Chocolate Bread!!

I was wondering how some cocoa would work in a yeasty bread. I am not a big fan of chocolate especially dark chocolate or too much chocolate in anything. Some days I do get a chocolate craving and those days I like milk chocolate or a bite or 2 of some decadent chocolate cake and that's it. In fact I am not even a fan of too much sugar and hence you don't see very many sugary baked desserts on my blog. I can bake them, but who will eat them..:)

This bread has a nice hot chocolate -y flavor to it which comes out more after toasting it. The flavor is not overpowering, the sugar is limited for a nice snack loaf. You can add chocolate chips to the loaf to give it even more chocolaty texture.. I ran out of any possible chocolate to be used as chips.. Hubby must have finished them up. I dont know where they went coz I dont check the stash that often :)

The bread goes really well with some coffee or tea, toasted and buttered.. or even as is.. just pop that slice directly in your mouth!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2-3 cups bread flour
• 1 large egg ( wilcox cage free)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoons molasses
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon butter softened
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 Tablespoons Cocoa powder (organic free trade)
• 2/3 cup water
• 1.5 teaspoons active dry yeast

Directions:

1. Warm the water to just about warm to touch and add yeast and 1 teaspoons sugar to it. Mix well and keep for 10 minutes or until frothy.
2. Warm the milk and add cocoa powder to it and mix well and keep aside.
3. Grease the mixer bowl, add the flours, salt and rest of the sugar and give it a whirl.
4. Add in the butter, molasses, egg, cinnamon, vanilla, cocoa and yeast mixture and knead for 10-12 minutes( batches of 3-4 minutes with intermittent scraping of the bowl). You can add half a cup of chocolate chips as well before starting the kneading. Add more flour or water if needed.
5. Knead into a soft dough and place dough in a well greased container. Spritz some water and oil spray on the dough. Cover with damp towel and let rise for an hour.
6. Punch the dough down and knead for a minute. Shape into a loaf by pulling on alls ides and tucking under. Use some flour to make the dough less sticky if needed.
7. Place loaf on well greased bread pan and cover with damp towel and let rise for 40 minutes in a warm place.
8. Remove towel, spritz top with water and bake at 370 degrees F for 35-40minutes.
9. Remove bread from pan and cool on wire rack. Cool completely before slicing. I usually slice it after keeping it in the refrigerator for an hour so it is a bit firm and the slices come out firm without falling apart!

This beauty is headed to this week's YeastSpotting.. check out some amazing breads there!