Cam's Chocolate Bread Recipe

Disclaimer: all typos are Cameron’s fault. I did not edit becuase I know he will get mad at me.

Subject: Bread recipe (incl choc chip guidance)

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp yeast 500g AP or bread flour (bread flour easier) 350-400g water 10g salt Chocolate chips or whatev

  1. 12-24 hrs before starting the process for realisies make a poolish. Mix yeast, 100g of the flour, 100g of the water in a small bowl or smth and cover w plastic wrap, put somewhere warm. It’ll get bubbly and nice-smelling, maybe a bit boozy depending on yeast, time, and temp. Play w those variables over multiple iterations to get it how you like it. The yeast population will grow over this time; with a little patience less yeast means more flavor cuz science.

  2. after the time is up (how long? However long u want!) in a mixing bowl put the remaining 250-300g water. I give a range cuz it depends on how strong ur flour is and how comfortable you are with difficult dough. Start low and work your way up, maybe even starting around 225g water. Learn the techniques ‘fore advancing.

Anyway, mix ur water and all the poolish together. It’ll be sorta weird but just as long as the poolish is mostly dissolved I’m happy. No need to make it HOMOGENEOUS. Just no large chunks (use ur brain).

Then dump ur remaining 400g flour into this weird mixture. On top of that put ur salt. DON’T put your salt in the water directly it’ll make it weird (but no other adverse affects I’ve noticed).

Mix the salt into the flour a bit before using a wooden spoon or something sturdy to slowly work the flour into the water bit by bit. This way u get to control the mess a bit. Mix until no dry flour remains but DO NOT TOUCH W YOUR HAND UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES YOU WILL REGRET IT. AT THIS POINT IT IS LIKE A MOODY TEENAGER. IT IS EMOTIONALLY UNSTABLE AND TRYING TO FORCE IT TO CONFORM TO YOUR STANDARDS MAY CAUSE TRAUMA THAT COULD BE AVOIDED BY MORE A MORE INTELLIGENT PLAN OF ACTION.

Cover w a plate, towel, etc. and leave for 15 minutes. In this time the moody teenager will grow up and become receptive to guidance. With a wet hand give it a bit of a nudge or pull. Be quick, don’t linger lest it stick. You should feel some strength to it, and it shouldn’t stick badly (maybe only at the edges of the bit you grabbed; the bulk should pull cleanly off the skin). This is where you find out if you added too much water.

If it lacks strength, congrats, you have focaccia! Just let it sit around until bubbly and then put in pan, or however people make it. Next time use 20-25g less water.

If it shows some strength, you’ve done a good job. But you’ve not really done anything, you’ve just chucked stuff in a bowl. But good job anyway! Now do a couple stretch-and-folds or other strength-building folds (use the youtubes for guidance). Stop when the dough starts resisting. Remember it’s still a teenager, just less moody. Too much meddling can make it irritable and resistant to further guidance.

Cover again and let it relax for another 15-20 minutes. If it still seems wet after the stretch and folds (aka still quite tacky, you’ll get the sense over time) cover w towel or leave uncovered to let some evaporation help u out. Otherwise I like to use plate.

I generally like to do 2 stretch-and-folds and 2 coil folds. Depends on how strong th dough is and how fast it’s rising. I’d say it good if on the coil folds you get a nice barely tacky skin going.

SO IN SUMMARY:

  • mix
  • wait 15, then strength building fold
  • repeat waiting and folding til dough strong or 4 folds

After 4 strength building folds (each separated by 15 minutes) let rise until doubled. Using commercial yeast gives us 10 NAUTICAL MILES OF LEEWAY HERE. If u use sourdough there’s a high risk of overfermentation and gluten degredation. We absolutely need that leeway for what comes next.

Once risen, we need to make a decision. Are chocolate chips achievable? The answer is yes ONLY IF the dough exhibits superior strength. Minimal tackiness, good structure.

  • If it still feels sticky DO NOT PROCEED W CHIPS. You will not be able to manage the chaos and ur roommates will hate u for the mess.
  • If it seems delicate, bubbly, jiggly, etc. and like it’ll lose its air if you hit the counter firmly w the bowl, DO NOT PROCEED. The dough has risen too much and requires a very careful shaping much more gentle than the VIOLENCE it’ll experience when being chip-ified.

ONLY PROCEED W CHOC CHIPS IF COMFORTABLE WITH DOUGH STRENGTH and it passes WITH FLYING COLOURS the two tests given above.

IF YOU HAVE DECIDED to submit yourself to the PERILS of chocolate chips at the MERCY of the BREAD GODS…pray. Pray very hard.

On a clean surface FREE OF FLOUR, turn out your dough ball. Use a bench scraper to make a nice lil ball with a skin on top. Not too tight, we want it fairly relaxed. Just tight enough so it doesn’t stick like hell in the next steps. Let it rest for a few minutes.

Very slightly flour the top of the dough ball with your left hand. With a bench scraper in your right, pick up and flip the dough ball so it’s flour-side down in your left hand. Place it in the middle of your work surface. Then stretch it out starting from the center to make it as large a sheet as possible. While retaining at least 1/4" of thickness. Idk how to describe how this is done. I like to pull it w my hands to get started and then put my hands underneath the middle (remember, this is the floured side face down on bench) and sorta coax it to spread using my kuckles. If it’s fighting, let it rest. Watch for thin spots and avoid. You can sorta tack it down on the corners too. Look up sourdough lamination on yt.

At this point it’s roughly rectangular. I usually end up w it about 18"x24". Imagining it in landscape mode, put CHOC CHIPS on middle third . Fold over one side onto choc chips. Put again on “middle third” or what was middle third. Fold over other side. Put choc chips on remaining dough, which should now only be what was the middle third.

Roll dough from the far end to the near end, tucking it in with your fingers as you go. Try to get some tension in the roll, but not so much you break the lightly floured skin we made before the cool flip maneuver.

Put in floured banneton or smth to proof. Fun to do in fridge but since ur fridge is crowded let proof 1-2 hours on counter depending on current condition of dough. Look up poke test and apply.

IF YOU DECIDED CHOC CHIPS EXCEEDED YOUR RISK TOLERANCE look up directions on shaping a boule or batard if you like rough or log shaped bread, respectively. Again let proof.

At this point it seems hardly worth the trouble to tell u how to cook it. I’m exhausted from writing this.

Put Dutch oven in oven, preheat to 450-475 ish. Once preheated, take dough. Lightly flour top (will become bottom). Turn out from banneton on to parchment paper. (If batard, I like to put dough on the diagonal so I can grab the corners—easier sling). Score top of dough. Put in hot Dutch oven. Bonus points for misting the top of the dough w water. Put top of Dutch oven in. Put Dutch oven in oven. Bake 30 minutes. Turn down temp to 425 or 400 and then take Dutch oven out. Take bread out of Dutch oven and put on baking sheet or bonus points for a pizza stone that’s been in the oven this whole time. I am for middle rack. Wise to use pizza peel or smth here so you don’t drop it and make yourself sad like I did once.

If choc chips, I like to keep the bread on the parchment paper to avoid mess. Bake til browned and crusty to your taste. (~15 minutes). If you like it well browned but not too crusty, aim for the color, and when you take it out put clean towel over top for 10-15 minutes after. Steam will soften crust.

TDLR: don’t make bread if you can’t be bothered to read whole thing. And it’s mean not to read it! Spent an hour of my life typing this up just for you.