Mesmerizing Swirls

I have been wanting to make this loaf after being mesmerised by the one that i saw at Jeannie's.  I couldn't get the beautiful swirls out of my mind :) Healthy ingredients make the push for making the loaf greater.  And as they say, the rest is history!

I couldn't wait to cut the loaf to check how the swirls turned out the moment it was ready.  Hence, the reason behind the why there is a different shades between the 2 photos.  The first one was taken immediately after the loaf was ready and it was already late evening by then whereas the one below was taken the next morning when there was plenty of light. If you can, have some patience, don't do what i did, one should only slice a loaf when it has cooled down :)) 

 

Mine was a little dry because it was a little over baked, i didn't realized the oven had beeped while i was yakking away on the phone but it tasted good overall.  I will definitely make this again whenever i miss those beautiful swirls!

Recipe

Source: Baking Diary

Ingredients

• 1 cup (250 ml) milk
• 1/4 cup (62 ml) lukewarm water (1 large egg) 
• 2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter or margarine (32g unsalted butter)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 cups (381 grams) bread flour
• 3/4 cups rolled oats
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Chocolate layer

• 30 gm chocolate
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder

Method

1. Prepare the chocolate layer - melt the chocolate in a microwave by zapping it for about 40 seconds on high.  Then stir in the cocoa powder until mixture is smooth and has no visible lumps. Set aside until ready to use.  (I melted it using a double boil method)
2. If using a bread machine, put in all the liquid ingredients first before adding the dry ingredients.  Use the dough mode to knead. (I used the bread machine)
3. If kneading by hand, pour the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until it comes together to form a soft dough.  Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. 
4. If the dough is still very wet and sticky after 5 minutes of kneading, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough is barely tacky.  If the dough is too dry, add water, 1 teaspoon (5 ml) at a time, to soften it up.
5. Once the dough is smooth and elastic, remove about 1/4 of the dough into a separate mixing bowl.  Knead in the chocolate mixture.  
6. Place each portion of the bread dough separately in lightly oiled bowls, cover, and allow to rise until doubled, about 1-1 1/2 hours.
7. Once doubled, place the plain dough on a lightly floured surface.
8. Gently punch the plain dough down and with a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a rectangle approx. 9”x12”. 
9. Do the same for the chocolate dough, but roll out into a smaller rectangle approx 7"x 10".  Place this on top of the plain dough.  The chocolate dough should be well inside the plain dough.
10. Fold over the plain dough (top, sides, bottom) to cover the chocolate layer.  Pat it flat so that it's easier to roll out next.  (Letter fold the plain dough over the chocolate layer)
11. Roll the dough into a rectangle shape, and fold the dough in three lengthwise.
12. Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat step 10.  Roll the dough out into a rectangle and fold over into threes.  Turn.
13. The more turns you made, the more layers and marbling you'll get.  I turned it about 5 times only as the layers were becoming quite thin.  (Keep turning and letter folding until the chocolate layer becomes very visible, lost count of how times i turned it)
14. At the final rectangle, roll the dough up like a swiss roll into a loaf and tuck in the sides neatly.  Place the shaped dough into a loaf pan, cover with a clean towel and allow to rise until doubled, about 1 - 1 1/2 hours. 
15. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).
16. When the shaped loaf has doubled, place the bread in the oven and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the bread is deep golden brown and the internal temperature is about 190F (I set mine to 35 minutes)