Chocolate cranberry bread to kick off Christmas baking

Baking is one of the best ways to fill a home with Christmas cheer. However, there are so many other little moments that tell me it is Christmas-time. Some years, it begins to feel like Christmas with the first snow fall. Other times, I can smell Christmas when I get that first whiff of the cold, crisp air of the winter season to come. The Christmas spirit may enter my home when I find the time to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas or How the Grinch Stole Christmas. And, if all else fails, when Première Moisson begins to sell their holiday "pain du mois," I know that Christmas-time is here again. I look forward to this "pain choco-canneberge" every year. The bread is actually a round loaf of sweet yeasted bread buns (possibly brioche), with morsels of dark chocolate and tart cranberries nestled throughout. The buns are topped with a very thin, sweet glaze, and chunky sugar crystals. It's pretty to look at, and it tastes wonderful.

This year, I decided to welcome Christmas into my home by baking the choco-canneberge bread. I figured that the secret formula would have been leaked on the internet somewhere, and with some diligent googling in French, I would be able to find the recipe. After several attempts at googling the recipe, in English and in French, I came up with nothing. This bread recipe seems to be quite the secret, not that this would ever stop me.





I started with this recipe for maple sticky buns (by the way, this is a great recipe for sticky buns that is a real crowd-pleaser and truly yummy!): the dough recipe is easy, and rises overnight in the fridge. Although not as rich as a brioche, the bread that you get from this dough is nice and fluffy on the inside, which is just what I was going for. I made a couple changes, swapping out the active yeast and using instant instead (via this handy conversion table), and opting for butter in the dough instead of shortening (because my life never has enough butter in it).

After letting the dough rise in the fridge overnight, it had almost tripled. I punched it down and worked on kneading in the frozen cranberries and chocolate chips. This is no easy task as cranberries and chocolate chips tend to roll all over the place. I tried to incorporate about a cup of each, but of course, I lost a few to the floor (slippery little buggers!). When I was done abusing kneading the dough to incorporate the fruit and chocolate, I placed the dough back in the bowl and let it rest and rise for another couple of hours in the oven, heat off, light on. I figured that the dough needed to rest after all that work. It doubled in size.

I divided the dough and shaped half into a small loaf, which I placed in a lightly greased 9x5-in loaf pan. I divided the other half of dough into six, forming each piece into a round bun that I placed in a greased 10-inch deep dish pie plate. I glazed the tops of the loaf and buns with an egg wash, and sprinkled them with granulated sugar.

I baked the two for about 45 minutes until they were golden brown.... et voilà!

I gobbled half the loaf with a friend as soon as it was cool enough that the bread wouldn't be ruined by cutting into it. The bread was soft and airy inside, with the chocolate chips and cranberries scattered through in a pretty random pattern. The outer crust was crisp and slightly sweet from the sprinkling of sugar.





The buns were huge! I probably should have divided the second half of dough into 10 or 12 smaller buns as opposed to 6 large buns. Maybe I should have even split the second half of dough between two pans. But the finished bread buns were gorgeous! I love how the cranberries and chocolate chips peak through the dough in places.





Although not quite like Première Moisson's original choco-canneberge since I didn't top the breads with a sweet glaze, this bread is really a perfect way to kick off the Christmas season and the twenty-some days of baking to come. This recipe makes a festive addition to a breakfast or brunch menu.



Chocolate cranberry bread

Yield 1 loaf and 1 10-inch bun-cake

4 tsp instant dry yeast
2 cups warm water (110°F to 115°F)
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons salt
6 to 6-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 cup frozen cranberries
1 cup dark chocolate chips
Egg was (1 egg lightly beaten with a tablespoon of water)
Granulated sugar for sprinkling on the bread
In a medium bowl,  whisk together 5 cups of flour with the salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the butter, sugar, egg, the flour mixture. Beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (I need only three-quarters of a cup). Transfer to a large greased bowl, grease the top of the dough, cover the bowl, and refrigerate for 24 hours. 
Punch down the dough and knead in the frozen cranberries and chocolate chips. Transfer the dough back to the greased bowl and let it rest and rise for another hour or two, until it has doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Cut the dough in half. 
Shape half the dough into a loaf, and transfer it to a greased loaf pan.
Divide the other half of the dough into 6 to 10 buns (depending how big you want them) and arrange them neatly in a greased 10-inch cake pan or deep-dish pie plate.
Brush the tops of the buns and loaf with the egg wash, and sprinkle generously with granulated sugar.
Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350°F and bake for an additional 25 minutes, or until the breads are a deep golden brown. I tested to make sure they were done by "thumping them" and also I pierced with a cake tester.
Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool completely before cutting into them (if you can wait!).