Mocha Cappuccino Bread

This hearty Mocha Cappuccino Bread is full of coffee and chocolate flavour, accented by the nutty notes of whole grain flour and @naturespathorganic Flax Plus Multigrain Flakes and studded with dark chocolate chips. A slice with peanut (or our favourite - cashew) butter makes for a decadent breakfast or anytime snack!

I have always loved the combination of coffee and chocolate. As a kid, my parents would make cafe au lait with a squeeze of chocolate syrup for me while they had their morning brews, and when I was introduced to cafe mochas as a young teen a good portion of my babysitting money found it's way into the coffers of the local coffee shop. Today, I always treat myself to a scaled-down, yet still delicious mocha as I'm winding down for the night - it may seem counterintuitive to have a late night coffee but it helps me sleep! While I love coffee itself too, I will fight tooth and nail for the chocolate and caffeine fix!

 

The only other person I know who shares the fierceness of my die hard love of coffee and chocolate is my mom. When I made chocolate-covered spoons in Home Economics class, all of a sudden they would "disappear" and a pot of coffee would be made. Even today, when I'm given chocolates from my students for Christmas or Easter, I'm guaranteed to find all the coffee-flavoured bon bons gone within a day or two! So, when I came across this coffee-infused loaf on Kneady Girl I was inspired to give it a twist, especially when it came to playing with one of my mom's new favourite cereals - Nature's Path's Flax Plus Flakes. She loves them because they stay crisp in milk and have a really deep, nutty and complex flavour when compared to other bran flake cereals as well as having fibre, protein and iron - all nutrients that she (and many people I know) struggle to get enough of in their daily diets. 

The crushed cereal wove its way throughout the loaves, staying slightly distinct even when saturated with the coffee and chocolate milk. For even more chocolate flavour, I rolled chocolate chips into the dough before coiling everything up and letting it proof in springform pans to help it maintain form. This bread baking smelled like the coffee shop I used to have by my university campus in Ottawa - a combination of pastry, yeast, chocolate and freshly brewed coffee wafting it's way around the kitchen. It was a good thing mom was out while I baked - when she came home she made a beeline for it right away!

Mocha Cappuccino Bread

Makes 2 (9") loaves

2 cups chocolate soy milk
2 cups coffee (I used cold brew made with Kicking Horse coffee)
5 packets instant cappuccino powder (I used Nescafe)
2 tbsp instant yeast (I used SAF Gold)
1 tbsp brown sugar
4 cups whole wheat bread flour 

3 1/2 cups sprouted whole wheat flour 

1 1/2 cups crushed Natures Path Flax Plus Multigrain Flakes

~1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix together the soy milk, coffee, cappuccino powder, yeast and sugar
2. Add flours and cereal. Knead on medium speed for 12 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
3. Remove the dough hook and cover the bowl with plastic or a silicone baking mat and let rise until doubled, about one hour.
4. Grease two 9" springform pans and set aside.
5. Punch down the dough and divide in half. 
6. Roll or pat one half of the dough into a long rectangle and sprinkle with half the chocolate chips.
7. Roll up from one long side, then curl into a spiral and place in the pan. Repeat with the remaining dough and chocolate chips.
8. Cover both pans with a towel and let rise 1 hour, until almost doubled.
9. Heat the oven to 375F.
10. Slash the top of the loaves with a lame or sharp razor blade.
11. Bake loaves 45 minutes, until hollow sounding and well browned.  
12. Remove rings from the springform pans and cool loaves completely before slicing.