Chocolate Bread
A moist chocolate loaf with melted chocolate in the batter — not cocoa powder, but real bar chocolate, melted together with the butter.
Two things decide the result. The chocolate and butter mixture has to be lukewarm before it meets the eggs: hot, it curdles them. And it bakes at a low temperature (160-170 °C) for almost an hour — a batter with this much chocolate browns quickly on the outside while the inside is still raw.
Ingredients
- 400 g all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 200 g white sugar
- 3 eggs
- 100 g butter
- 100-120 g bar chocolate, in pieces
- 250 ml whole milk
Method
- 1
Melting: in a small pan over very low heat (or in the microwave in 30-second bursts), melt the butter together with the broken-up chocolate. Mix to a smooth cream and let it cool to lukewarm.
- 2
The dry mix: in a large bowl, sift and mix the dry ingredients: the flour, the baking powder, the bicarbonate of soda and the sugar.
- 3
Adding the liquids: work the eggs into the dry ingredients one at a time, add the lukewarm butter and chocolate mixture, and pour in the 250 ml of milk.
- 4
Mixing: beat energetically by hand or with a mixer for one minute, only until the mixture is even, smooth and lump-free.
- 5
Into the tin: pour the mixture into a loaf tin (about 25-30 cm long), buttered and floured beforehand.
- 6
Slow baking: cook in a preheated oven at a gentle 160-170 °C for about 45 to 50 minutes. Pierce the centre with a skewer; if it comes out clean, it is done.
- 7
Cooling and decorating: take it out of the oven, let it cool for a few minutes and turn it out onto a rack. If you like, decorate the surface with threads of extra melted chocolate.