playing with chocolate.

such a grainy, blurry picture...*sigh*. another experiment with chocolate. this time in bread form! i had a bar of semi-sweet chocolate lying around and a bag of dried figs. what to do? bread of course! i also threw in some walnuts to add some texture. this not-so-sweet bread made for some interesting snackin's with fig spread, apples, and gouda... :)

Chocolate Walnut Fig Bread
(makes one large loaf)

3 cups bread flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 or so cups warm water
3 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
1/2 cup soft dried figs, roughly chopped
olive oil

In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, and yeast. Add the warm water (about 100 degrees in temp) and mix to create a shaggy dough. If the dough is too dry, add water little by little until the dough is no longer dry but still sticky and shaggy. Transfer to an oiled bowl, cover and let rise until doubled (about an hour). Prepare a sheet of parchment paper to use for the dough later on.

When doubled, add the chocolate, walnuts, and figs and knead the dough in the bowl just until the add-ins have been incorporated into the dough. Transfer to the parchment paper, cover and let rise again until doubled (about 30 minutes).

Meanwhile, ready a cast iron pot with a lid in the oven on the middle rack and preheat to 450 degrees. Once the dough is ready and the oven is hot, carefully place the dough and parchment paper in the cast iron and cover immediately with the lid. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Reduce heat to 425 degrees, carefully remove the lid, and bake an additional 20 minutes until top is golden brown. Once done, transfer the bread to a cooling rack and cool completely before serving.