Easy Chocolate Bread Recipe

A bread recipe so easy a 10-year-old boy baked this bread. It was delicious. The chocolate flavor is mild, and our son wants to try it adding chocolate chips next time. He had the idea from the "petit pain au chocolat," a French specialty bread with croissant dough and a stick of chocolate in the middle.

Great Depression Era Chocolate Bread

1 package (1 Tbs) dry yeast (we used instant yeast)

1/2 cup warm milk (105 to 115 degrees)

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour -- DIVIDED

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons cocoa

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg -- beaten

1 teaspoon shortening -- melted (we used butter)

1 cup pecans -- chopped

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

vegetable oil

Dissolve yeast in warm milk; let stand 5 minutes. (You can skip that step if you are using instant yeast, but you will still need the milk to keep the proportions of wet ingredients). Sift together 1-1/2 cups flour, sugar, cocoa, and salt; set aside. Combine dissolved yeast, egg, shortening, pecans, and vanilla; mix well. Gradually add flour mixture to make a soft dough . Turn dough out onto a surface sprinkled with remaining 1/2 cup flour; knead 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in a well-greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in bulk. Punch dough down; turn out onto a floured surface, and shape into a loaf. Place in a greased 7-1/2 x 3 x 2-inch loaf pan. Brush top with oil; cover and repeat rising procedure 1 hour. Bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes (25 degrees less if you are using a dark pan or a glass pan). Remove bread from pan immediately; cool on wire rack.