Who's your daddy?
I'm your daddy. This is it. Full stop.
Here. Have a closer look.
It's yeasted chocolate bread.
And it's spectacular.
You nearly had to wait for it until next year. It was meant for the new cookbook.
But good news! Instead of being a waiter, you get to be a have-now-er. There's a reason. Its name is the-next-book-is-going-to-be-Gluten-Free Shortcuts (working title). And this bread? Not really fast enough to be a “shortcut.”
I've got some super-speedy-quick yeasted bread recipes lined up for the new cookbook. They're ready nearly as fast as yeast-free breads, but they have that special somethin' that only a yeasted bread has. But this one's a flunkie in the Step Lively Department. I begged and pleaded, but it is one stubborn son-of-a-gun. It was all, ‘No. I will not rise super-speedy-quick.' It's because of the cocoa powder. It messes with yeast.
My loss (kind of). Your gain (totally).
Not for nothing, but I really can't wait for the new cookbook. Wherein I raise my right hand and promise to tell you everything. Everything. Everything you ever wanted to know about getting great gluten-free food on the table in two shakes. Of a lamb's tail. On a weeknight. When you've been working until whine-30. And you're tired. And kinda cranky. And your children didn't do their homework yet. But you've still gotta eat, right? Follow me, tired friend, and we'll take care of business. Except you have to wait until next year. *sorry*
For now, you have yeasted chocolate bread. This is nothing like a brownie. Nothing like candy. And not at all a cake. It is gluten-free bread. Glorious, lightly-sweet and densely hearty bread that just so happens to fill the whole house with the rich smell of chocolate, studded with half-melted, creamy chocolate chips. If a gluten-free bakery made this for you, they'd make you pay. Oh, how you'd pay.
Here, it's totally inexpensive-gluten-free. ‘Cause you made it yourself.
Oh, man, this is the one. We've done did it. I'm waving the white flag. I give up. I would rather be really, really fat than not be able to eat this bread. Truth. Speak it. Eat it. Make it. Love it. In my mouth.
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 2 1/2 cups high-quality all-purpose gluten-free flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 8 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 3/4 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil (like grapeseed)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 extra-large egg & 1 extra-large egg white
- 1 1/4 cups milk, at about 100 degrees F
- Grease well with unsalted butter a loaf pan that is no more than 9 inches x 5 inches. Set it aside.
- In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, place the butter and chopped chocolate. Microwave at 30 second intervals on high power, stirring in between, until the chocolate and butter are smooth and shiny. Set it aside to cool slightly.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the flour, salt, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking soda, cream of tartar and sugar on low speed until well-combined. Add the yeast and mix once more on low until well combined. Add the chocolate chips, and mix on low until just mixed.
- To the stand mixer bowl, add the melted chocolate, and then the oil, vanilla and eggs, and mix on low until the dry ingredients are just moistened. With the mixer still on low speed, add the milk in a slow but steady stream. Once the dough has become together, turn the mixer on medium to high, and mix for about 4 or 5 minutes.
- Scrape the dough into the prepared loaf pan, spread until it is evenly distributed in the pan, and smooth the top with wet fingers.
- Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm, humid place until the dough has risen about 3/4-inch above the lip of the loaf pan. Depending upon the environment in your kitchen, this may take more or less than 40 minutes. For tips on how to get your gluten-free bread to rise, read my post on the subject here: http://bit.ly/aCPX95
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- Once the dough has risen, remove the plastic wrap and place in the center of the preheated oven. Bake, rotating once during baking, until the bread has developed a nice crust, and sounds hollow when you thump it with your fingers (about 45 minutes).
- Remove from the oven, and cool for about 10 minutes in the pan before placing it on a wire rack to cool completely. Cool completely before slicing and serving.
Love,
Me
P.S. If you haven't yet, please pick up a copy of My Cookbook! Without your support, I can't keep the blog going!
Thanks for stopping by!
Hi, I’m Nicole. I create gluten free recipes that really work and taste as good as you remember. No more making separate meals when someone is GF, or buying packaged foods that aren’t good enough to justify the price. At Gluten Free on a Shoestring, “good, for gluten free” just isn’t good enough! Come visit my bio!
Barbara says
hi nicole,
i have been eyeing your recipes with great interest – my 8 year old son has to go gf, so i’m trying to get my head around cooking in an entirely new way. baking seems to be especially daunting, as every gf flour mix seems to be made of different grains and starch ratios…. i have noticed that you use all purpose flour + xanthan gum in a lot of recipes. unfortunately, here in switzerland i cannot seem to find xanthan gum, but guar gum and carob bean / locust bean gum seem to be sold in health food shops. any idea, if these could be used as 1:1 substitutes? if you or anyone reading this comment could weigh in with their experiences, i’d be most grateful!
thank you very much :) barbara
Nicole says
Hi, Barbara,
Yes, you should be able to substitute guar gum 1:1 for xanthan gum in recipes that call for xanthan gum. There are some differences between guar gum and xanthan gum (for example, xanthan gum tends to be better for breads, guar gum for cakes), but mostly I think it’s a distinction without much of a difference – except that guar gum tends to be less expensive. I hope that helps! If you have any other questions, ask away. :)
xoxo Nicole
Susan Plocher says
Well, I was afraid it wasn’t going to work b/c it didn’t appear to rise at all, but I baked it anyway – WOW was it fabulous! Turned out wonderfully – this is the first time I’ve made yeast bread where it was edible = this is WAY more than edible. Thanks, Nicole!!!
Nicole says
Sounds like you pushed through some of those concerns, Susan, and it paid off! I’m so glad everything worked out.
xoxo Nicole
Victoria says
I have a question. A dear friend of mine who has been cooking gluten free for years told me that to make bread I would need not just a stand up mixer, but something like a KitchenAide mixer. And not just the “simple” one that is about $200 but one that is more industrial. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?
Susan Plocher says
I use my kitchen aide stand mixer. It worked just fine. Any problems I have with bread making is my own fault or bad ingredients. I’d give it a “whirl” and see how your mixer does.
Nicole says
Hi, Victoria,
A KitchenAid is a stand mixer. It’s one brand of stand mixer. You don’t need the model with the bowl that raises and lowers, if that’s what you mean. It sounds like your friend has that machine, and is attributing her success to it. But the model that in the $200 range works a treat. Promise. I hope that helps.
xoxo Nicole
Victoria says
That was what I needed to know, if the standard Kitchenaid mixer everyone generally owns is just fine or if I really do need an “upgrade” on it. Thanks!