Sweet bread may not be for everyone as option for breakfast, but maybe I can change your mind with this Chocolate Chip Bread Loaf. This bread is soft and fluffy with just the right sweetness, and the best thing about it .. Choclate lovers listen to this .. This bread is loaded with chocolate chips, inside and out! Yes, call it a dessert bread if you like, but whatever you want to call this, add delicious to it becuase it is.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup warm Full Fat Milk
- 3 tablespoon granulated Sugar (Divided: 1/2 teaspoon for the yeast, remaining for the flour)
- 1 1/4 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast or 1 teaspoon Instant Yeast
- 1 large Egg – room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups Bread Flour or All-Purpose Flour
- 2/3 teaspoon Salt
- 2 tablespoon softened unsalted Butter
- 1/2 cup Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Activate the Yeast (Milk Mixture): Pour the milk into a mug and microwave it for about 25 seconds until it is lukewarm, NOT HOT (about 110 degrees F.). Pour in a mxing bowl. Add sugar and active yeast. Allow to sit for 10 minutes or until the top of the mixture looks foamy.
- Make the Bread Dough: To the yeast mixture, add the egg, sugar, bread flour and salt. Knead for at least 15 minutes until thick, sticky dough forms and all the flour is incorporated. Add softened butter and conitnue kenading for another 15 minutes. The dough will break apart, that is expected. Keep kneading until it comes back together to form a ball of dough. If the dough is too sticky, add 1 tbsp of flour but do not add too much as it could make the bread dense and heavy. What you are aiming for is a smooth, soft and elastic bread dough that do not stick too much your palm. The side of the bowl is clean, while the dough still slightly stick to the bottom of the bowl. On the other hand if the dough is too dry add 1/2 teaspoon of milk or water at a time until the dough reach the smooth consistency. Allow at least 1-2 minutes before adding more liquid to allow the dough to absorb the liquid. If you add too soon and too much one time, you could end up with a quite runny wet dough.
- First Rise: Place dough into a greased bowl, cover with a towel, and allow to rise in a warm place for an hour, or until doubled in size.
- Shape and Fill: Generously sprinkle flour on the counter where you are going to work on your dough. Sprinkle some flour on your hands too for easy handling of dough. Take the dough out from the bowl and lightly push the dough down with the heel of the palm of your hands. 1.) Divide the bread dough into 3 portions. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes. The short rest period will help rolling easier. You can use a kitchen scale for even size, but if you do not have one, you can just estimate the size. 2.) Add chocolate chips and lightly knead to distribute the chocolate chips. 3.) Roll each piece into about 7-8 inches. 4.) fill with chocolate chips and roll. You can also use a chocolate spread (like Nutella) if you have one. Do this for the rest of the dough and arrange side by side in a rectangular pan lined with parchment paper.
- Second Rest Period: Cover and let the dough rest for another 60 minutes in a warm place or until puff up almost close or past the rim of the pan and the gaps in between each piece is gone. It is important that the dough is puff up, otherwise you will get a flat dense bread. If needed, extend the rest period another 30 minutes. rest period is affected by the temperature where you keep the dough. The warmer the place, the faster the dough will rise. You are aiming for a roll that is puff-up and almost double in size.
Brush Top with Egg wash (optional): This step is totally optional, but if you want a nice browning and glossy top, then give this a go. The eggwash will not affect the taste, so no big deal if you skip it.
Pre-heat the oven while the bread rest for another 15 minutes or until the oven is pre-heated. If you are using to oven to let the bread rest, do NOT forget to take it out before pre-heating the oven. - Bake: Bake for 25 – 30 minutes. At 10 minutes mark, cover the top with alumimun foil to avoid too much browning of the top.
