Soft Chocolate Cherry Bread Recipes

CHOCOLATE CHERRY BREAD

Steps:

• Mix milk and yeast in a small bowl with a fork until frothy, about 5 minutes. Add egg, butter, white sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat for 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1 cup flour. Beat for about 5 minutes. Add remaining 2 cups flour; mix until dough comes together.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead until dough is smooth and feels rubbery, about 10 minutes. Add additional flour if needed. Add chocolate chips and cherries; knead just until incorporated.
• Cover dough and let rise in a warm, humid area until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Punch down dough gently. Let rest for 10 minutes. Divide dough in half; shape into loaves. Transfer loaves to a greased baking sheet and let rise again, about 1 hour more.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake in the preheated oven until browned, 20 to 30 minutes.

DARK CHOCOLATE ROASTED CHERRY QUICK BREAD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F (350°F for dark or nonstick pan). Lightly grease bottom only of 9x5-inch loaf pan.
• In large bowl, beat Bisquick mix and 1/2 cup baking cocoa with whisk. Add granulated sugar, oil, milk and eggs; stir to combine. Stir in cream cheese; fold in roasted cherries. Spread batter evenly in pan.
• To make Streusel: In small bowl, mix flour, oats, brown sugar and 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa. Cut in butter until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle streusel over top of batter in pan.
• Bake 45 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes in pan. Carefully loosen bread from edges of the pan with knife, then remove from pan to cooling rack to cool completely.
• Sprinkle top of cooled bread with powdered sugar.
• *To roast cherries: Toss fresh or frozen (thawed) dark sweet cherries in ungreased shallow baking dish with 1 teaspoon sugar. Bake at 450°F about 10 minutes or just until cherries burst. Transfer cherries to bowl, and freeze 10 minutes to cool before folding in to batter.

CHOCOLATE CHERRY BREAD

Steps:

• In cup, combine warm water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon granulated sugar; stir to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in large bowl, combine 3 cups flour, cocoa, brown sugar, and salt.
• With wooden spoon, stir warm coffee, butter, egg yolk (cover egg white and set aside in refrigerator), and yeast mixture into flour mixture.
• In bowl, with floured hands, knead several times to combine well.
• Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, working in enough of remaining 1/2 cup flour just to keep dough from sticking. Knead in cherries and chocolate pieces.
• Shape dough into ball; place in greased large bowl, turning dough to grease top. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place (80 to 85 degrees F) until doubled in volume, about 1 hour 30 minutes.
• Punch down dough.Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and CUT IN HALF; cover dough and let rest 15 minutes for easier shaping.
• Shape each dough HALF into 5-inch ball : Using the sides of your hands, tuck sides of dough under to meet in center. Rotate and repeat to form taut ball. Place balls, 3-inches apart, in opposite corners of ungreased large cookie sheet. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• In cup, beat reserved egg white with water; use to brush tops of loaves. Sprinkle loaves with remaining 2 teaspoons granulated sugar. With serrated knife or single-edge razor blade, cut shallow X in top of each loaf.
• Bake until loaves are crusty, about 25 to 30 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer reads 185°F Tent loosely with foil after 20 minutes, if the loaves are browning too much (it might be difficult to tell!). Transfer to wire racks to cool.

CHERRY CHOCOLATE CHIP BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, whisk the egg, milk, oil and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the chocolate chips, nuts and cherries. , Transfer to a greased 9x5-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

CHOCOLATE-CHERRY BREAD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 9x5-inch loaf pan with shortening; lightly flour. In medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
• In large bowl, beat sugar and butter with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs until well mixed. Beat in almond extract and vanilla. On low speed, alternately add flour mixture with sour cream, beating just until blended after each addition. Stir in cherries and chocolate chips. Spread batter in pan.
• Bake 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days, or refrigerate.

CHERRY-CHOCOLATE LOAF

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x4-inch loaf pan with 1 teaspoon butter and reserve.
• Whisk flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in a bowl.
• Cream 1/2 cup butter and sugar together in another bowl with a spatula or an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time with a whisk or an electric mixer, fully blending in the first egg before adding the next. Stir in yogurt and vanilla extract.
• Chop pitted cherries coarsely with a knife, or by pulsing on and off a few times in a food processor. Add to the wet ingredients along with the chocolate chunks and chopped walnuts. Stir briefly to combine. Batter may look curdled, but don't worry.
• Pour in the flour mixture and mix with a spatula until all the flour has disappeared. Transfer batter into the prepared loaf pan, making sure to smooth the top evenly and fill in the corners. Tap pan on the counter to release any air pockets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let bread rest in the pan for 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack.
• While bread is resting, combine powdered sugar and milk in a bowl for icing, adding more milk as needed to reach a thin, runny consistency.
• Brush icing over loaf, allowing to drip down the sides. Let cool completely before slicing and serving, about 20 minutes more.

CHOCOLATE-CHERRY SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• In a wide mixing bowl, whisk together the yeast and water and allow the yeast to bloom, about 1 minute. Whisk the sourdough starter into the mixture until dissolved, then add the flour, cocoa powder and coffee. Use a dough scraper to stir the ingredients into a shaggy mass. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 20 minutes, then add the salt, incorporating it well. Transfer to a lightly oiled plastic container and cover with plastic wrap; it will be sticky.
• Rest dough for 30 minutes, then lightly oil hands to fold: Pull one edge of the dough up and press it down into the center of the ball; repeat with the 3 other edges of the dough, then cover dough. In 30 minutes, repeat the folding, this time incorporating the chocolate chips and cherries. Repeat the folding every half-hour, for a total of 6 folds. Check for gluten development: Pinch a piece of dough between your fingers and stretch it. It should stretch out to a thin, transparent membrane before tearing. If not, repeat folding and check again.
• Turn the bread out onto a lightly floured surface and use hands to gently tuck the edges up toward the center of the dough, then flip the dough over so it's seam-side down, and gently round with your hands. Cover with plastic wrap and rest dough for 20 minutes, then tuck edges down toward the seam, to shape dough into a tighter ball. Cover with plastic wrap and rest for 10 minutes. Transfer to a flour-dusted wicker breadbasket, seam side up, pinching the seam shut if necessary. Wrap basket with plastic wrap, or slide the basket into a clean plastic bag, closing it. Proof at about 55 degrees, or in the refrigerator, for 14 to 16 hours, until dough has increased in size, and springs back slightly to the touch.
• When you're ready to bake, remove the dough from the refrigerator and transfer it, smooth side up, to a large cast-iron pot (with a lid) lined with a round of parchment paper. Be careful not to over-handle dough and lose air bubbles. Cover and bring to room temperature for 1 to 2 hours. Position a baking rack in the center of the oven and heat to 500 degrees. Using a razor or fine, sharp knife blade, score a cross on the top of dough, making a fast, clean cut about 1/8- to 1/4-inch deep.
• Bake covered for 33 minutes. Remove lid and bake for another 10 minutes, cracking open the oven door for the last 5 minutes. Push a thermometer into the bread dough; it should read 195 to 200 degrees for cooked bread. Transfer bread to a cooling rack, carefully remove the paper, and allow to cool completely at room temperature before cutting open.

CHOCOLATE CHERRY QUICK BREAD

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray and line it with parchment paper.
• Combine the dried cherries with the 1 teaspoon cocoa powder in a small bowl. Toss to evenly coat and set aside.
• Microwave the cherry juice in a microwave-safe measuring cup until steaming, about 1 minute. Transfer to a medium bowl, add the 1/2 cup cocoa and whisk until smooth. Set aside while you prepare the dry ingredients.
• Put the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in another medium bowl and whisk well to combine.
• Add the oil, egg, egg white and vanilla to the warm cocoa mixture then whisk to combine. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir until incorporated. Pour about 1/3 of the batter into the prepared pan. Stir the cocoa-coated cherries into the remaining batter, then pour that batter into the pan. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.
• Place the loaf pan on a baking sheet and bake on the center rack until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs, 60 to 64 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes then remove the quick bread to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing with a serrated knife (this will cut through the cherries easily and yield a clean slice).
• Serve or wrap the cooled loaf in plastic wrap or foil and store on the counter for up to 3 days.

WHITE CHOCOLATE CHERRY BREAD

Steps:

• Add the bread ingredients in the order given (or the recommended order for your bread machine) to the machine pan. Select Dough/Manual cycle. Do not use delay cycles.
• After bread machine turns off, remove dough from machine and place on lightly floured surface; cover. Let rest for 10 minutes. Mix white chocolate baking chips, almonds and sugar in a small bowl. Grease a large baking sheet (or 2 baking sheets). Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 12 x 9- inch rectangle. Spread 1 tablespoon butter over each rectangle. Sprinkle with half the white chocolate mixture and cut cherries. Press into dough. Roll up dough from long side. Pinch loaf to seal bottom and ends. Place on baking sheet(s). Cover and let rise in warm place about 45 minutes or until double.
• Brush with egg. Bake on center rack of preheated 350°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Note: if using 2 baking sheets, switch the position of the sheets half way through baking.
• Transfer loaf to wire rack placed on top of waxed paper. Cool. Mix glaze ingredients until smooth and of desired consistency. Drizzle each loaf with glaze.
• Note: A 10-ounce jar of maraschino cherries contains just enough cherries and juice for this recipe.