Bread. Chocolate. (At home, not the Shop)

Ingredients

• 1g active dry yeast
• 400g all purpose or bread flour
• 20g brown sugar
• 8g kosher salt
• 375g cold water
• 200g toasted pepita seeds
• 100g Dark Chocolate for Baking

Method

1. Weigh all ingredients except pepitas and chocolate into a large glass or ceramic bowl in the order listed and stir together until evenly combined. The dough should be too wet to handle, but should mostly hold its form. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
2. Cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and proof 12-18 hours in a cool, draft-free place.
3. When ready to bake, move the oven rack to the lowest position, put in the bread cloche (I use a #22 Le Crueset dutch oven with the lid handle removed) and preheat the oven to very hot–about 475F.
4. Meanwhile, dust a clean cotton kitchen towel heavily with flour, and carefully scrape the dough (it should be bubbly and firmer) onto the middle. Sprinkle the top of the dough liberally with flour, then one at a time fold the four sides of the towel over the dough to form a tight package. Flip the whole thing upside-down and allow to proof until the oven is hot.
5. Use potholders to remove the cloche from the oven and take off the lid (careful, it’s hot!). Unwrap the dough and drop it into the cloche. Don’t worry if it stretches or oozes a bit; that will just add character to the finished loaf. Cover the cloche and place it into the over for 30 minutes.
6. Remove the top of the cloche and continue baking another 15-25 minutes until the crust is caramelly orange-brown and crisp. Remove from the oven, turn the loaf out onto a cooling rack, and cool completely.