Charcoal Cocoa Milk Bread

My first dark colour loaf of bread - a milk bread added with Japanese bamboo charcoal powder and cocoa powder. The bread was surprisingly soft and moist 😋

P.S. The bread was a continuation of my bake day before - similar charcoal cocoa milk buns wrapped by flat breads decorated to suit the Halloween theme 👻

Yield: one loaf of bread
Pan size: 21x13x10 cm (Jamie Oliver 1.5 L bread pan)
Baking temperature: Preheat oven to 190℃, bake at 180℃ for 15 minutes, 170℃ for 15~20 minutes.


Sponge
10g bread flour
2g instant dry yeast
10g water
30g natural yeast *

* natural yeast can be replaced by 15g each of bread flour and water.

Mix all the ingredients and let it stands for about 150 minutes. You can shorten the duration to about 60 minutes. As I was busy with other chores, so let the sponge stood longer 😅

Bread Dough

Ingredients
210g bread flour
80g Prima plain flour plus/plain flour
30g raw cane sugar
3g low-sodium fine salt
3g Japanese bamboo charcoal powder
3g cocoa powder

52g sponge from above
15g condensed milk
100g cold milk
50g cold water

25g cold water, added depending on dough condition

30g unsalted butter, added after gluten formed


Toppings
Some bread flour

Directions

1. Mix all the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer.

2.  Add all the wet ingredients, except the 25g of cold water and unsalted butter, into the mixing bowl. Add the 25g of water slowly to adjust the dough moisture.
When all the ingredients come together into a lump, cover with a lid and keep in room temperature for 20 minutes. This allows autolysis to take place.

3. Knead the dough at low speed till it forms into a smoother dough. Add the softened butter and continue to knead till reaching window pane stage.

4. Transfer the kneaded dough to a mixing bowl coated with a thin layer of oil. Spray some water over, cover and let the dough proof for about 70 minutes, or till double in size.

End of 70-minute proofing

5. Invert the dough onto a floured worktop. Deflate and fold in the 4 sides, cover and let it rest for 15 minutes.

6. Roll out the dough into a long dough of about 1cm thick again. Roll up like a swissroll and seal at the end.

Lower the dough into the bread pan coated with a thin layer of butter. Spray some water, cover with a tea cloth, and let it proof for about 65 minutes, or till reaching the rim of the pan.

End of second proofing

7. Preheat the oven to 190℃. While waiting, sprinkle a coat of bread flour over and score the top.

Bake at low rack of an oven preheated to 190℃, lower temperature to 180℃ and bake for 15 minutes, further lower to 170℃ for 15~20 minutes, or till the top has become golden.

7. Transfer the bread out of oven, and remove from pan immediately.

Let the bread cool down over a wire rack. Cut the bread after it has completely cooled down 😍