(70% Sponge Method) Chocolate Cranberry Toast
My little one at home absolutely loves chocolate. Because of that, I wanted to make chocolate bread. When it came out of the oven, the texture really amazed me: the sweet-tart cranberries perfectly complement the slight bitterness of the chocolate chips, giving each bite great layers of flavor. Thanks to the sponge method and the addition of honey, this toast is incredibly soft and moist. We couldn’t even wait for it to cool—just tore it apart by hand and ate a whole loaf. The texture is almost like cake, really delicious, and your mouth is filled with a rich chocolate aroma afterwards… truly unforgettable. This recipe makes two 450 g loaves. If you only make one loaf, just halve all the ingredients.
Ingredients
Steps
For the main dough, put all ingredients except the butter, cranberries, and chocolate chips into the stand mixer. Cut the prepared sponge dough into small pieces and add it in. Knead together.
Knead until the dough can be stretched into a thin film. Add the softened room-temperature butter, mix on low speed to combine, then knead on high speed for 1 minute.
Take a small piece of dough and stretch it. It should form a thin, elastic windowpane.
Add the baking-stable chocolate chips and cranberries (the cranberries should be soaked in red wine, rum, or cooled boiled water in advance, then drained before use). Mix on low speed just until evenly incorporated into the dough.
Shape the dough into a smooth ball and place it in a proofing box. Ferment at 28°C with 75% humidity for 45 minutes.
Dip a finger in flour and gently poke the dough. If the hole neither springs back nor collapses, it’s ready to be divided.
Divide the dough evenly into 6 portions, then let them rest for 20 minutes in a warm first-proofing environment.
Roll each piece out with a rolling pin.
Flip over and roll up, then let rest for another 10 minutes.
Roll out again and roll up once more.
Place the rolled pieces into the loaf pans.
Set the proofing box to 38°C and 80% humidity, and proof for 60 minutes, until the dough rises to about 80% of the pan height. Brush a thin layer of plain milk or beaten egg over the surface if desired.
Place in a preheated oven. I use a convection oven: 150°C for 38 minutes. If using a conventional oven with upper and lower heating elements, bake at about 170°C for 40 minutes. Once the surface is nicely colored, cover with foil in time to prevent over-browning.
After baking, tap the loaf pan firmly on the counter, then remove the bread and place it on a cooling rack to release steam and set the shape. Once completely cooled, slice and enjoy.
We couldn’t wait for it to cool and just tore it open and finished a whole loaf together with my little one… Everyone said it was so delicious, haha.
It’s also great made with a lid into a flat-topped loaf.