Looking for something chocolaty but not overly sweet? Then this is the bread for you. Rich chocolate flavors enhanced with the deep notes of espresso and incredibly soft and fluffy these rolls are sure to satisfy your sweet tooth!
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Chocolate Heart Bread
Chocolate Heart Bread
Time: 2.5 Hours Prep/Rest/Bake
Yield: 6 Rolls
Ingredients
- 350g (12 oz) bread or AP flour
- 250ml (8 fl oz) lukewarm water
- 75g (3 oz) plain chocolate, chopped, or chocolate chips
- 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 Tablespoon Espresso Powder
- 2 Tablespoons caster or superfine sugar
- 25g (1 oz) melted butter
- 1 Teaspoon dried yeast
- ½ Teaspoon salt
Procedure
- In a medium bowl add the yeast and sugar to the water, whisk to combine and let stand for 10 minutes to activate the yeast. Meanwhile, in a large bowl mix the flour, cocoa and espresso powder and salt, use a fork to combine the mixture.
- When the yeast mixture is ready, create a well in the centre of the flour mixture, and then pour the yeast mixture and the melted butter into the well. This will make a soft and sticky dough, so you may want to use a wooden spoon to start or your hands.
- Once a the dough has formed, turn the dough out onto a clean surface and knead the dough for at least 10 minutes until smooth and just slightly tacky. You will have the urge to flour the surface heavy BUT RESIST! This dough is quite sticky at the beginning. The best method for kneading is to pull and stretch it and fold it onto its self in 3rds then give a quarter turn and repeat for about 5 minutes. You should notice it becoming less sticky. You can also use the slap method a la Julia Child. Slap the dough down on the work surface, again fold in thirds or roll it up then give a quarter turn and repeat until you have a lightly tacky dough. Place the dough in a lightly-greased bowl, cover and allow the dough to rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
- Once it has risen, turn the dough out onto a floured surface, punch out all the gas and air, then sprinkle on the chocolate pieces. Begin kneading the dough gently for a few minutes to distribute the chocolate evenly throughout the dough. (I did this in the bowl and then dumped out a mess on a floured working surface.)
- Divide the dough into six equal pieces and shape each piece into a ball. If you don’t want to make hearts, that is fine. Just skip this next part.
- *Optional Heart Shaping: For each ball of dough: Press the dough out into a teardrop shape, making sure to form a nice point for the bottom of the heart. Then make a cut in the dough from the middle to the rounded end of the heart. Pull the two sections apart and round them off. TADA!! Heart!!
- Place balls/hearts on a greased baking sheet, cover and leave in a warm place for about an hour to rise.
- Bake at 190°C/375°F for 12-15 minutes. Until they look dry and start to brown on top. Remove from pan and leave to cool on a wire rack.
Tips:
- The dough is very sticky at first, resist adding extra flour. It took me about 15 minutes total to get it to a handleable point and it was still pretty tacky. Don’t give up and don’t give in!
- I think they are best served warm and as soon after baking as possible. Only 1 heart saw a full day post baking and it was a little less soft but still yummy.
- Again, these are not very sweet!! If you want a sweet chocolate roll make sure you add more sugar or more chocolate. You could also try a chocolate drizzle on top!
Recommended Kitchen Tools
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Special thank you to The Bread Kitchen for the inspiration! ❤
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