Chocolate Prune Bread
June 5, 2008 by Andrea 
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Filed under Breads, Dessert
When I was a child I did not like prunes, which is quite silly because I adore plums. My boys also enjoy plums, and if we have some on hand they don’t last long. Every day for the last two weeks the boys have been raiding the plums and I would either find them off in a corner nibbling and getting sticky plum juice everywhere or they would come right up to me, asking, “Mommy, may I have a plum?” with one bite already taken. When I was chopping the prunes for this bread and explained that they were dried plums, that was all it took. They kept coming back asking for more prunes and I had to start rationing so I would have enough for the bread.
The recipe comes from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, and I have enjoyed all the doughs I’ve tried from this book. I’ve had a lot of fun with my forays into sourdough and starters this year, but I find myself increasingly drawn to this type of bread dough for the time savings. The dough is already mixed for me, I just shape, rise, and bake, and that has a lot of appeal on busy days. I can still make good bread for my family without the extra time investment of daily mixing and multiple risings and trying to work all that in with the crazy schedule. Though the dough recipes can be halved, the method requires some dedicated refrigerator space. I have had as many as three buckets of doughs in the refrigerator all at once, though two is my usual now.
I made this bread using the brioche dough recipe, which is easy to work with and produces a good crumb with a nice flavor. The bread is rich, especially with the chocolate, but it makes a good dessert bread. I skipped the second shaping step which calls for folding the dough a couple times after rolling because I wanted to see the swirls of chocolate and prunes and I thought those would be lost if I folded some more. The boys said the swirls were pretty, and just like the plums and the prunes, this pretty bread did not last long with my boys around!
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Equipment
5 to 6 quart bucket with a lid or similar (I use these.)
9x4x3 loaf pan, buttered and sprinkled with granulated sugar
rolling pin
plastic wrap
Ingredients
BRIOCHE DOUGH (makes enough for 4 one-pound loaves)
1-1/2 cups lukewarm water
1-1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (2 packets) (I use instant yeast and reduce amount to 1 tablespoon.)
1-1/2 tablespoons salt
8 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup honey
1-1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
7-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
PRUNE BREAD
1-1/2 pounds of the brioche dough
softened butter for greasing the pan
6 ounces chopped high-quality bittersweet chocolate (I used Ghirardelli.)
3/4 cup chopped prunes
egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water)
4 tablespoons granulated sugar, for sprinkling on top of bread and preparing the pan
Preparation
1. BRIOCHE: In the bucket, mix the yeast, salt, eggs, honey, melted butter, and water. Add the flour and stir using a heavy wooden spoon. The dough should be loose, but it will firm up when it chills. Any lumps in the dough will disappear in the finished breads. Cover (not airtight) and rest at room temperature for about 2 hours, until the dough has risen and collapsed or at least flattens slightly on top.
2. Chill with the lid on for up to 5 days. If you want to keep it longer, you can freeze in 1-pound portions for up to 4 weeks. Thaw frozen dough in the refrigerator for 24 hours before using, then follow directions in the recipe for resting and rising.
3. CHOCOLATE PRUNE BREAD: Flour your hands. In the bucket, dust the surface of the dough with flour and cut away a 1-1/2 pound (cantaloupe size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and shape quickly into a ball. Stretch the surface of the dough as you work it in a circle in your hands, pulling the dough underneath to create a smooth taut surface. Use a rolling to roll the dough into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle. Use just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking, but avoid working extra flour into the dough or it will be dry.
4. Sprinkle the chopped chocolate and prunes over the rolled dough, staying about 1/2 inch away from the edges. Roll the dough, pressing with your hands as you go to work the prunes and chocolate into the dough. Some pieces may poke through the dough, and that’s ok.
5. Dampen your hands with water and form the dough into a loaf shape. Place it in the prepared pan and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Allow to rise at room temperature for 1 hour and 40 minutes.
6. Place rack in center of the oven and preheat to 350º F. Just before baking, brush the dough with the egg wash and sprinkle sugar on top.
7. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until firm. Adjust time as necessary for a smaller or larger loaf. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack before slicing.
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Source: adapted from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois
Andrea the bread looks wonderful. I too love sourdough but it is a lot of invested time when time is precious. I am contemplating getting a plum tree.
Love the sourdough, and I am one of those weird people that have always thought prunes are great! Thanks for the recipe.
YUMMM all that chocloate. Unfortunatelty I have this book but have yet to make anything from it. Time! I hear only great things about it.
Pretty indeed! Neat picture of those little boys with sticky fingers
)
Great looking bread, very rich. I have yet to order that book, it is on the one day list. I love baking bread. Soo satisfying.
Sue, I sooo need to get a plum tree. If you find a self-pollinating one, let me know!
Kim, thanks!
Courtney, it is a very good book! Hope you get to try some things from it soon!
MyKitchenInHalfCups, funny, the sticky fingers are constant and not limited to plum juice!
Natashya, thank you, and yes it was very rich!
Hi Andrea,
This looks fantastic! Thank you so much for trying out so many of the recipes and sharing them with your readers. I’m thrilled you are enjoying them.
It is fun to have so many varieties on hand. I too have multiple buckets in the refrigerator at all times.
Thanks, Zoë
Thank you, Zoe! I’m honored that you visited my cooking blog! We have enjoyed making the breads in your book and of course my boys love having good bread around. I’m planning to do one more post with the master boule recipe and show some photos of the loaves I’ve made with it. We make batards for every day, but I make the courounne for special occasions and it always gets ohs and ahs. Thanks to you and Jeff for such a great resource!