White Bread with Chocolate

I love chocolate. I love chocolate so much! And a recipe that mixes bread and chocolate- well that’s for me! I have made this bread multiple times.  With that said the first time I made it, I inadvertently, accidentally, and totally by mistake bought unsweetened chocolate.  Kristin swears it was still good, but you’ve got like bitter chocolate to like it that way!  It requires a sponge, but it was an easy to do sponge, and as this bread is a hit, definitely worth the planning ahead.  One word of caution, it’s a hard bread to cut.  Bernard Clayton recommends tearing it.

White Bread with Chocolate [two small loaves]

Bernard Clayton

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 cups hot water (120°-130°)

1 package dry yeast

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

3 1/2 to 4 cups bread or all-purpose flour, approximately

1/4 cup nonfat dry milk

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons shortening

4 1 -ounce sweet or semisweet chocolate squares, broken in half

BAKING PANS: 2 small (7 ½”-x-3 1/2") loaf pans, greased or Teflon

The night before, prepare the sponge. In a medium bowl measure 3/4 cup hot water, the yeast, and ginger. Stir well. Blend in 1 cup flour with a wooden spoon to make a thin batter. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to work overnight.

In the morning turn back the plastic wrap and stir down the sponge, which will have risen and fallen during the night. Add ½ cup hot water, the dry milk, sugar, salt, and shortening. Stir in the balance of the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, first with the spoon and then by hand, until the dough is a rough, shaggy mass that cleans the sides of the bowl. If the dough is slack and moisture breaks through, add sprinkles of flour.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead by hand with the rhythmic motion of push-turn-fold. Add sprinkles of flour if needed. The dough will become smooth and elastic. Continue kneading for 8 minutes by hand.

FIRST RISING: 1 hour

Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover tightly. Leave at room temperature until the dough doubles in bulk and is puffy, about 1 hour.

Now the chocolate is added.

First, punch down the dough and knead for a moment to press out the bubbles. With a sharp knife, divide the loaf. Shape into balls, and let rest under a towel for 5 minutes.

Form each loaf by pressing a ball under the palms into a flat oval, roughly the length of the baking pan. Lay half the chocolate pieces down the center of the oval. Fold the oval in half, pinch the seam tightly to seal, tuck under the ends, and place in the pan, seam down.

Repeat with the second ball of dough.

SECOND RISING: 40 mins.

Cover the pans with wax paper and leave until the center of the dough has risen 1/2" to 1" above the edge, about 40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375° 20 minutes before baking.

Bake the loaves for about 35 minutes, until the loaves are a golden brown. Tapping the bottom of each loaf should yield a hard, hollow sound when done. If not done, return to the oven in their pans for up to an additional 10 minutes. Midway during baking and again near the end of it, shift the loaves so they are exposed equally to the oven's temperature variations.

Remove the bread from the oven. Turn the loaves onto a metal rack to cool.