Bread week. I may have mentioned before, but I hate bread week. Me and bread making just do not mix. Nevertheless, I joined in anyway as I want to try and do every week this year! During the show on Wednesday, I decided I must be crazy as I was actually considering doing the technical for the third week in a row. But then chocolate bread won me over so I went with the signature.

I’ve never really made bread from my own recipe so I went searching my old friend Mr Google and came across Paul Hollywood’s chocolate and cherry loaf. I was just going to do this exact recipe, but then I was struck with the idea of adding almonds, and making the loaf into a shape instead. So it’s kind of a showstopper too I suppose, though it doesn’t really look like a showstopper! Here is my chocolate, cherry & almond heart wreath.

Ingredients

• 500g strong bread flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 30ml olive oil
• 10g fast action yeast
• 300ml water
• 150g frozen pitted cherries, defrosted and juice drained
• 100g milk chocolate chips
• 20g flaked almonds

Method

• Put the flour into a large bowl and add the salt and olive oil on one side, and yeast on the other. Slowly add the water and mix by hand until the dough is pliable.
• Tip the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead for 4-7 minutes. Add the cherries, chocolate chips, and almonds, and mix well. You may need to add more flour if the dough becomes soft. (I actually did this step with a dough hook on a stand mixer as I found it was easier to mix in the cherries etc.!).
• Put the dough back in the bowl and cover with a clean tea towel (or alternatively oiled cling film) and leave to prove until doubled in size.
• On a lightly floured work surface, split the dough in half and shape each piece into a long strand.
• Dust a baking tray with flour and form each piece of dough so they are joined together to make a heart shape on the tray. Place the tray in a bag and leave to prove for another hour.
• Preheat oven to gas 7/220c/425f and bake the bread for 20 minutes.
• Reduce the temperature to gas 6/200c/400f and bake for another 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool.
• Once cooled, slice, serve, and enjoy! Perhaps with a slither of butter or jam 🙂

Linking to:
#GBBOBloggers2016 with Mummy Mishaps