Chocolate Bread with Lime Curd Swirl

Do you remember recently I tried my new kitchen gadget, the  RMC-M4502E Multicooker from Redmond? It’s a great piece of kit to have in the kitchen as you can bake, fry, steam, cook meats, make soups, porridges – even baby food! There is very little that the Multicooker cannot do.

I decided it was time to use it again. It really is quite an attractive feature on my worktop – looking like a spaceman has lost his way and left his helmet on the kitchen counter whilst looking for directions.

Anyhoo, I decided to bake bread in the multicooker this time. Last time I fried in it – making little mini churros. They were sweet and delicious and great for a wee snack.

This time I decided to use another of the Multicookers 34 functions (see below) and bake bread in it. You bake the bread right in the bowl of the multicooker, so you are left with a loaf in a nice boule shape.

What flavour would I make, I pondered and I looked through my cupboards and found cocoa powder and lime curd. Howzabout a chocolate bread with a lime curd swirl I thought?

I have made a couple of swirl breads in the past before – a banana bread with a strawberry jam swirl and a coconut bread with a marmalade swirl. Both were very delicious and both had great flavour.

I thought the chocolate and lime would be tasty, as I did use to love those little chocolate lime boiled sweets and even made Krispie treats in that flavour last year. So I set about making my dough.

The chocolate dough was kneaded in my food mixer. At first I thought it was going to be a sloppy mess, but the more it kneaded, the more the gluten’s developed and the dough formed right in front of my eyes.

I popped the dough for its first prove straight in the multicooker. After an hour, I took the dough out, gave it another quick knead and rolled and stretched it out to an oblong shape. I then spread a simple egg wash on it, before spreading over some store-bought lime curd. The egg wash ensures the bread sticks together and the ‘swirl’ doesn’t unfurl.

I then rolled the dough into a sausage from the shortest end of the oblong. Then, I twisted the sausage into a circle and carefully placed this back into the multicooker to prove for another 45 minutes.

After that time I set the multicooker to bake for 45 minutes. During the cooking time, the smells of chocolate and lime wafted through the kitchen it was divine.

I opened the multicooker once during the baking process to get rid of any excess moisture, popped it back on and waited until the 45 minutes were up. The multicooker's display shows you how much time is left and beeps to let you know when time is up.

The bread slipped out of the bowl with ease and sounded hollow on the bottom when tapped.

I let it cool completely and then I sliced through the loaf, to find the lightest, airiest bread possible. The chocolate and lime tastes were delicious together and the bread held together perfectly.

I have to say I was surprised at how well the multicooker baked and my next project is to bake a cake in the Redmond multicooker – stay tuned for that! In the meantime, here is my recipe for Chocolate Bread with a Lime Curd Swirl!

Chocolate Bread With a Lime Curd Swirl

Chocolate flavoured bread, with a swirl of lime curd built right in!

Cuisine:	Baking	Category:	Bread	Yields:	1 Loaf
Prep Time:	2 Hrs	Cook Time:	45 Mins	Total Time:	2 Hrs 45 Mins

 

Ingredients

• 45 grams cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar (dark or light)
• 225 ml warm water
• 7 grams dry active yeast
• 350 grams white bread flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 250 ml milk
• 45 grams unsalted butter
• 100 grams lime curd
• 1 egg

 

Instructions

1. In a bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, sugar, warm water and yeast. Let it sit for 10 minutes to get the yeast activated.
2. In a bowl, mix the flour and salt, then add the yeast mix. Combine the ingredients until a dough forms, then begin to knead, for ten minutes. Persevere and the glutens will develop and the dough will ‘come together’.
3. Place in a bowl and cover to prove for 1 and ½ hours, or until doubled in size.
4. After the first prove, on a floured work surface, roll the dough out into an oblong shape about 12 inches by 20 inches. Mix the egg with some water and brush all over the dough (you won’t need to use all of the egg). Spread the lime curd evenly over the dough.
5. From the short end, start rolling the dough up into a sausage. When rolled, curl the sausage into a circle shape and place into a bowl, to let prove again (about 45 minutes).
6. I set the multicooker to bake 45 minutes and after this time the baked bread slipped straight out of the multicooker bowl.
7. Allow the bread to cool before slicing into it. The bread is great as it is, or delicious toasted too!

Disclosure Statement: I received the multicooker free to review. I have been paid to develop this recipe using the multicooker.