I’ve been a huge fan of chocolate for as long as I can remember. I love it as a special treat in whatever form it is presented to me – as a bar of chocolate to be nibbled on secretly away from the prying eyes of my kids (yeah yeah! I have a secret stash in my kitchen!) or a warm slice of chocolate cake or brownie to dig into. The happiness that I derive when I sip a cup of hot cocoa during the winter months or discover some choco chips in the pain au chocolat that I often buy from the Carrefour bakery (Oh! I love their goodies!) is something else. In many ways it takes me back to my childhood and I am flooded with many happy memories.
Over the past few months, every time I sifted through the Bread Bible (by Christine Ingram and Jennie Shapter) I came across this lovely, tall, deep brown loaf in a pitch black background staring back at me. I called it the ‘Tall, Dark & Handsome’ bread of the lot :-). The composition of this picture was so simple yet inviting that I always promised myself that I would bake it as a treat to myself. Late last year when it was time to pick themes for this year I volunteered to host for the month of March and I couldn’t think of a better theme than Cocoa. Now, cocoa has a few substitutes such as the carob which I had never heard of till late 2014 when I saw a pack of carob powder at the organic farmer’s market. I decided that it would be great if I gave my fellow bread bakers the choice of cocoa, carob and cacao to be incorporated in whichever form they’d like (as a topping or kneaded into the dough) and I got a whopping list of breads that are waiting to be showcased today! I am so pleased! Thank you everyone for participating! Do scroll down to the bottom of the page to see what everyone has baked today!
Now, coming back to today’s list of ingredients, everyone has a fair idea of what cocoa is. Simply put, it is perhaps the most famous and much loved ingredient that has a host of uses. The beans (seeds) of the ‘Theobroma Cacao (cocoa tree) are used to produce cocoa butter and cocoa solids (what remains after cocoa butter is extracted). Cocoa solids are used in the preparation of cocoa powder, syrup and confections and cocoa butter is used in the cosmetic industry (for hair, skin and other products)
Cacao on the other hand is derived by cold-pressing unroasted cocoa beans to remove cocoa butter. Although it looks the same as cocoa it is not. Cocoa powder is raw cacao that’s been roasted at high temperatures.
While cacao and cocoa are derived from the same tree, carob comes from a completely different tree known as the ‘Ceratonia siliqua’ which is also commonly known as the carob tree, St Johns-bread or locust bean. The dried pods are then powdered into carob powder which can be easily substituted for cocoa but is more expensive and available at select health stores. In Malta, a traditional sweet called the ‘il-karamelli’ is made from carob eaten during Lent and Good Friday. They are deemed to be the only sweets allowed during Lent as they are believed to have medicinal properties!
What I loved about this bread was that it was super soft and cottony! The texture was almost like that of the bread we used to buy from the bakery in our neighbourhood back in Mangalore. I can’t wait to try out the same recipe minus the cocoa for a regular loaf. Perhaps I will shape it into a proper loaf using a loaf pan.
The best part about this bread is that it is not too sweet, so it doesn’t taste like a chocolate cake just in case you are wondering! The subtle bits of sweetness comes from the chocolate pieces hidden inside. The bread tastes brilliant with Nutella although I ran out of it when I was clicking pictures so I went ahead and used peanut butter! Since I had a huge loaf of bread on my hands I went ahead and converted it into a bread pudding the next day! I can’t tell you how wonderful that tasted!! So go ahead, make this bread and simply indulge in some chocolate goodness!
References:
Wikipedia
Anecdotes from Malta
Breads with Cocoa, Cacao or Carob in any form
- Chocolate & Cherry Swirl Breads from The Bread She Bakes
- Chocolate Orange Swirl Buns from Mayuri’s Jikoni
- Chocolate and Vanilla Brioche from Kidsandchic
- Chocolate Banana Quick Bread from Basic N Delicious
- Chocolate Buttermilk Quick Bread from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
- Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Chocolate Filled Bundt Bread from Food Lust People Love
- Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Chocolate Monkey Bread from Sara’s Tasty Buds
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Quick Bread from Magnolia Days
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cinnamon Rolls from From Gate to Plate
- Chocolate Yeast Bread from Cook’s Hideout
- Croatian Povitica – Chocolate Walnut Swirl Bread from Herbivore Cucina
- Dark Chocolate Cherry Pocket Bread from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Dark Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Buns from Baking in Pyjamas
- Double Chocolate Espresso Scones from Wholistic Woman
- Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread from Sizzling Tastebuds
- Egg Free 45 Minutes Chocolate Buns from Gayathri’s Cook Spot
- Eggless Chocolate Babka from I Camp in my Kitchen
- Eggless Chocolate Swirl Buns from Seduce Your Tastebuds
- Eggless Triple Chocolate Scones from Spill the Spices
- Four-Chocolate Sour Cream Quickbread from What Smells So Good?
- Leopard Print Bread from Spiceroots
- Pain Au Chocolat (Chocolate filled Croissants) from G’Gina’s Kitchenette
- Pane Al Cioccolato – Chocolate Bread from Ruchik Randhap
- Petits Pain au Chocolat – Mini Chocolate Croissant from Sneha’s Recipe
- Sourdough Cacao Sweet Bread from The Schizo Chef
- Sweet Russian Chocolate Braid from Hostess At Heart
- Two Chocolates Greek Yogurt Banana Bread from La cocina de Aisha
Breads with Cocoa, Cacao or Carob in any form
#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.
We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.
If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.
Pane Al Cioccolato | Chocolate Bread
A subtly flavoured Italian chocolate breads that pairs beautifully with butter, nut butter, chocolate spread and can also be enjoyed plain.
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Ingredients
- 350 grams (3 cups) bread flour or regular white purpose flour
- 1-1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cacao (or cocoa or carob) powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons caster sugar
- 1-1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 cup 250ml warm water
- 2 tablespoons butter (softened at room temperature)
- 75 grams chocolate, roughly chopped (you may use choco chips too)
- melted butter (for brushing)
Instructions
- Grease and line the base and sides of a 6″ (15cm) round baking tin, preferably a deep one. If it isn’t so deep just line the sides tall (with extra parchment that overlaps the sides in order to give it a tall look).
- Place the yeast in a small deep bowl, add about 2 tablespoons tablespoons of water and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Cover with cling wrap or a lid and keep in a warm place till the yeast froths up, about 10 minutes. If the mixture doesn’t look frothy, the yeast is old and useless. Discard it and start again with a new package of yeast.
- Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt together into a large bowl and mix in the caster sugar. Make a well in the centre and pour the yeast mixture into it and gradually knead the mixture into a dough
- Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead the butter into it gradually until the dough is soft and pliable. Place the dough ball into a lightly oiled bowl and turn it over gently till it is well coated with the oil. Cover with a cling wrap and leave it in a warm place to double, anywhere between 1-2 hours depending on the weather. You can leave it in an oven with the light on.
- Once the dough has doubled, turn it onto a working surface and lightly punch the air out. Knead in the chopped chocolate (preferably let the chocolate remain in the centre, so don’t over knead or it will spread over the entire dough). Cover with cling wrap and let it rest for 5 minutes
- Shape the dough into a round and place it in the prepared baking tin and cover it again with the cling wrap. Let it rise for another 45 minutes to 1 hour or until risen to the top of the tin/overlapping baking parchment.
- Preheat oven to 220 C and bake the bread for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 190 C and bake for another 25-30 mins. Remove and brush the top with the melted butter. Let it cool completely on a wire rack. Slice and serve with butter, jam/marmalade or nutella.
Disclaimer
The nutritional values are only indicative.
Tried this recipe?Please leave a comment & rate the recipe below or share a photo on Instagram and tag me @ruchikrandhap
The yeast is 1 1/2 tbsp or tsp?
A stunning bread and I can see why you would want to bake it after seeing it in the book. Thanks so much for hosting this month and choosing such a tasty theme!
What a lovely loaf, Shireen! The lighting on those photos is beautiful too. I ended up making bread pudding with part of mine as well. That's the beauty of a big loaf!
The texture does look amazing on your bread! Thank you for hosting!
Shireen, this was a challenge after my own chocolate loving heart! I never knew what carob actually was so appreciated that information. Thank you for hosting this month and for sharing one beautiful loaf of bread. I sincerely hope you will post the bread pudding too or send me a copy of it? That sounds amazing!
I guess when it comes to chocolate, we are similar… 😉 I also have a little stash hidden inside the fridge which I nibble on when the kids are not around hehe… the bread looks fantastic, and the idea of converting it into a bread pudding sounds even more amazing… Lovely bake and a lot of information there… 🙂
Shireen thanks for selecting the theme . Your bread with the melted chocolate shavings looks great…….
Shireen I cannot believe how fabulous your Chocolate Bread turned out to be. When I did the last bit of my post at my friend Manju's place, we both let out a resounding Woooow seeing your Bread. Fabulous Shirs…and thank you for hosting such a lovely theme.
I have never heard of a baking tin. I have heard of making bread like this in a coffee can but have never tried it. I will have to give this a shot though because it is so impressive.
Shireen, thanks for being such a wonderful hostess for the event! And yes, this bread looks super gorgeous 🙂 Awesome.
omg !! I saw these pics on HBG FB group too , and they look stunning 🙂 thanks so much for hosting this edition, Shireen 🙂 all choco breads are so tempting
Thank you so much for this challenge! Your bread looks so amazing! You did a wonderful job as host!
Shireen, thanks for the wonderful theme. End of this month,my friend's got guests coming to stay at her place and has asked me bake a couple of breads that she can serve in the morning. I may try your recipe as it doesn't appear too sweet. Carob is usually used by people who want to follow a totally caffeine free diet.
First of thanks for picking such an amazing theme for this month.
Second your bread looks absolutely irrestitible. Love how tall and beautiful it looks. Bookmarked!!
I love the height of this bread, the gorgeous colors! Loved the challenge, Shireen. Thanks for a great challenge!
OMG! This bread looks so amazing and chocolaty.
hi shireen,
i have a diff query. i usually bake in an convention oven, but recently i bought an OTG. the functions on it seem to be a little confusing and not as straight forward— can you please tell me what function I should use for :1. cake, 2.cookies, 3. bread and 4. simple and regular chicken bakes… pl help me urgently. thanks in advance
Hi Maria, for an OTG you need to use the mode which heats up only the bottom heating rod. I had tried baking with both top and bottom heated and all my cakes used to burn into charcoal. However, the make and model of your OTG may vary. I had a 16 litre Bajaj OTG in which i baked successfully using only bottom rod heated. Above the rod pls place the crumb tray. Always preheat oven for 15 mins. Hope this helps!
thank you very much shireen, i half expected the two rods for grilling – by your earlier mistake, it would seem so. Do you use this mode for all types of bakes including breads and cookies?does it require a fan while baking? Why can't these manufacturers make things clean and simple. Anyway, pl let me know at the earliest. Thankyou once again. btw, whats happened to the veggie and meat section?
@ Maria: For grilling just keep the top rod heated. For baking keep only the bottom rod heated. If you want to toast bread then keep both rods heated but keep an eye out as it doesn't take long for the toast to burn. Secondly, these instructions are applicable for an OTG size of 16 litres approx (which is what I had). I have no idea about bigger ones.
I didn't understand what you meant by veggie and meat section
hi, thanku for an early reply… i have a 15ltr one, so i think i'll be ok if i follow your instructions. Its been a while since you posted something on the veggie and chicken front (except paneer, its ok-i like paneer). Mloreans use dhal in their veggie curries, can you help me with that, pl. thanks for undersanding, maria.
@ Maria: All the best with the oven! I hope you enjoy baking in it! I have been a little busy at home so unable to post new recipes! I have some dhal based veg curries on the blog, please do check my veg recipe index!
thankyou once again for your help.
what a great texture and love the height and shape you achieved – thanks for the great theme