Chocolate Coconut Bread

I know the title of this recipe sounds so ho-hum, but I think this recipe was given as a heavenly gift to us all. I have had to restrain myself from making it every single night (which is partly because of Katie Couric’s documentary about childhood obesity in America, Fed Up. Very good information. Glad I watched it. Can’t wait till my ten-day sugar fast is over, because I will be making this the first minute I can!) I usually stir this together right before bed and bake it in the morning (the weekend is a perfect time for this, of course), and then eat it all day long. My favorite story about this bread: I gave a loaf to my aunt, and she had a polite amount after dinner, and we left. Later that week, she told me she had woken up at 3:30 a.m. the next morning and thought, “is it irrational to get out of bed at this hour to go have another slice of this bread?” and decided it was. She went back to sleep, and then at 6:30 decided it was acceptable behavior to get out of bed. For bread. I love it. This recipe comes from Jim Lahey’s My Bread (thank you, thank you!).

2 c. plus 2 T. (280 grams) bread flour
2 c., loosely packed (100 grams) large flake unsweetened coconut [I actually prefer the smallest shred possible. It disappears in the bread but gives it great chew.]
1 c. (150 grams) bittersweet chocolate chunks
3/4 t. (4 grams) salt
1/4 t. instant yeast or 1/2 c. sourdough starter
1 1/4 c. (280 grams) room temperature water

[The night before you bake] In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, half of the coconut, the chocolate, salt, and yeast [If you use the smallest shred coconut, you can add it all at once, which I prefer]. Add the water and, using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until you have a wet, sticky dough, about 30 seconds. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until the surface is puffy and the dough is more than doubled in size, 12 to 18 hours.
When the first rise is complete, generously dust a work surface with flour. Use a bowl scraper or rubber spatula to scrape the dough out of the bowl in one piece. Using lightly floured hands or a bowl scraper or spatula, lift the edges of the dough in toward the center. Nudge and tuck in the edges of the dough to make it round.
Place a tea towel surface and generously dust it with wheat bran or flour. Gently place the dough on the towel, seam side down. If the dough is tacky, dust the top lightly with wheat bran, cornmeal or flour. Lightly sprinkle the surface with the remaining ½ cup coconut. Fold the ends of the tea towel loosely over the dough to cover it and place in a warm, draft-free spot to rise for 1 to 2 hours. The dough is ready when it is almost doubled. If you gently poke it with your finger, it should hold the impression. If it springs back, let it rise for another 15 minutes.
Half an hour before the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F, with a rack in the lower third, and place a covered 4 ½ -to 5 ½ -quart heavy pot in the center of the rack.
Using pot holders, carefully remove the preheated pot from the oven and uncover it. Unfold the tea towel and quickly but gently invert the dough into the pot, seam side up. Cover the pot and bake for 40 minutes.
Remove the lid and continue baking until the bread is a deep chestnut color but not burnt, 20 to 25 minutes more.
Use a heatproof spatula or pot holders to carefully lift the bread out of the pot and place it on a rack to cool thoroughly.