It’s been a while since my last post (in part because of this bread, which I had to make 3 times to get just right and in part because…I just ate melted chocolate from a ramekin for dessert for most of a month, when I wasn’t accidentally melting plastic spatulas into cakes??) but this bread is worth the wait! No knead, richly chocolate, good textured chocolate bread that is maybe not as sweet as you’re expecting (depending on the chocolate you use anyway) and makes the most amazing fluffernutters you’ve ever had. It would probably also be great with some sort of soft, spreadable cheese, if that’s your thing, but I’m moving soon and have to get through the remaining inch of my container of Fluff!

Fluffernutter about to get taken skiing.

It’s rare on this blog, but for this one I recommend breaking out the kitchen scale. I have provided conversions in cups for those of you without a scale, but the ounces for flour, cocoa powder, and brown sugar are going to be more accurate. The conversions were made using the Traditional Oven page‘s converter.

Ingredients:

• 14 ounces (3.18 cups) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1 1/2 ounces (0.36 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 ounces (0.2 cup) brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 7 ounces chocolate (4 ounces semi-sweet and 3 ounces bittersweet is a good mixture, but you can tailor to your sweet tooth)

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, cocoa, brown sugar, and salt, then pour in the water and stir until evenly mixed.

Cover and let rest 12-18 hours (if you do this while dinner is cooking some evening, you can get the baking knocked out before work the next day – at least if you drag out your mornings like I do!)

In the morning, place a cast iron dutch oven in your oven and preheat to 350 degrees, preheating at least 40 minutes, even if your oven beeps before that, so that the dutch oven gets sufficiently hot. Towards the end of that time, chop your chocolate and stir it into the dough, and place a piece of parchment paper on your counter.

For some reason I cut the chocolate smaller each time I baked this bread – that’s not necessary! These chunks are fine.

When the oven/dutch oven are preheated, with floured hands shape the dough into a ball, then place on the parchment. You can slash the top of the dough a few times if you’d like, although I’m not sure it made a huge difference here.

Remove the dutch oven from the oven and uncover. Transfer the parchment paper with the dough on it into the dutch oven, recover, and return to the oven for 25 minutes.

At that time, uncover and bake an additional approximately 10 minutes. If the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, it’s done baking. Cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Chocolate Bread

Adapted from It’s Not You, It’s Brie.

• 14 ounces (3.18 cups) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1 1/2 ounces (0.36 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 ounces (0.2 cup) brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 7 ounces chocolate (4 ounces semi-sweet and 3 ounces bittersweet is a good mixture, but you can tailor to your sweet tooth)

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, cocoa, brown sugar, and salt, then pour in the water and stir until evenly mixed. Cover and let rest 12-18 hours.

In the morning, place a cast iron dutch oven in your oven and preheat to 350 degrees, preheating at least 40 minutes. Towards the end of that time, chop your chocolate and stir it into the dough, and place a piece of parchment paper on your counter.

When the oven/dutch oven are preheated, with floured hands shape the dough into a ball, then place on the parchment. Remove the dutch oven from the oven and uncover. Transfer the parchment paper with the dough on it into the dutch oven, recover, and return to the oven for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional approximately 10 minutes. If the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, it’s done baking. Cool on a wire rack.