cocoa bread with dark chocolate and toasted hazelnuts

Leggi In Italiano

I don’t know why I hadn’t published this bread, precisely on March 20, when we had prepared it. In fact, it wasn’t long before we were well photographed that we finished half a loaf in one afternoon: I’m sure of that.

I would have liked to show you more photos, maybe well done, but these are the only ones that I managed to take. But, in these days, as soon as I have a little breath, I will forgive myself and I will take others because I am willing to make another one with a small variant. Let’s see how the situation will go.

This “return to old habits” I must say that has not made me crazy, here. I am that of long times, of waiting, of slowness, and therefore, the Quarantine period, for the two of us who always run from one side to the other, was a gift to spend time together and to grow, both working and morally.

I am one of those who was happy to stop everything for a while, albeit in a very critical situation.

Sometimes we don’t know we need something because we don’t ask ourselves what we need. Simple.

When strange situations arise, however, it is as if we wake up from a dream, trying to understand its meaning. And we come to understand that we needed something not considered.

Either way, I think most of us weren’t ready to go back to “real life”. I realize this from the fact that kindness is still today, after all that has happened, taken for granted and little used. I see people a little angry and, I must be honest, this saddens me a lot, but, after all, as I always say “what change are we looking for if we are not ready to change starting from us?”. So, I must admit, I am one of those who do not believe that this situation we have taught much to those who did not want to learn. It is not about being pessimistic, but simply understanding that not everyone has perceived the call of something so strong, in the same way. Or, if they perceived it, perhaps they did not process and metabolize it in equal measure.

But anyway, that wasn’t what I wanted to talk about in this post. actually I didn’t want to talk to you about anything in particular except the scent of this freshly baked bread and during cooking: heavenly!

What’s better than bread and chocolate? And if this merges to become one in a super tasty bread? Can you say no?

There is no need to choose, guys, sometimes things are so easy and are under our nose: just like the recipe for this bread!

I would like to make a clarification, however, regarding the Li.Co.Li with bitter cocoa that you find in the recipe. Just today, during a workshop, we reasoned about the need or not to have multiple different licenses to be managed simultaneously. Here, if it is true that bread with mother yeast is patience and expectation, it is also true that in these months, having to do more than one job a day to reconcile the various deadlines, I struggled and I will do it again next month, between a thousand situations, trying to better organize each situation. Mother yeast is above all a matter of organization and sometimes organizing means decreasing. So, is it necessary to have 2-3 licenses to follow at the same time? IT CAN BE BEAUTIFUL, BUT IT IS NOT AN ESSENTIAL VARIANT FROM WHICH YOU CAN’T ESCAPE. In other words: saying that you are treating 3-4 licoli at a time, will not make you better than others who only have one and if necessary they can manage and change into the mother yeast they need most.

We do not weigh down the baggage that we carry with us, on the contrary, we try to streamline it as much as possible and learn ways to move better in different situations with what we have.

All this “morality” why? Because it is true that a mother yeast managed for longer in a way gets used to that microenvironment, and can acquire strength, but the opposite is also true. Making your own mother yeast flexible, on the other hand, will help you flounder in the jungle of possible combinations of doughs that we will choose to make. In this case, I wanted to transform a part of my white Li.Co.Li (which I usually refresh with type 1 flour), into one with bitter cocoa! I must say that the result speaks for itself.

Ingredients FOR SOURDOUGH:

100 g liquid mother yeast starter + 100 g water + 60 g of TYPE 1 flour + 40 g of bitter cocoa *

* Li.Co.Li issue with bitter cocoa: TOTALLY the cocoa must not be treated, it must be of excellent quality, it must not contain added sugar. It is good to prepare our Li.Co.Li for a dough like this: it will be right, therefore, to have a chocolate Li.Co.Li or create a pseudo-chocolate just in the way I mentioned above. Since I don’t often prepare this type of bread, being very particular to combine and reserving it only for the best occasions, having a Li.Co.Li with cocoa would be of little use to me. I therefore preferred to “modify” the classic Type 1 one and transform it into a chocolate one.

DOUGH INGREDIENTS:

  • 440 g w270 flour – 12.5% ​​protein
  • 60 g of bitter cocoa powder
  • 120 g Li.Co.Li with bitter cocoa
  • 350 g of water
  • 150 g of additions: in my case, toasted hazelnuts and pieces of dark chocolate
  • 10 g of salt

Preparation by step (obviously these are my times, everyone can start at any time, keeping in mind the times indicated)

1. Refreshment of sourdough – 8.00
Mix all the ingredients listed in the composition of the Li.Co.Li with bitter cocoa, in a jar and keep a warm place for 3 to 3.5 hours at 25-26 ° C. The timing will depend on the strength of your yeast and how will be able to adapt to the presence of cocoa. The yeast will have to double in about 3 hours if it is strong. If the timing is not these, but it takes a little longer, don’t be afraid: it’s normal.

2. Autolysis – 11.00 / 11.30 approximately
In a bowl, mix the flour with the cocoa and add all the water and mix for about 2 minutes. Using your hands, or a planetary mixer, mix the ingredients until there are no dry residues of flour and cocoa left. Cover with a damp cloth and keep somewhere at room temperature until you are ready to start the dough. Autolysis time: half an hour.

3. Dough – 11.30
Add the ripe yeast to the bitter cocoa, after about 6 minutes of mixing, add the salt. The salt must be inserted when we begin to see that our dough “pulls”, that is, it starts to string. Stir everything until it comes together in a homogeneous mass, but still full of wrinkles. Then, turn the bowl upside down on the work surface and proceed with a type of dough called “slap and fold”, for about 5 minutes to develop a good glutin mesh. When your dough is completely strung, you can choose whether to insert the additions now or during the lamination. I chose the second one.

4. Rest and Lamination

Let the dough rest in the bowl for half an hour, after which proceed with the rolling.

During the lamination I decided to incorporate the additions. When all the dough is relaxed, add chocolate and toasted hazelnuts. Then fold the dough on itself and proceed with a small pirling to give the whole tone.

Place in bowl and after 45 minutes start the creases.

5. Fermentation and folds (3 hours – 3 turns of folds)
During this phase, after about 45 minutes, make reinforcement folds. During the fermentation in the bowl, I made 3 series of “stretch & fold” folds. You will see that during this phase, bubbles will form on your bread, it means that a correct fermentation is taking place. But be careful not to confuse them with simple air bubbles!

The dough during this phase should increase in volume from a minimum of 20% to a maximum of 50%.

6. Division of the dough and pre-forming
Lightly dust the work surface and turn the contents of your bowl upside down. Sprinkle the upper part of the dough with the flour and, using a tarot, divide the mass in half. Dusting the flour on the dough will allow you not to stick the tarot to the dough. Divide the dough in two, if you want to obtain two loaves of 250 gr or do not divide it if you want a single loaf of 500 gr. Do pirling turns with the tarot and do a light pre-forming, without touching the dough too much with your hands.

Leave to rest for half an hour on the table (or cutting board) covered by the overturned bowl of the planetary mixer.

7. Forming
Dust the baking basket with flour.

Shape your bread. Here he left you a video of the forming that I also do: video forming

8. Leavening at room temperature (about 2 hours – indicative time)
Cover each basket completely with a dry cloth, after having thoroughly dusted the bread at the top and let it rise. The duration of the second leavening varies between 2 hours or 2 and a half hours. It really depends on the environment you are in, so based on the temperature you will have to adjust yourself with the “finger rule” to understand when it is ready. Now that it is getting hot, check your dough often, so as not to risk going further with leavening.

9. Bake (I cooked in a pot, then pre-heat the pot at least 40 minutes before)
Preheat the oven to 250 ° C for 1 hour.

Pour the dough on baking paper and using a straight cut razor blade, give a clean cut to the bread.

Bake for 60 minutes and cook in a cast iron pot: the first 30 minutes with a lid at 250 degrees, the remaining time without a lid at 200 degrees.

10 commenti

  1. Si si certo e mi trovi d’ accordissimo con te! ” Ognuno faccia come vuole”, appunto. Ero solo curiosa di capire, come ti ripeto mi sono avvicinata a questo mondo da poco e da poco ho creato il mio li.co.li. A me il tuo pane e il tuo li.co.li. al cacao mi hanno incuriosito tantissimo, tanto da volermici buttare e provare , non nego, con un po’ di timore, visto che sto muovendo i primi passi. In tutti i modi è stato bellissimo!!!😄.iI tuo pane mi è piaciuto, ci è piaciuto tantissimo, fatto fuori a colazione accompagnato con marmellata d’ arance, strepitoso!!! Consistenza ottima, crosta croccante come piace a me e interno morbido. Il mattino dopo tagliato a fette e passate appena appena in forno una vera delizia!!
    Ciò che posso aggiungere è Grazie!!

  2. Ciao Lucia!!
    Se non riuscissi a fare tutto in giornata che dici se dopo le pieghe lascio l impasto a riposare in frigo?

    1. Author

      Ciao!
      Puoi procedere con un overnight ma devi modificare le quantità di Li.Co.Li.
      Buona giornata
      Lucia

  3. ciao 🙂
    E’ un pane bellissimo, immagino il profumo poi!
    Sono alle prime armi e forse mi sono lanciata in un progetto ancora non alla mia portata! Ad ogni modo ho dei quesiti da porti! E’ normale che dopo 3 ore il mio li.co.li. abbia aumentato di volume solo del 25% circa? (oggi proprio le temperature si sono abbassate e si aggirano sui 20 gradi)
    Come mai rinfresco una quantità di li.co.li superiore rispetto a quella che poi andrò ad usare nell’impasto? non avrei potuto rinfrescare metà dose rispetto a quella riportata, visto che poi al raddoppio (presunto e auspicato nel mio personalissimo caso) ne userei 120gr?
    grazie mille ed ancora complimenti per tutti i tuoi lavori!

    1. Author

      Ciao Marina ,
      è probabile che il tuo licoli non sia ancora così forte da raddoppiare in tre ore ( ogni licoli lavora a se , come ogni lievito madre). Attendi il raddoppio , con le temperature più besse sicuramente fa più fatica a raddoppiare in 3 ore . Io , solitamente , nelle ricette ,metto delle tempistiche riguardo il mio lievito , mi setto su quello, ognuno però deve imparare a capire il proprio!
      Rinfresco più licoli per una serie di motivi “fisiologici” di equilibrio del microambiente in cui si trova il lievito madre che portano , in quelle dosi , ad avere una sua perfetta attività ( maggiore è la massa, più lievita veloce).
      Buona panificazione,
      Lucia

    2. ciao (:
      Il pane poi ‘ho fatto ed è venuto anche abbastanza bene! Considerando che è stato uno dei primi esperimenti ne sono stata molto soddisfatta, sta allietando le mie colazioni 😀 Ha impiegato un bel po’ di ore per lievitare ma alla fine si è ben sviluppato!
      Grazie per la ricetta dettagliata e per la risposta!

    3. Author

      Ciao Marina!
      sono felice che sia venuto bene! E’ sicuramente ottimo per le colazioni e le merende , noi lo utilizziamo spesso per entrambe e ne siamo ghiotti 🙂
      Buona serata
      Lucia

    4. Ciao! Ho realizzato il tuo pane pur essendo alle primissime armi. Ho creato il mio li.co.li un mese fa. Ci ho voluto provare! Fatto e ci è moltoi piaciuto, finito nel giro di una giornata e lo rifarò di sicuro. Ora, parlando del tuo pane e del li.co.li al cacao , qualcuno mi ha detto che è una cosa che non ha senso. Che il cacao assorbe tanta acqua e che essendo grasso indebolisce molto il li.co.li. e che quindi non arriverebbe in forma per la realizzazione del prodotto. A me male non è venuto, considerando pure che sono una principiante. Vorrei saperne di più, che mi dici a riguardo di ciò?
      Grazie!

    5. Author

      Ciao Grazia,
      sono contenta che il tuo pane sia venuto bene e che abbia potuto dar “torto” a chiunque ti abbia detto che questo non ha senso hahah
      cosa ti dico? che ognuno ha i propri metodi e che , volendo esiste anche il cacao magro con pochissimi ( quasi nulli) grassi. Il cacao assorbe acqua, certo, come lo farebbe la farina, è proprio per quello che deve essere ben proporzionato alla ricetta.
      Io di mio preferisco, quando ci sono questi pani così ricchi, preparare il mio licoli già all’ambiente in cui andrà a lavorare durante la fase di lievitazione e maturazione. E’ il mio personalissimo modo di fare, sindacabile, ma mio.
      ah OVVIAMENTE non rinfresco tutti i giorni il mio lievito con cacao, certo che lì sarebbe eccessivo, se non deleterio! Ma penso che a questo ci arrivi chiunque 😉
      Con questo non ti dirò mai che il mio metodo è il migliore del mondo ma che sicuramenete mi garantisce risultati ben ponderati e studiati nel tempo!
      Che ognuno faccia ciò che vuole 🙂 sempre!
      Baci e buona panificazione
      Lucia

    6. Si si certo e mi trovi d’ accordissimo con te! ” Ognuno faccia come vuole”, appunto. Ero solo curiosa di capire, come ti ripeto mi sono avvicinata a questo mondo da poco e da poco ho creato il mio li.co.li. A me il tuo pane e il tuo li.co.li. al cacao mi hanno incuriosito tantissimo, tanto da volermici buttare e provare , non nego, con un po’ di timore, visto che sto muovendo i primi passi. In tutti i modi è stato bellissimo!!!😄.iI tuo pane mi è piaciuto, ci è piaciuto tantissimo, fatto fuori a colazione accompagnato con marmellata d’ arance, strepitoso!!! Consistenza ottima, crosta croccante come piace a me e interno morbido. Il mattino dopo tagliato a fette e passate appena appena in forno una vera delizia!!
      Ciò che posso aggiungere è Grazie!!

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