Bread Machine (184 page)

Authors: Beth Hensperger

Tags: #ebook

Bread recipes may call for unsweetened (or baking), semisweet, bittersweet, milk, or white chocolate, or unsweetened cocoa powder. Some bakers chop their own chocolate off a block, others like to use chocolate chips. Chocolate chips are specially formulated to hold their shape under high heat, so don’t use them unless you want the chocolate to retain its shape in the loaf. Unsweetened chocolate contains no sugar, so it must be used in combination with sugar in a recipe. Use a semisweet or bittersweet chocolate for incorporating into a dough. Semisweet and bittersweet chocolate are technically the same, but in general bittersweet chocolate will have a stronger flavor. Milk chocolate is the sweetest, and white chocolate is not really chocolate at all; it contains cocoa butter, butterfat, sugar, milk, and lecithin, but no chocolate liquor.

If a bar of chocolate is labeled “couverture,” it is a type of chocolate that contains a high percentage of cocoa butter to make it easy to work with when melted. You can use couverture in any recipes that call for bittersweet or semisweet chocolate. You may come across a super-dark chocolate, which is a new category of chocolate. To my palate it tastes too close to unsweetened chocolate to substitute for semisweet. Mexican chocolate contains almonds, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, which are ground together and pressed into discs.

I call for cocoa powder in many of my chocolate bread recipes. Not only does it blend well with the dry ingredients, but it is much easier to use than block chocolate, which must be melted first. Like unsweetened chocolate, cocoa contains no sugar and must be used in combination with sugar in a recipe. It also has far less fat and fewer calories than block chocolate because it contains no cocoa butter. However, this also means the flavor is less rich, so you have to add some other flavor elements to balance it out. There are two types of cocoa powder: regular and Dutch process. I always use Dutch process, which has a stronger flavor and a richer color than regular cocoa. It is treated with a mild alkali, such as baking soda, to neutralize its natural acidity.

Store block chocolate in airtight wrapping in a cool, dark place. If a white coating or white streaks, called bloom, appear on your chocolate, they are a reaction to a change in temperature or moisture, but the chocolate is fine to use. Well stored dark chocolate is good for years; milk and white chocolates should be used within a year. Stored in a cool, dark place, cocoa keeps indefinitely.

CHOCOLATE CHALLAHC

C
hallah is a traditional Jewish egg bread, often described as more of a cake than a bread, that adapts well to the addition of chocolate, both in the dough and with chips added to create pockets of melted chocolate. This version is completely unconventional, but delightful nonetheless. Serve it with whipped cream cheese for brunch.

1
¹/
₂-POUND LOAF

1 cup water

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups bread flour

¹/
₂cup sugar

¹/
₄cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 tablespoon gluten

1
¹/
₂teaspoons salt

1
³/
₄teaspoons SAF yeast or 2
¹/
₄teaspoons bread machine yeast

¹/
₂cup semisweet chocolate chips

2-POUND LOAF

1
¹/
₄cups water

2 large eggs

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

4 cups bread flour

²/
₃cup sugar

¹/
₃cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon gluten

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons SAF yeast or 2
¹/
₂teaspoons bread machine yeast

²/
₃cup semisweet chocolate chips

Place the ingredients, except the chocolate chips, in the pan according to the order in the manufacturer’s instructions. Set crust on medium and program for the Basic or Sweet Bread cycle; press Start. (This recipe is not suitable for use with the Delay Timer.) At the beep, add the chocolate chips.

When the baking cycle ends, immediately remove the bread from the pan and place it on a rack. Let cool to room temperature before slicing.

The Perfect Chocolate Glaze

If you would like to coat one of your breads with a chocolate glaze, here is the one to use. Begin preparing the glaze as soon as you remove the loaf from the bread pan to cool, so you can glaze the bread while it is still warm.

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

Place a plate or piece of waxed paper under the cooling rack holding the bread to catch the drips from the glaze.

Melt the ingredients together in a double boiler over simmering water, stirring gently with a small whisk until smooth. Remove from the heat and immediately drizzle the bread slowly with the glaze, letting some drip down the sides. Cool to room temperature to set the glaze before slicing.

MEXICAN CHOCOLATE BREAD

S
outhwestern and Mexican bakers have a special love of spices. Even their chocolate contains hints of cinnamon, coffee, and orange. Sometimes I grate Mexican brown sugar, piloncillo, a cross between our light and dark brown sugars, to use in place of the brown sugar called for here. For the chocolate chips, I often use coarsely grated Ibarra brand chocolate from Mexico. Whether you use these special ingredients or not, you will be surprised at how succulent this sweet bread is, right down to the last bite.