The fact that I love bread is definitely not breaking news.
I also love coffee, oh and chocolate.
If you were to ask me how I would combine these three loves, I would probably describe some sort of espresso or cappuccino nestled next to a slice of bread schmeared with a chocolate spread. Just talking about this situation makes me happy, but what if I told you that we could combine all three of these loves into one.
Today, we are baking a loaf of espresso chocolate walnut bread and it is every bit as incredible as it sounds… maybe even more, so let’s get started…
We are going to start with a basic no-knead bread recipe with the addition of some espresso powder and granulated sugar. I wouldn’t consider this a dessert type bread, the sugar is just to feed the yeast and balance out to bitterness is the chocolate and espresso powder.
In a large bowl, whisk 3 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of instant yeast, a tablespoon of espresso powder and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar.
Add 1 1/2 cups of room temperature water and mix until you get a sticky, shaggy dough. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to ensure that no dry ingredients are left behind…
Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 12-24 hours.
This dough is 18 hours old and look at how airy and bubbly it has become. This is exactly what you are looking for.
Now this dough will be on the wet and sticky side, so when it comes to shaping the loaf, you will need to flour your work surface and your hands to make things easy.
Use your fingers to gently work the dough out into a rectangle and top the dough with some chopped chocolate and finely chopped walnuts.
I am using milk chocolate today, but any chocolate will work and if you don’t love walnuts, pecans or pistachios work here too.
Fold the top third of the dough over into the center and then fold the bottom third of the dough over that. Essentially, you are folding the dough like you would fold a letter.
Re-flour your fingers and press the folded dough out a bit and add your remaining chocolate and walnuts over the top.
Now roll the dough up, so all of the chocolate and nuts are contained inside the loaf and transfer the loaf onto a sheet of parchment paper.
Again, this dough is soft and pliable, so it doesn’t need to be perfectly shaped into a round ball or anything like that. Just roll the dough onto itself, so all of the chocolate and walnuts are trapped inside.
Cover the dough with a light kitchen towel and start prepping your oven…
After you shape the loaf, place a dutch oven with lid or a bread cloche on the center rack of your oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Let the bread rest and your dutch oven preheat for about 60 minutes.
Carefully bring the dutch oven out of the oven and use the parchment paper to transfer the loaf inside. I know we are all adults here, but be careful because that dutch oven is going to be screaming hot.
Place the lid on the dutch oven and transfer it back into the 450 degree oven. Bake for 30 minutes.
Carefully remove the lid and bake the loaf uncovered for another 15 minutes or so.
The bread is ready when the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees or the loaf sounds hollow when you tap on the underside of it. At this point, transfer the loaf out of the dutch oven and onto a cooling rack to cool fully before slicing into it.
The moisture content in this bread is high, so allowing it to cool fully before slicing into it is very important. I know this is annoying and seems like cruel and unusual punishment, but when you slice into hot bread, you can disrupt the moisture distribution process, which can result in a gummy texture that feels like it is underbaked.
This is a rustic loaf, The crust is crisp and the interior is chewy, which feels just like a great no-knead artisan loaf, but the flavors are so unique.
When you first slice into it, you will notice a coffee like color and that beautiful aroma of espresso.
There are bits of melted chocolate speckled all throughout each slice and nutty bits of walnut that add a great pop of texture.
My favorite way to enjoy this bread is lightly toasted with some salted butter, shaved chocolate and a few more walnuts. It transports this bread all the way into the dessert category and if I can have a hot cup of coffee with this slice, I will be a very happy girl.
This bread is one of the most flavorful loaves I have ever baked up and I am already looking forward to the next loaf…
Espresso Chocolate & Walnut Bread
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of instant yeast
- 1 tablespoon of espresso powder
- 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups of water, room temperature
- 4 ounces of milk chocolate, chopped
- 1/3 cup of walnuts, chopped
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine 3 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of instant yeast, 1 tablespoon of espresso powder and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
- Add 1/2 cups of room temperature water and mix until a sticky dough develops and no dry flour in left unincorporated
- Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 8-12 hours
- An hour before baking, place your dutch oven with lid or a bread cloche into a cold oven and preheat to 450 degrees
- While the oven and vessel are preheating, transfer your dough onto a lightly floured surface
- Gently work the dough out into a square-ish shape and sprinkle about half of the chopped chocolate and walnuts over the surface
- Fold the dough in thirds bring the top third toward you and then folding the bottom third over the top, so the dough is folded like a letter
- Gently press the dough out a bit and add the remaining chopped chocolate and walnuts and then roll the dough into a spiral and tuck under the edges to shape the loaf into a round ball
- Place the shaped loaf onto a sheet of parchment paper and cover with a clean kitchen towel
- When the oven has been on for an hour, carefully transfer the preheated vessel onto a heat proof surface and remove the lid
- Use the corners of the parchment to carefully transfer the dough into the vessel
- Optional: use a bread lame or sharp knife to make a shallow cut into the top surface of the dough to help the dough expand in a controlled way
- Bake the dough covered for 30 minutes
- Uncover the vessel and bake the bread for an additional 15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and crisp and the loaf has an internal temperature of 200 degrees
- Carefully transfer the loaf out of the vessel and onto a cooling rack to cool fully before slicing
