Death Wish Black Bread

This recipe is a variation of my Mom’s Black Peasant Bread from the The Bread Book. It doesn’t look black… unless you close your eyes. This recipe calls for Death Wish Coffee®, my favorite cup o’ joe.

Death Wish CoffeeEvery morning, as I make breakfast for my Dad and lunches for the boys, I drink a cup of Death Wish Coffee. It’s the only way to properly start a day, in my opinion. Death Wish Coffee claims to be the World’s Strongest Coffee. I haven’t tasted every coffee in the world, but I’ll stand by their claim (mainly because I support local businesses and these guys are home grown in Round Lake, NY). I use Death Wish Coffee in my Keurig with a reusable cup. Some brands come out watery that way, but not Death Wish. It produces a robust, rich tasting dark brew that makes life worth living. Clearly I have feelings for this coffee. That’s why I put it in this recipe. Learn about Death Wish Coffee.

DISCLAIMER: I have no connection to Death Wish Coffee (except for my unhealthy attachment to their brand). They don’t even know I exist. This saddens me because I love them.

Death Wish Black Bread

This recipe is a variation of my Mom’s Black Peasant Bread from the The Bread Book. It doesn’t look black… unless you close your eyes. This recipe calls for Death Wish Coffee®, my favorite cup o’ joe.

Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings 2 loaves
Author Mark Oppenneer

Ingredients

  • 2 scant tablespoons (or 2 ¼-ounce packages) active dry yeast
  • cups warm Death Wish Coffee® about 110 degrees
  • ¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • ¼ cup molasses
  • 2 tablespoons fennel seeds
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • ¼ cup toasted hemp seeds
  • ½ cup wheat bran *
  • ¼ cup cocoa powder
  • 2 cups dark rye flour
  • 5-6 cups unbleached flour

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, soften the yeast in the coffee.
  2. Add the chocolate chips, oil, molasses, fennel seeds, salt, wheat bran, cocoa powder, rye flour, and one cup of the unbleached flour to the yeast. Beat vigorously for two minutes.
  3. Gradually add more of the remaining unbleached flour, a ¼ cup at a time, until the dough begins to pull away from the side of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface.
  4. Knead, adding more flour a little at a time as necessary, for 8 to 10 minutes or until you have a smooth, elastic dough. You may not need to use all the flour - rye dough is better if it is quite tacky.
  5. Put the dough into an oiled bowl. Turn to coat the entire ball of dough with oil. Cover with a tightly woven kitchen towel and let rise for about one hour, until doubled in size.
  6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface. Divide it in half and gently knead the dough. Form each half into a loaf and place into well greased loaf pans.
  7. Cover the loaves with a towel and let rise for about 45 minutes, or until almost doubled in size.
  8. About 15 minutes before baking, make a few ¼-inch slashes across the tops of each loaf.
  9. Bake loaves for 30-35 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees. Immediately remove the loaves from the pans and cool on a rack.

Recipe Notes

* My mom's original recipe called for wheat germ, but I didn't have any.

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