Chocolate Chestnut Bread

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire is such an iconic image of Christmas. If you’ve never had roasted chestnuts, they are one of the sweetest and creamiest of nuts and the absolute perfect pairing with chocolate. This elegant bread is from our new Holiday and Celebration Bread in Five Minutes a Day book and is super easy to make. If you have a tall panettone mold, it makes a really festive loaf for the holidays or a great gift, along with our newest book. You can also bake this in a loaf pan or even muffin cups.

I also used this loaf to make a wonderful bread pudding (recipe here). Watch our video on instagram of how we made the bread and tips for kneading ingredients into dough.

2 pounds Brioche dough made with Platinum Yeast from Red Star

1 cup chopped roasted and peeled chestnuts

1 cup finely chopped chocolate

Egg yolk wash (1 yolk mixed with 1 tablespoon water)

Mix the dough in a 6-Quart Round Food-Storage Container with Lid with a Danish Dough Whisk or with a Stand Mixer, as directed in the recipe. You can certainly use any of our enriched doughs, from any of our books.

A single batch of dough will make about 2 large loaves.

Once the dough has rested on the counter for 2 hours, refrigerate until it is thoroughly chilled.

Pull out a 2 pound piece of dough, roll it out to a 1/4-inch rectangle, distribute the chestnuts and chocolate and then knead until thoroughly combined.

Form the dough into a ball and place in a well-buttered 6-inch Panettone Pan. If you are using a Paper Mold, you will want to make sure it is tall enough, or use a wider one.

Let dough rise for 90 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F with the rack in the middle of the oven.

Bake for about 60 minutes or until caramel colored and set when tapped on the top.

Allow the loaf to cool for about 20 minutes in the pan, then remove and cool completely on a cooling rack.

Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

Chocolate Chestnut Bread

This elegant bread is super easy to make. If you have a tall panettone mold, it makes a really festive loaf for the holidays or a great gift. You can also bake this in a loaf pan or even muffin cups.

Yield 1 loaf

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Ingredients

Brioche Dough

• Makes enough dough for at least three 1½-pound loaves or 2 large loaves
• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
• 1 tablespoon Platinum Yeast
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 6 large eggs
• 1/2 cup (170g) honey
• 1 1/2 cups (340g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 7 cups (990g) unbleached all-purpose flour (see note)

Mix-Ins

• 1 cup chopped roasted and peeled chestnuts
• 1 cup finely chopped chocolate
• Egg wash: 1 egg yolk plus 1 tablespoon water (beaten together)

Instructions

• Make the dough: Mix Platinum yeast, salt, eggs, honey and melted butter with water in a 6-quart round food-storage container with lid (not airtight) container.
• Mix in flour without kneading, using a spoon, a Danish dough whisk or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle). The dough will be loose but will firm up when chilled.
• Cover (not airtight), and allow to rest at room temperature until dough rises for approximately 2 hours. Then refrigerate for at least four hours before first use, it is easier to handle when thoroughly chilled. This dough can be stored for up to 5 days in the fridge.
• Make the bread: Pull out a 2 pound (907g) piece of dough, roll it out to a 1/4-inch rectangle, distribute the chestnuts and chocolate evenly over the dough and then knead until thoroughly combined.
• Form the dough into a ball and place in a well buttered 6-inch Panettone pan. Or if you are using a paper mold, you will want to make sure it is tall enough or use a wider one.
• Cover with towel, and let rise for 90 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F, with a rack placed in the center of the oven.
• After dough has risen, brush with egg wash.
• Bake for about 60 minutes, or until caramel colored and set when tapped on the top.
• Allow loaf to cool for about 20 minutes in pan. Remove from pan and allow to cool on a rack before serving.

Notes

Artisan Bread in Five recipes use the scoop and sweep method for measuring flour.

Recipe by Artisan Bread in Five.

Authors: Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François

Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François met in their children’s music class in 2003 and have written bread cookbooks with more than 715,000 copies in print. Jeff, a doctor by training, is a self-taught baker who grew up eating great bread and pizza in New York City, and longed to recreate it himself. Zoë is a pastry chef and baker trained at the Culinary Institute of America. Her work appears in blogs all over the United States, and her dessert menus grace fine restaurants in the authors’ hometown, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jeff and Zoë were among the very first cookbook authors to support their readers with personal responses on their website, BreadIn5.com, beginning in 2007, where they blog about their super-fast yeast breads.