Stout Soaked Cherry Chocolate Bread
Indulge in the ultimate chocolate treat with Stout Soaked Cherry Chocolate Bread! The rich stout adds a rich kick while the cherries add a burst of sweetness. Perfect for any chocoholic.
Yup! It’s a mouthful! And I’m saying it slightly inebriated as I’m sipping some scotch after a HELL-atious week. I found out that I will be traveling to Bogota in April. I’m excited and nervous at the same time. I am the “team” lead this time. If by team you mean of the both of us going, then yay me! *snort* I am a little nervous. I haven’t been a lead on such as task as this. I just hope that I can if not meet then exceed their expectations of my results. *crosses fingers*
It’s crunch time! And by that I mean quarter close. We’re having to be more responsible for our books unlike in the past where our parent department has handled some items. It’s a good thing but that also means added work for me. There’s not many under me that can help or even know how to help. I’m just trying to get them up to speed on where I was a about a year ago. LOL Yes it IS a slow process.
THIS is why I feel the desire to spend MORE time in the kitchen creating. Not that work is THAT bad, and I do enjoy it even though it IS very stressful at times. However, the kitchen is and has always been my TRUE passion. I love to be in there just…well…creating! It’s a way to relieve stress for me.
I signed up for the GYCO challenge at White Lights on Wednesday. I’m not sure how I came to follow this blog. I think it was a give away I stumbled upon when I decided to make this more than a passing fancy about trying recipes. Speaking of which…no…nevermind. I will try NOT to be distracted by shinies tonight no matter how hard they try to make me stray from this post! Remind me later… Okay?
I love the logo! Cracks me up! I saw that and knew I had to try it at least once. My mother always said I should try everything at least once, right?
Since then I follow it. It’s on my blog roll and read it almost every day. The recipes are TOTALLY #droolworthy!! The challenges look fun. I just hope I can hold up to this one. I have a few things up my sleeve. We’ll see how the weekend goes. *wink wink* Since there’s no hike this weekend, it could be a very creative one! And it could be in the favor of the fur-baby. We’re hitting the Super Pet Expo this weekend. I may be inspired to create something for the Missy girl. But that’s later.
Now it the time for… stout soaked cherry chocolate bread. You see, there was this Cooking Light recipe…I think I made it once. But the flavors are something that really struck me as interesting. The stout, the chocolate, the cherry… They all blended so well together. SO when this challenge came up, that recipe is IMMEDIATELY what I thought of. However, I couldn’t just make a recipe I already had. I had to create something else. But my dilema being the flavors. They’re not original to me. If not for that recipe, I’m not sure I woul dhave put them together at all.
Ah to hell with it! Just make a recipe! There are no true original flavor combinations in this world any more. Someone’s already thrown it together at least once. *shrugs* So that’s just what I did.
I soaked the cherries in 12 ounces of Guinness stout overnight.
Yes I took a picture of the cherries, but you can’t really see much…just a bunch of foam. Once they soaked overnight, I coarsely chopped them with some chocolate and set them both aside in a small bowl.
Then I proofed one package of yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water. Next, I added stout, wheat flour, bread flour, and vital wheat gluten. Then some sugar, egg, and margarine. I LOVE my stand mixer. It does so much of my kneading for me. How did I EVAH make bread without it?
Then I turned it out onto a floured surface (aka my sliced and diced silicone bakers rolling mat) and kneaded it by hand a few more times until it was smooth and elastic.
I let it rise until it was doubled in size; about 2 hours. Then I punched it down and let it rest 5 minutes. Once rested, I grabbed my rolling pin and went at it! I rolled it out to about a 10 x 13 rectangle.
Oh yeah! Like my rolling sleeve? Dad got me some a while ago. They came in quite handy was I was trying to roll this dough out. I put some flour on the sleeve and it worked like a charm! It hardly stuck at all. I can’t wait to try the other one on cookie dough. Shinies!
I sprinkled the chocolate and cherries on the dough making sure to leave about 1 inch at either end for sealing.
Once I spread the cherry mixture across the dough, I began rolling it up from the end opposite the 1 inch seam. Make sure to roll as tightly as you can without ripping the dough. This is always my problem. I have tried swirl breads, but they just didn’t seem to swirl right or had a huge bag once it baked because I didn’t seal it right, roll it right, let it proof long enough.
This stout soaked cherry chocolate bread APPEARED to have rolled perfectly.
I placed the dough on a silicone baking mat, sprayed with cooking spray, covered with a linen towel, and allowed it to proof for about 30 minutes or until doubled again.
I shallowly slashed the top of the bread to prevent it from becoming deformed in the oven. That’s the other problem I’ve had with swirl bread. They get deformed.
Once doubled, I gave it an egg white wash and then bake in a preheated oven to 350 for about 45 minutes to an hour. I tested it with a meat thermometer to make sure it reached about 140 inside. Previously, my swirl breads have SOUNDED hollow, but weren’t done in the middle.
Can I just say…it took ALL the restraint I had to NOT slice into this stout soaked cherry chocolate bread when it came out of the oven. I mean, I’m like that with any bread I bake, but this in particular? SMELLED A-MAZING! Cherries…chocolate…bread…nomnomnom. Even S said it tasted good! That’s saying something because he usually don’t like the bread I bake.

Stout Soaked Cherry Chocolate Bread
Indulge in the ultimate chocolate treat with Stout Soaked Cherry Chocolate Bread! The rich stout adds a rich kick while the cherries add a burst of sweetness. Perfect for any chocoholic.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces Guiness or other stout beer
- 6-8 ounces dried cherries
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 2 1/2 teaspoon active, dry yeast
- 1 cup Guiness or other stout beer
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoon margarine
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 1/2 - 3 cups bread flour
- 1 1/2 tablespoon vital wheat gluten
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
Instructions
- Soak dried cherries in 12 oz of stout beer for 6 hours to overnight.
Combine yeast and warm (100-115 F) water until frothy and bubbly in the bowl of a stand mixer. - Microwave Guinness stout in a microwave safe bowl for approximately 1 minute.
- Add to yeast mixture along with the sugar, margarine, egg, wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups of bread flour. Continue to mix on high adding additional flour as necessary until the dough pulls away from the sides and forms a ball.
Turn out on a flour work surface and knead by hand for 1 -2 minutes or until smooth and elastic. - Proof the dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat, for 2 hours or until doubled in size.
- Punch dough down and turn out onto floured work surface. Rest 5 minutes.
Once rested, use a rolling pin and roll the dough out to approximately a 10 x 13 rectangle. - Sprinkle with chopped cherries and chocolate leaving at least 1 inch at one end for the seam. Once the mixture has been spread evenly, roll the dough from opposite end from the seam end; making sure to roll tightly.
- Once rolled, pinch seems to seal the bottom. Turn the sides under and pinch to seal. Allow to proof an additional 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
Once doubled, coat with an egg white wash. - Bake in a 350 oven for 45 minutes to an hour or until brown and it reaches 140 F internal temperature.
- Cool to room temperature before slicing and serving.
Nutrition Information
Yield
12Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 958Total Fat 12gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 17mgSodium 207mgCarbohydrates 189gFiber 9gSugar 94gProtein 18g
This looks delicious!
Thanks for joining the Blog Hop this week! 🙂
Thanks for linking up this post to The Best Blog Recipe’s Weekend re-Treat #10!
Wanted to stop by and pin your image to My Link Parties Craft/DIY & Recipe Boards while I was here.
Hope to see you link up again at the party this week that just went LIVE for the weekend!
Shauna
http://thebestblogrecipes.blogspot.com/
http://ready2loseweight.blogspot.com/
I usually to partay with y'all every week. Thanks for hosting it and for stopping by to Pin me! 🙂
Chris, This bread recipe sounds so good! Thanks for linking up to Talkin’ About Thursday link party. I hope you will come back this week too!
Very nice………..Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop this week; I hope you’ll join us again!
Cheers,
Kathy Shea Mormino
The Chicken Chick
http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com
That is some delicious looking bread! Thanks for partying with us at Time To Sparkle!
wow!! how yummy sounding this is!! love cherry's
would love it if you could share this on my link party Serenity Saturday that goes live tomorrow morning
Natasha @ Serenity You
Natasha,
I only hope I can remember to check out your blog tomorrow morning and post a link. Saturdays are USUALLY when I change my spotlight creation, so I'd post something new for ya. 🙂
Thanks for the invite and for stopping by!
Omg I am totally drooling! Thanks for sharing at Domestic Superhero Sharing Thursdays!
Looks delicious and I love all the ingredients! Thank you for sharing at our ALL MY BLOGGY FRIENDS Link party 🙂 can not wait to see what you will link next week! {and enjoy Bogota!}
Linda,
Thank you! I usually do enjoy Bogota. It's like extended family…with AWESOME food and coffee. 😉
Your post title was just calling my name! This sounds right up my alley! YUMMY! Thanks for sharing!
Well thank you and thank you for checking out my little blog.
Oh my! This sounds interesting and so delish, Guiness, dark chocolate and cherries… Adding this to my baked goods board on pinterest!Thanks for the recipe! di
You're MOST welcome! I aim to please! LOVE your pics! Makes me miss it…I should get out the GOOD camera for this food, though. Hm…. Thanks for stopping by!
Oh my goodness this sounds delicious. I love the idea of the soaked cherries!
I could have eaten the bowl…WITHOUT the bread. 😉
Am I missing something? I don't see the chocolate listed in the ingredients to know what kind or how much you used.
hehe oops. I DID have some wine when I wrote this up…just saying. I have edited it. Thank you!
Looks wonderful! Hopefully the hubby won't mind giving up a couple of his beers.
heh. I buy them and hide them so I can cook with them. Works like a charm! 🙂
ooo ymmm!!!! Thanks for linking up to Tasteful Tuesdays! love it! Really appreciate you stopping by my blog! I’m trying to keep in better touch with my linkers/readers… If you already follow me, please let me know I will find your blog on Bloglovin (I’m transferring my follows there)if you don’t follow in any way, would you consider following via GFC or other method?
http://www.nap-timecreations.com
Oh! I DO blalk (blog stalk) you! I just usually don't say much.
Hi! I’m new follower of your blog and would like to invite you to join me at my weekly Clever Chicks Blog Hop:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/03/clever-chicks-blog-hop-27-pizza-rustica.html
I hope you can make it!
Cheers,
Kathy Shea Mormino
The Chicken Chick
I always feel weird linking up there. I don't even have a yard FOR chickens…much less have chickens. LOL I did, though. I'll try to remember to link up next week.
oh my gosh that looks simply divine..sigh. if only i could reach out and take a bite :))
-Reshama
http://www.stackingbooks.com
Just make some! Then you can taste it. 😉
Ummm…yes please! Great flavor combinations. And stout soaked cherries…well good grief what's not to like?
Thank you for linking w/ this week's See Ya in the Gumbo.
*giggles* Thanks!
C
Looks awesome!
First off– love me some bread! Second this looks amazing! Thank you for cooking it up with us girl!
It was a blast! I just wish I had more time to create all the other ideas floating around in my head! I'll be signing up next time! That's for sure!
Oh this bread looks wonderful! I love cherries and chocolate together, and this bread looks amazing!
Does it get any better than this? Thanks for the inspiration. Linda
OMG!!!! this looks soooooo good. I'm a big fan of chocolate and cherries so this bread will be on my 'to do' list. Love all the 'beer' recipes everyone created.
Joanne/Winelady Cooks
Yum! Bread is my weakness! I will have to give this one a try. Thanks for sharing!
Hi~ Dropping by from GYCO~ This bread looks like something I will need to make using my sourdough starter! I can smell it baking from here….can you tell I love bread:) Have a Great Day~ Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines, Chili Dogs
OH my word!!! That looks amazing! Gotta try. Pinning! ~ Paula