Not Too Sweet Chocolate Coffee Bread

I was tempted to call this Coffee Chocolate Sex Bread but I couldn’t quite figure out how that third part would work. I mean, what a trifecta though! I tacked on the “not too sweet” because the coffee and coffee flour add the bass notes while the chocolate plays the melody. That would be so cool if it made sense.

Before you begin making this bread, there is one thing I must point out. Typically, chocolate chips come in 12 ounce bags. This recipe calls for 10 ounces. I did this on purpose because the remaining 2 ounces of chocolate chips are for you. That’s right. You.

Don’t you deserve to treat yourself well? I think you do. So, go ahead and nibble on those chocolate chips and feel great about who you are – and all of the special qualities that make you extra special. Too often we get down on ourselves. Stop that. Let someone else go down… um, to the store… and uh, buy you a nice present (good recovery on that one, whew). Man, I went from channeling Mr. Rogers to almost NSFW in like 30 seconds flat.

I am serious though. Not about the sex part, but about the treating yourself well part. Start with chocolate and the rest will sort itself out.

4 from 1 vote

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Not Too Sweet Chocolate Coffee Bread

I was tempted to call this Coffee Chocolate Sex Bread but I couldn't quite figure out how to get the third part into the recipe. I mean, what a trifecta that would be! I tacked on the "not too sweet" because the coffee and coffee flour add the bass notes while the chocolate plays the melody. That would be so cool if it made sense.

Prep Time 2 hours

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Servings 1 boule

Author Mark Oppenneer

Ingredients

• 1 scant tablespoon (or one ¼-ounce package) active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1¼ cup warm water about 110 degrees
• ½ cup warm strong coffee about 110 degrees
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup coffee flour
• 4-5 cups unbleached flour

Instructions

1. Note: this recipe uses a bread cloche.
2. In a small bowl, stir yeast and sugar into the water to soften.
3. Combine coffee flour, unbleached flour, and salt in a large bowl.
4. Add the yeast mixture and the coffee. Mix well adding more unbleached flour or water as necessary. Dough should be firm enough to keep a boule shape.
5. Turn dough out onto a floured work surface. Knead until you have a smooth, elastic dough.
6. Dust the dough with flour and place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about one hour.
7. Punch the dough down, remove from the bowl, and flatten it out to about the size of a large pizza.
8. Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly across the dough.
9. Roll up the dough and knead a few times to marble the chocolate throughout.
10. Place the dough in a well-floured proofing basket, cover with the cloche lid or tightly woven towel and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.
11. About 30 minutes before baking, place the cloche in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees.
12. When ready to bake, place a circular piece of parchment in the bottom of the cloche base. You don't want chocolate getting onto the cloche). Gently turn the dough onto the cloche base and score the top of the loaf in fancy patterns with a sharp knife.
13. Cover the cloche base with the lid and place it in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes and then turn the temperature down to 400 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
14. Remove the cloche lid for the last 5-10 minutes of baking. The internal temperature of the loaf should be about 190 degrees. Immediately remove bread from the cloche base and cool on a rack.