adventures in bread making: mast brothers chocolate bread

Lately, I've been doing a fair share of baking. Three cakes in the span of two weeks, two successful batches of macarons, cookies... I find myself doing a lot of sampling as I go along, but once I reach the finished product I am never quite satisfied. In the past, I would have considered myself to be a big fan of desserts, but these days it's all a bit much. I enjoy sampling obscure flavours, but overall I get little satisfaction from them. What I do come back to time and time again is, of course, chocolate. With the richest chocolate you only need the teeny tiniest bit for total satisfaction. It really is blissful.

I thought we'd change pace a bit around here and try a recipe that's a little more user friendly. Anyone who is a fan of chocolate knows the Mast Brothers reign supreme. Late last year, they released a cookbook that I have flipped through numerous times at the bookstore, but still have yet to purchase. I have managed to scribble down a few recipes though, and this chocolate bread is one of them. Chocolate? Bread? What's not to love.

The original recipe calls for all-purpose flour, which I'm sure would have been nice as well. In congruence with the chocolate and hazelnuts, I thought that the bread called for something a bit more robust. I opted for a 50/50 blend of whole wheat and rye flours. The result is really quite lovely.

CHOCOLATE BREAD // Makes two loaves
Adapted from Mast Brothers Chocolate: A Family Cookbook

1 TBSP + 3/4 tsp quick rise yeast
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups water, 30-35 degrees Celsius
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups rye flour
1 TBSP cacao powder
1 tsp salt
3 egg yolks
2 TBSP unsalted butter, room temperature
12 oz dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup hazelnuts
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup cream

In a large bowl, mix yeast and brown sugar with water and allow to sit for 10 minutes, until bubbling. Add flour, cacao powder, salt, 1 egg yolk and butter. Using a stand mixer, knead dough for 10 minutes. Allow to rest for 10 minutes, and then knead again for 10 minutes more. Add dark chocolate, hazelnuts, and raisins. Separate dough into two balls, cover, and allow to rise for two hours. Turn out onto a floured surface and punch down once. Place dough in two, lightly floured 9-inch loaf pans. Whisk the remaining two egg yolks with the cream, and brush each shaped dough with the wash. Leave to proof for 45 minutes until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 425F. Bake for 12 minutes. Lower oven to 350F and continue to bake for 20 minutes.

- s