The Perfect Food: Chocolate Bread

My weekly stress-release/relaxation therapy is baking something. The two things I love most about baking is that it is a creative process and that it results in a finished product within (usually) a few hours. I get to feel like an artist while creating something sweet and comforting. Not many forms of creative release will result in a product that can be enjoyed for days afterward.

Last week, I made chocolate bread. I found the recipe on the NPR website. This bread doesn't result in a finished loaf after only a few hours. This is real bread, and it takes kneading, rising, and chilling time, but that just makes the end product all the more rewarding (assuming it turns out, that is). You should definitely plan ahead -- the bread has to chill in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, so it can't be made in one day.

Chocolate Bread

Dough
1 /2 cup warm water
1 cup warm coffee
2/3 cup + 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, divided
2 teaspoons dry yeast
4 1/2 cups bread flour
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 egg, room temperature
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces good quality dark chocolate (the best part!), chopped into 1/2 inch chunks

Egg Glaze
1 egg
1 teaspoon water

In small bowl, combine 1/2 cup warm water with 1 teaspoon of sugar. Sprinkle yeast over the water and set the mixture aside, about 10 minutes, until foamy.

In a large bowl, place flour, 2/3 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa, and salt. Combine thoroughly.

Add warm coffee and egg to yeast mixture. Add this to the flour mixture. Combine. Add 12 tablespoons of softened butter. (You can knead this in if it's easier that way.) Knead for 2 minutes. Add chocolate chunks, knead until incorporated. Transfer dough to buttered bowl, cover with plastic wrap or towel and let rise in warm, draft-free place for 2 hours. The dough should double in size.

After the dough has risen, punch it down to let out some air. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for at least 8 hours or up to 2 days.

Butter two loaf pans. On lightly floured surface, separated the dough into half. Divide each half into 6 equal-sized balls. Place 6 dough balls, two by two at a diagonal, into each loaf pan. Cover and let rise for one hour.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In small bowl, whisk together egg and water. Using pastry brush, brush over tops of loaves. Bake loaves for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for an additional 30 minutes. Cool in pans on wire racks for 15 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on racks for an additional 15 minutes before enjoying.