Pane alla Cioccolata - a chocolate bread meant to be shared

This Pane alla Cioccolata, a sourdough chocolate loaf bread with dried cherries, is a bread that’s meant to be shared.

I love to share bread stories with everyone who reads this blog, but I also tend to talk about bread with anyone who will listen. Most everyone around me, family, friends and acquaintances, know I’m a bread-baking fanatic.

The more I learn about bread baking, the more I find it’s not about the baker, it’s about the bread.

Making bread is a simple pleasure, a stress reliever, an art and a necessity, at times. But most importantly, it’s a way of bringing people together. Bread is a gift that’s meant to be shared.

I do a good bit of shipping through my local UPS shipping store. I ship bread and other goodies to my sons who live in different cities, but I also ship items related to my online store.

When the owner of the UPS store found out about the Bread Experience, she asked me if I had any breads with dried fruit. Since I don’t bake and sell bread for a living, this often confuses people. Once I explained that I don’t actually sell bread, but I teach people how to make it, she asked if I had a good recipe. I gave her the url to my blog so she could visit and perhaps try some of the breads, but I decided to do one better and actually make her some bread with dried fruit.

That was several months ago, and I’ve been in the store numerous times since then. Recently, I shipped my youngest son some bread, and the owner kindly reminded me that I had promised to make her some bread. Busted! It was time to make good on my promise. I figured it should be a really good bread since I had made her wait.

I’ve had this sourdough chocolate bread with dried cherries bookmarked to make for a special occasion. I decided it was time to try it.

Pane alla Cioccolata – Chocolate Bread with Dried Cherries

Makes: 2 Loaves

Adapted from: The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Bread Baking by The French Culinary Institute

Ingredients:

Levain:

225 grams/ 8 ounces all-purpose flour
280 grams/ 9 3/4 ounces water
25 grams/ 3/4 ounces liquid sourdough starter (if your starter is 100% hydration, meaning you typically feed it with 50% flour/50% water, feed it with more water than flour to obtain a liquid starter or adjust the water in the final dough)

Final Dough:

320 grams/ 11 1/4 ounces all-purpose flour
32 grams/ 1 1/8 ounces Dutch-processed cocoa powder
30 grams/ 1 T water *
530 grams/ 1 pound 2 2/3 ounces levain
1 large egg
20 grams/ 3/4 ounce milk
15 grams/ 1/2 ounce (~1 T) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 grams / 3/4 tsp. instant yeast
6 grams/ 1/4 ounce (1 1/4 tsp.) sea salt
70 grams/ 2 1/2 ounces (5 T) organic sugar
130 grams/ 4 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate chunks
50 grams/ 1 3/4 ounces dried cherries

* I used a large egg so this added more liquid. I reduced the amount of water to compensate for the extra liquid in the egg. You may need more water so adjust accordingly during the mixing cycle.

Egg Wash:

1 large egg
1 tablespoon water

Method:

Prepare the levain:

Mix together the all-purpose flour, water and levain with a wooden spoon or a Danish dough whisk. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it ferment at room temperature (75 degrees F.) for 14 to 18 hours.

Making the Final Dough:

1) Prepare thee (meaning make sure you have everything ready to go – the ingredients, and tools you need to make the bread). The egg and butter should be at room temperature.

2) In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the all-purpose flour and cocoa powder, water, liquid levain, eggs, milk, butter, yeast, and sea salt. Using the dough hook, mix on low speed until the ingredients are combined. Increase the speed to medium and mix until everything is well blended. Add more flour or water as necessary.

3) Gradually add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time and mix well after each addition. Continue mixing until the gluten is completely developed. This could take about 10 minutes.

4) When the gluten is sufficiently developed, add the chocolate chunks and dried cherries and mix on low speed until incorporated.

5) Scrape the dough into a lightly oiled large bowl or container. Cover with plastic or a kitchen towel and let it ferment for 1 hour.

6) After an hour, uncover the dough and fold it one. Cover it again with the plastic wrap and let it ferment for an additional hour.

7) Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour. Uncover the dough and divide it into 2 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and cover with plastic. Allow the dough balls to rest for 10 minutes

8) Butter two 9-inch loaf pans. Uncover the dough balls. Lightly flour the work surface again if necessary. Press the dough gently to degas and shape the balls into loaves. Shape it into a log shape or a batard. I did one of each.

9) Place each loaf in a prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let them proof for 2 hours.

10) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Make the egg wash by combining the large egg and tablespoon of water. Whisk to combine. Brush the egg wash onto the top of the loaves using a pastry brush.

11) Bake the loaves for 35 minutes at 350 degrees F., or until the crust is deep brown and the sides are firm to the touch.

12) Remove the loaves from the oven and turn out onto wire racks to cool.