Deep Dark Double Chocolate Bread

It is downright shocking that I have gone six whole posts - that's two and a half weeks! - without posting something chocolatey. But this recipe mooore than makes up for the lapse.This recipe takes two days to make. Seriously. But if you can be patient, it's not really otherwise difficult. No more difficult than cinnamon bread, and actually easier than rolls. I actually have no idea why it takes so long. I don't know the point of a long cold rise verses a traditional 85-degree rise, and I'm too lazy and forgetful to research it.

All I know is this stuff is the devil's manna, a chocolate-and-bread lover's nirvana, for serious chocoholics only. It's this kind of culinary ecstasy that makes me dream of running a bakery someday. If you make it, just remember, you have been warned. This is very serious stuff.Deep Dark Double Chocolate Bread (print recipe)
Chocolate Bread Dough:
1 3/4 cups warm water (100-110 degrees F)
5 tsp rapid rise yeast
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup bitter European-style cocoa (Valrhona is suggested; I used Penzey's Dutch process)
4 to 5 cups bread flour

Chocolate Fudge Filling:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate (I used Trader Joe's 72%)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped milk or white chocolate (I used Ghiradelli white)

Finishing Touches:
Sugar
Cocoa powder
Ground cinnamon

Day One
1. Spray inside of a large zip-top plastic bag with nonstick cooking spray.

2. For bread dough, in a mixer bowl hand-whisk water and yeast and a pinch of sugar together and let stand 2 to 3 minutes to dissolve and proof yeast. Briskly whisk in sugar, salt, cocoa, and 3 cups flour to make a batter. Knead with dough hook on lowest speed 5 to 8 minutes, adding more flour as necessary to make a soft but sticky dough.

3. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface and gently deflate. Shape dough into a round, put in the prepared zip-top plastic bag, and refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours. Periodically check bread, and if you see it rising, open bag, gently deflate dough, and then reseal bag.

4. For chocolate fudge filling, place butter, both sugars and cocoa in a food processor and process a few minutes to make a pastry mixture. Place in a zip-top bag and seal almost all the way. Roll out, while in bag, to flatten. Seal completely. Refrigerate filling.

Day Two
5. Remove dough from bag and turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll or press dough out to a 16- to 18-inch x 10-inch rectangle. Break filling into pieces and spread pieces over surface of dough. Sprinkle chopped chocolates over filling.

6. Spray two 8 x 4 1/2 inch loafpans with nonstick spray.

7. Roll up dough snugly as a jellyroll, starting at the short side. Once it is a log, cut it in half and place each half in one of prepared loafpans, pressing in slightly. Insert each loafpan into a large plastic bag; seal and refrigerate overnight.

Day Three
8. Take loafpans out and place on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spray tops with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle each loaf with sugar and a touch of cocoa and cinnamon. Cover them loosely with plastic wrap and allow loaves to thaw and rise until puffy and much larger, 2 to 4 hours. They will reach or be slightly above tops of loafpans.

9. Preheat oven to 350. Place breads on lower rack of oven and bake until done and breads sound hollow when tapped, about 35 to 45 minutes.10. Cool 20 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.*When I took mine out of the pans after cooling there was a nice amount of warm fudgy filling left in the pans. Don't want it to go to waste! I just took a spoon to it and enjoyed every mouthful.Recipe from A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman