Bread Baking Babes have (no?)knead for chocolate!

This month we have ultimate pleasure with minimum work. Our wonderful babe Jamie ("Life's a feast") picked a no-knead bread for us with chocolate! I'm not always a fan of these no-knead breads, they can be a bit chewy and gluey in the middle. So I decided to make a long and slim loaf. This is also handy because it gives small slices, that are more than enough for a delicious chocolate experience. A dark chocolaty loaf with a crispy sugar crust. I also froze several slices to prevent us from eating them all at once and that worked very well. Fantastic, Jamie thanks for picking such a delicious bread for us.

If you're into chocolate (and let's be honest, who isn't??) you know you have to bake this bread. Be our Bread Baking Buddy, bake, taste, blog and tell us your experiences by sending your details to our kitchen mistress of the month Jamie. Check out the other Bread Baking Babes (links in the side bar).

No Knead chocolate-prune bread

(Makes one loaf)

(PRINT recipe)

No Knead chocolate-prune bread

(Makes one loaf)

Chocolate bread dough recipe (Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bread)

282 g lukewarm water

85 ml vegetable oil

1,5 tsp granulated yeast

1 tsp fine salt

100 g sugar

390 g bread flour

43 g unsweetened cocoa powder

85 g bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips

Mixing and storing the dough:

Mix the oil, yeast, salt and sugar with the water in a large bowl or a lidded (not airtight) food container.

Mix in the flour, cocoa powder and the chocolate chips without kneading, using a spoon or heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle). If you are not using the machine, you may need to use wet hands to incorporate the last bit of flour. Cover (not airtight) and allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.

The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle with cold. Refrigerate the container of dough and use over the next 5 days. Beyond the 5 days, freeze the dough in about 450 gportions in airtight containers for up to 4 weeks. When using frozen dough, thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours before using, then allow the usual rest and rise time.

Chocolate Prune Bread:

(makes one loaf)

all of the Chocolate Chip Bread dough

Softened unsalted butter for greasing the pan

55 g high-quality bittersweet chocolate

¾ cup chopped pitted prunes

Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 Tbs water)

50 g sugar for sprinkling over the top of the bread and preparing the pan

On baking day, generously grease an 22 x 11 ½ cm nonstick loaf pan with butter, sprinkle some sugar evenly over the butter and shake the pan to distribute.

Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour.. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all sides, rotating the ball a quarter turn as you go. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a ½ - inch-thick (scant 1 ½ cm) rectangle. As you roll out the dough, use enough flour to prevent it from sticking to the work surface but not so much as to make the dough dry.

Sprinkle the chocolate and chopped prunes over the dough and roll up the dough jelly-roll style to enclose them. Fold the dough over itself several times, turning and pressing it down with the heel of your hand after each turn. This will work the chocolate and prunes into the dough; some may poke through. With very wet hands, form the dough into a loaf shape and place it into the prepared pan. Allow to rest and rise for 90 minutes, loosely covered with plastic wrap.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). A baking stone is not required and omitting it shortens the preheat.

Using a pastry brush, paint the top of the loaf with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake the loaf in the center of the oven for 50 to 60 minutes until firm. Smaller or larger loaves with require adjustments to baking time.

Remove the bread from the pan and allow to cool on a rack before slicing and eating.

(adapted from "The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" (revised & updated edition) by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François)