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Chocolate and Sour Cherry Bread

This crusty Chocolate and Sour Cherry Bread is perfect to serve with a selection of soft cheeses or can be enjoyed on its own.  

Chocolate and Sour Cherry Bread

*drum roll* please! My second ever attempt at baking bread and I have to say I am pretty pleased! Even more so because the bread is chocolate flavoured and dotted with a mixture of dark chocolate chips and, my favourite,  dried sour cherries.

But since the loaf is neither really sweet nor savoury, it poses a question: what do you eat it with?

Well, I’ve tried it with a little butter and honey – it worked well, made myself a cheddar cheese sandwich – a little different but was delicious too, and that’s when I got the best serving idea of all! Cheeseboard. It is extremely versatile and goes well with most cheeses: cheddars, cream cheese, goat’s cheese and blue vein. They all tasted fantastic combined with the light flavour of chocolate and the tartness of cherries.

Chocolate sour cherry bread
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Chocolate and Sour Cherry Bread

Unless you’re Italian and having 20 people over for lunch is the norm, I would recommend halving the recipe though because the loaf came out huge! Adapted from a Coles Easter baking brochure. Time required: 20 minutes prep, 1 hours for rising, 1 hour for proving, 25 minutes for baking. Makes 1 loaf
Prep Time2 hours 20 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time2 hours 45 minutes
Servings: 4 -8

Ingredients

For the Chocolate and Sour Cherry Bread:

  • 4 cups plain flour sifted
  • 1/4 cup caster sugar
  • 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa sifted
  • 3/4 cup dried sour cherries
  • 1/4 cup real dark chocolate chips
  • 300 ml milk at room temperature
  • 2 x 7 g sachets of dried yeast
  • 2 eggs at room temperature, lightly beaten
  • 1 egg yolk lightly beaten

Instructions

To make the Chocolate and Sour Cherry Bread:

  • In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, caster sugar, cocoa, dried cherries and chocolate chips.
  • Place milk in a large jug. Add yeast and eggs to the milk and whisk together.
  • Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the milk egg and yeast mixture.
  • Mix with a wooden spoon to form a soft dough, the knead for a few minutes using your hands.
  • The dough should becomes smooth and elastic.

Resting the dough:

  • Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic film and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Proving the dough:

  • Line a tray with baking paper.
  • Punch down dough and knead until smooth.
  • Roll out the dough into a 50cm log and arrange into a ring on your baking sheet, press the ends together to join.
  • Set aside for another 1 hour to prove.

To bake the Chocolate and Sour Cherry Bread:

  • Brush egg yolk all over the bread.
  • Bake for 25 minutes, until golden brown and bread sounds hollow when tapped.
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19 comments

Just A Smidgen April 4, 2012 at 1:07 pm

Cheering!! This did turn out beautifully! And I love how you tied it with a pretty ribbon.. perfect for Easter I think!! xo Smidge

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essentjewels April 4, 2012 at 1:22 pm

Wow, looks moist too!

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Bam's Kitchen April 4, 2012 at 5:59 pm

Do you hear the clapping? That is my round of applause as this bread turned out divine. I love its versatility. A great one to have on a bread board for a brunch.

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frugalfeeding April 4, 2012 at 5:59 pm

Only your second attempt? Wow! That is a RIDICULOUSLY good looking loaf of bread…

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Wholesome Cook April 5, 2012 at 11:52 am

Thank you *blush*

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Wholesome Cook April 5, 2012 at 11:52 am

Thank you *blush*

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Sara (@bellyrumbles) April 5, 2012 at 1:05 am

Looks stunning. I love sour cherries, they go so well with chocolate.

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thelifeshemade April 5, 2012 at 8:30 am

Oh yum, look at that crust! Amazingly good job. I’ve been bitten by the bread baking bug lately too. It’s so satisfying!

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Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide April 5, 2012 at 9:56 am

This only your second time? You’re a natural!

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Wholesome Cook April 5, 2012 at 11:50 am

I wish that was true, I don’t have much patience to be a natural :-)

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filingawaycupcakes April 5, 2012 at 10:49 am

This is beautiful! I am not a big fan of cherries, but I am bookmarking this for the future.Something this pretty must be good.

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Wholesome Cook April 5, 2012 at 11:51 am

The sour dried cherries taste different to the fresh variety. A little like dried cranberries actually, tart with a hint of sweetness. You could use those, or raisins.

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Purely.. Kay April 5, 2012 at 12:20 pm

Just look at this bread.. it really looks amazing. And of course I love that chocolate is in this recipe :)

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Sissi April 6, 2012 at 3:57 am

It looks and sounds fantastic. I love everything with sour cherries and I since I have never had bread with them, I am dying to taste yours one day. I have recently had awful yeast baking experiences, so I will wait a bit before further attempts.

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Anna @ the shady pine April 6, 2012 at 9:16 am

You should be very proud…this looks really fantastic! Sour cherries and chocolate…what a brilliant combo!

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Chocolate Cherry Bread « Spoon Feast April 13, 2012 at 11:13 pm

[…] Chocolate and sour cherry bread (wholesomecook.wordpress.com) Rate this: Share this:TwitterFacebookLinkedInDiggRedditStumbleUponTumblrEmailPrintLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. Posted by Spoon Feast. Categories: Recipes, What every good cook should know. Tags: Bread, Chocolate Cherry Bread, cook, Dough, Flour, no knead bread. Leave a comment […]

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Natalia June 11, 2012 at 4:29 am

Hello, Martina! I am Natalia, I am from Ukraine. Very much intrigued taste of this bread and I decided it to bake. Fortunately, the result didn’t disappoint.Thanks for recipe.

Reply
Sour Cherry Chocolate Bars August 3, 2012 at 2:44 am

[…] Chocolate and sour cherry bread | Wholesome Cook Chocolate and sour cherry bread. Posted on April 4, 2012 • 18 Comments · Pin It. *drum roll* please! My second ever attempt at baking bread and I have to say I am pretty pleased! Even more so because the bread is chocolate flavoured and . « […]

Reply
Sheri February 28, 2013 at 5:40 am

Nice post which It is extremely versatile and goes well with most cheeses: cheddars, cream cheese, goat’s cheese and blue vein. They all tasted fantastic combined with the light flavour of chocolate and the tartness of cherries. Thanks a lot for posting.

Reply

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