Bread Machine (185 page)
2-POUND LOAF
1 cup milk
1
/
2
cup orange juice
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3
1
/
2
cups bread flour
1
/
3
cup light brown sugar
1
/
4
cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon gluten
1
1
/
2
teaspoons salt
1
1
/
2
teaspoons instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2
/
3
cup bittersweet chocolate chips
2
1
/
2
teaspoons SAF yeast or 1 tablespoon bread machine yeast
Place all the ingredients in the pan according to the order in the manufacturer’s instructions. Set crust on medium and program for the Sweet Bread cycle; press Start. (This recipe is not suitable for use with the Delay Timer.)
When the baking cycle ends, immediately remove the bread from the pan and place it on a rack. Let cool to room temperature before slicing.
Technique: Melting Chocolate
Chocolate is widely used as an ingredient in sweet yeast and quick breads, and in fillings and sauces. Melt chocolate slowly in a double boiler over low heat, on the stovetop or in the microwave. Chocolate responds quickly to changes in temperature. Whatever method you use, first coarsely chop the chocolate for even melting. Chocolate burns very easily, so don’t let its temperature go above 125°F. If overheated, chocolate will become grainy and taste scorched. Water causes chocolate to seize, so be sure the container you melt it in is dry. Different types and brands of good-quality chocolate melt at different rates and have different consistencies. Semisweet, bittersweet, and milk chocolates tend to hold their shape when melted and must be stirred with a whisk or rubber spatula to create a smooth consistency.
- In a double boiler:
Place coarsely chopped chocolate over hot, just below simmering, water. Let the chocolate stand in the double boiler over the heat until melted, stirring occasionally. Because milk and white chocolates are so heat sensitive, as soon as the water is just below simmering, set the chocolate above it and remove the double boiler from the heat. Let stand until the chocolate is melted. Always melt chocolate uncovered. When you are using a double boiler, make sure the water in the lower pan doesn’t touch the upper pan. - In a conventional oven:
Place coarsely chopped chocolate in an ovenproof glass or other ovenproof dish in a preheated 300° to 350°F oven. Check the chocolate every 5 minutes and remove it when it is melted. - In a microwave oven:
Place coarsely chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe container and partially cover with plastic wrap. Microwave at 50 percent power for 2 to 4 minutes, depending on the amount of chocolate you are melting. It should be shiny and slightly melted. Stir the chocolate and then microwave it for 1 minute more. Continue checking the chocolate, stirring it, and micro waving it for a minute at a time, until it is completely melted. Milk and white chocolates take less time to melt than dark or unsweetened. - To substitute cocoa powder for melted baking chocolate:
Use 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or butter for every ounce of unsweetened baking chocolate called for.
Recommended Brands
Once difficult for the home baker to procure, fine imported and domestic block chocolates are now much more readily available in supermarkets. Look for small baking bars of Valrhona Le Noir Gastronomie bittersweet chocolate from France, El Rey from Venezuela, Lindt Excellence from Switzerland, and Callebaut from Belgium. Van Leer’s bittersweet from Jersey City, Scharffen Berger extra-bittersweet from San Francisco, and Merckens white chocolate from Massachusetts are especially fine domestic chocolates. Baker’s, Tobler, and Guittard semisweet are easily found and are also very good. For chocolate chips, Nestlé, Merckens, and Guittard are all good in these breads and are easily found.
CHOCOLATE BREAD WITH DATES AND PISTACHIOS
I
love dates in bread—they are very sweet just on their own, and lend their sweetness to the bread. The date palm is a versatile, important plant. It is a tree that continues to grow and give fruit for over 100 years, letting old leaves fall off as new ones are formed, the stack growing higher and higher. There is a myth that after the world was created, Allah made the date palm out of the material left over from fashioning Adam. This is a delightful bread, replete with the exotic flavors of the desert—dates and pistachios. Serve slices of it spread with cream cheese.
1
1
/
2
-POUND LOAF
7
/
8
cup water
1 large egg
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cups bread flour
1
/
2
cup sugar
1
/
4
cup unsweetened Dutch-proces cocoa powder
1 tablespoon gluten
1
1
/
4
teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons SAF yeast or 2
1
/
2
teaspoons bread machine yeast
2
/
3
cup snipped pitted dates
1
/
4
cup chopped pistachios
2-POUND LOAF
1
1
/
8
cups water
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
1
/
4
cup vegetable oil
4 cups bread flour
2
/
3
cup sugar
1
/
3
cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon gluten
1
1
/
2
teaspoons salt
2
1
/
2
teaspoons SAF yeast or 1 tablespoon bread machine yeast
7
/
8
cup snipped pitted dates
1
/
3
cup chopped pistachios
Place the ingredients, except the dates and pistachios, in the pan according to the order in the manufacturer’s instructions. Set crust on medium and program for the Basic or Sweet Bread cycle; press Start. (This recipe is not suitable for use with the Delay Timer.) When the machine beeps, or between machine beeps, or between Knead 1 and Knead 2, add the dates and pistachios.
When the baking cycle ends, immediately remove the bread from the pan and place it on a rack. Let cool to room temperature before slicing.
