Chocolate Cherry Yeast Bread Recipe - Kudos Kitchen by Renee (2024)

This wonderfully flavored chocolate cherry yeast bread is the best of both worlds when it comes to sweet and savory. It's truly scrumptious!

*Disclaimer - This recipe was originally published in 2014. I'm working hard to update all my older recipes with recipe cards and additional recipe information, but getting to all of them will take time. Please bear with me. In the meantime let me assure you that this recipe is still a winner and one I'm sure you'll be well pleased with when you make it at home.

While I love a good yeast bread, I didn't think I'd be too thrilled with one that was mixed with chocolate. I was wrong!

This dough is like nothing I've ever worked with before, it's incredibly elastic and sticky.

Because I was a little under the wire with getting this bread baked and posted, I didn't have the luxury of time when it came to refrigeration.

Chilling the dough would have made it less sticky and easier to handle. That said, even though it was sticky and warm, it really wasn't a problem for me, as long as I kept my hands lightly floured.

The original recipe (chosen from The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day) called for prunes, and while I did purchase them just for this recipe, I also purchased dried cherries because I thought they would be a wonderful substitution if I decided, last minute, to make the switch.

I did, and they were. In addition, and as I like to do with so many of my recipes, I added chopped nuts (walnuts to be exact) for that little extra texture and crunch.

-In a large bowl dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add in the canola oil, salt, and sugar. Stir well.
-Using a wooden spoon, or the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, mix in the flour and cocoa powder.
-Stir in the chocolate chips, making sure to incorporate them well throughout the sticky dough.
-Cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise in a warm place, until double, approximately 2 hours.
-Once risen, deflate the dough and divide it in half.
-Working with one half of the dough at a time, and on a lightly floured surface, pat the dough out with lightly floured hands, into an approximate 5x8 inch rectangle.
-Top the dough with half of the walnuts and half of the dried cherries.
-Roll the dough, lengthwise, and place it into a prepared loaf pan that has been sprayed with baking spray.
-Follow the same procedure with the second piece of dough.
-Once the bread is in the pans you can pretty easily re-arrange them with your hands (if needed) so they'll rise uniformly and look pretty.
-Using a knife or kitchen shears, cut some 1" deep X's into the top of the bread to expose the walnuts and cherries.
-Brush the tops of each loaf with the egg wash and then place the pans in a warm, draft-free spot to rise and double in volume, approximately 90 minutes.
-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
-Bake the bread for 50-60 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped.
-Allow the bread to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then remove the loaves from the pans and allow them to cool completely.
-Serve and be prepared to be delighted!

Until we eat again, I hope you have a delicious day!

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