my hobbies too. Haiz ... The spare moments I rarely have nowadays are so precious. Sometimes I just feel like lying around and doing nothing. Too tired.

I'll try 17-hour method again when the right time comes. Now for convenience's sake, I'm gonna stick to tangzhong and zhongzhong methods.

Angie's Recipes said...

This looks just like fresh out from the bakery! Excellent!

CaThY said...

very soft & fluffy bread. nice! :)

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hey Pei-Lin, you know I used to have this conception that this 17hr method takes up way too much time. But after I did it once, it all makes sense to me, it's my kind of method, lol! That pre fermented dough is actually good in the fridge up to 4 days, so I can bake the bread any time I like...so it's good. Proofing time is the same for all breads, so makes no difference. But true, tangzhong is a good method too!

Thanks Angie! Indeed, I took the shots when the loaf was right out from the oven, heehee!

Thanks for dropping by CaThy, :)

Quay Po Cooks said...

BeeBee, I should not have seen this at midnight because I am getting hungry after seeing your lip smacking loaf of bread.

Anonymous said...

Wow! That bread looks absolutely delicious and gorgeous. I think I am in love. I wish I had a piece. I am going to have to try to make it.

Talita said...

Mmmmmm... How sweet! =D

I've never tried a chocolate bread but sounds amazing! I must to change it!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

@Quay Po: Oopps, hahaha! But I'm glad you still drop by, although the bread photos made your stomach grumble, heehee. ;)

Hi Angela, yes, do try this out! It's very delicious and soft. Let me know how your loaf turns out. Happy baking!

Welcome to my blog Talita! Hope u will give this recipe a try. ;)

Esther Yip said...

This is the first time I baked bread. Very successful as the result promise soft n fluffy bread. I baked 2 loaves n shared with neighbours. They love it. How to store the dough? Is it we mix the 17hr prefermented and main dough in ziploc, put in fridge and do final proof when we want to bake? Thanks for sharing.

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi Esther, actually I'm curious... If you have tried this recipe, how did you store the prefermented dough that time? Yes, as I mentioned in my post, store in ziplock bags and chill in fridge up to a max of 36 hrs. It's good that you are successful on your first attempt... Looks like you're born with it! happy baking!

law hai lim said...

Not very success???
very thick butter smell...any relation to my ingredients.
I use "Chap Kapar" butter.
Any suggestion

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Law hai lim, it's very hard for me to know what went wrong with so little info. Next time try foliowing the recipe to the dot then you might be able to get it right, good luck!

Foodiez Pazzionitaz said...

Looking very good! Which one you think is more soft and fluffy, this recipe or the Tanzhong (the one that you made with cranberry earlier) thx