Everyday Chocolate Bread

General conversation at home in the morning. Kids, while I am trying to get them out of bed and ready for school - ''What's for short break and what's for lunch?''

In a few seconds you will decide that I am not one of those good mothers who will first ask the kids about Homework etc when they come back from school. Most of the times (unless I sense that my child is unwell) the first thing I ask the kids when they come back from school - ''Did u enjoy the snack/ lunch?' Getting up early sometimes makes me envy mothers who send kids to school which provide breakfast and lunch. But then, I would not like them not eating home food for the big part of the day. And the pleasure of packing home made treats for them. Knowing that they looked forward to the lunch break. I actually would be disappointed if my son's classmates did not demand that he HAS to get cake for the class party. And equally disappointed if my son did not insist that I MUST bake for his class party, birthday etc.

Foodie kids and a bigger incorrigible foodie Mom - Big food situations - all the time. Hubby not to be left far behind likes to eat dessert after dinner everyday - no I don't make dessert everyday though I would love to...as I would love to eat something sweet after every meal and also sometimes in between;-). Only my super sensitive weighing scales play spoil sport and always show me the numbers I hate. If only I could think of the number I see on the scales as my IQ:-))). Well, reality makes me save that joke for encouraging dietitians and get back to sane cooking and baking, indulgences once in a while or to be shared ASAP.

And then some things which are relatively healthy, yet good enough to make the kids get out of bed in the morning. Like an Everyday Chocolate Bread. I made it with half of APF and half of whole wheat. Chocolaty enough and not very sweet. A great bread for the snack box or Sunday morning special breakfast treat. A make ahead breakfast at that which gives me the much needed sleep in. Happy kids, happy Mom:-)

Sharing my very tiny moment of glory, I have been featured a magazine Time Out Bengaluru in their Food&Drinks section. Here is a view..

I had never in my widest dreams thought I will appear in a magazine as 'me', though in a very small way. A big thank you for your messages on FB, you guys and Time Out Bengaluru really, really made my day!

You could call this bread old wine in a new bottle. Slightly tweaking a recipe I have tried a few times earlier. Similar to the Chocolate Chip Bread , except replaced part of the APF with cocoa. And got a chocolate bread.

Ingredients

All Purpose Flour / Maida - 1 1/4 Cups(refer note)

Cocoa powder - 1/4 cup

Whole wheat flour – 1 1/2 cups ( I used Ashirwad Whole wheat flour)

Vital Wheat Gluten – 3 tbsp ( 1 tablespoon for each cup of flour, please refer note below)

Oil – 2 tbsp

Instant Yeast – 2 1/4 tsp ( I use Gloripan, refer note below)

Water 1 cup

Salt – 1 tsp

Demerara sugar - 3 tbsp (one more tbspn if you want the bread sweeter)

Milk – ¼ cup, lukewarm

Chocolate Chips - 1/3 cup ( optional, more to suit your taste)

Procedure  : Grease a 9*5 loaf pan. Combine the flours, cocoa powder, gluten and salt in a bowl, mix well. Keep aside. In a large bowl, mix the yeast and sugar  Add the lukewarm milk. Add the oil, flour mixture and the water. Mix till dough comes together. If the dough is very stiff, add more water - it actually pays to be stingy here :-) add just one tablespoon at a time. Knead for 10-11 minutes. Towards the end, knead in the chocolate chips if using. Cover the dough with oil, keep in an oiled bowl, and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Keep the dough in a warm place to rise. I usually keep it in my microwave turned off. 

As it is quite warm now, you may want to check if your dough has doubled quite early as it will rise quite fast. Don't not let it over rise. I seem to have let it rise a bit more, causing the puffed top?

Once the dough doubles, knock it down gently. On a lightly floured or greased surface, roll the dough into a rectangle. Roll it tightly. Tuck in the ends. Place in the loaf tin, seam side down. Tent with a greased sheet of aluminum foil. Keep in a warm place to double again. This will take approximately 30-45 minutes. Again keep watching, it may rise earlier than expected. The dough rising too much may result in the dough deflate while baking, causing it to be dense. Towards the end of the final rise, pre-heat oven to 190 degrees C (375 degrees F).  Bake for 20 minutes.  Lower temperature  to 160 degrees (325 degrees F) and bake for 15- 20 minutes. When you tap the bottom, it must sound hollow. This is an indication that the bread is done.

Since the bread s dark in color, it will be difficult to make out the color. I am so in love with my now-indispensable instant read thermometer:-)

Remove the pan from the oven and keep it on the cooling rack. Brush some butter if you wish.   Let the loaf cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Then, remove the loaf from the plan and cool it completely on the wire rack. Slice it only after it comes to room temperature.

A note on sugar quantity :The bread was just about sweet which is fine if you want to drizzle some honey on the warm toast. You could either knead in some chocolate chips or add a tablespoon more sugar if you want it sweeter. Adding both extra sugar and the chocolate chips may make it too sweet, so take your pick.
I have put in some sugar on the dough while rolling into a loaf. The moist brown posts you see on the bread is the molten sugar.

Measuring flour: Scoop the FLOUR into the cup using a big spoon, level with a spatula. Using one cup measure to measure one cup, half cup measure to measure half cup and so on. Weighing, however is is the best and most accurate.

Suggestion: I would recommend using 3 tablespoons sugar and about 1/2 a cup of chocolate chips. Fudgy and not over sweet.

A note of thanks to the very generous Champa who not only inspired me to bake breads, but also gave me the wings to experiment with it as well. Thanks so much Champa, you have no idea how much of a joy you have introduced in my kitchen.

Conversation between my son and his friend. Friend walks in when Anirudh and Aditi were eating the just baked chocolate bread toast.

Friend: What are you guys eating?
Anirudh: Chocolate Bread!
Incredulous Friend: Come on dude!! There is NO such thing as chocolate bread!!!

                                          THREE CHEERS TO HOME-BAKING!! Come, join the clan!

This bread goes to Susan's YeastSpotting