Chocolate Chip Bread

This chocolate chip bread is a deeply chocolatey yeasted loaf with coarsely chopped dark and milk chocolate folded into every slice. Two proofing stages and a hot oven give it a crackly crust and a soft, tender crumb.

“I was skeptical about using whole wheat flour and bread flour for a chocolate bread, but this loaf turned out to be incredible. The crust had a great hollow sound when I tapped it and the inside was perfectly tender with little pockets of melted chocolate throughout.”

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Renata

I first came across this recipe as a nod to Preston Hill Bakery, and from the moment I saw cocoa powder and two kinds of chopped chocolate listed together in a yeasted dough, I knew I had to try it. It’s the kind of bread that makes you rethink what a loaf can be.

It’s wonderful on its own, toasted with a little butter, or sliced alongside a bowl of something warm, and if you’re already a fan of chocolate baked into bread, my Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread recipe or this chocolate sourdough bread(coming soon!) is worth putting on your list next.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Bread Flour: This gives the loaves their structure and chewy crumb. It has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour, which helps the dough hold together even with all the chocolate folded in. If you want to lean into the whole grain flavor, you can try swapping a small portion for more whole wheat, but keep most of it as bread flour so the loaves don’t get too dense.
• Whole Wheat Flour: It adds a subtle nutty depth that works beautifully alongside the cocoa and chocolate. If you’re new to baking with whole grain flours, my Whole Wheat Bread Recipe is a great reference for understanding how it behaves in a yeast dough.
• Warm Water
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: This is where the deep, dark chocolate flavor comes from. If you want an easy bread with full cocoa flavro check out this chocolate bread!
• Instant Yeast: It goes directly into the dough without needing to be proofed in water first, which keeps the process simple. Active dry yeast can be used in a pinch, but you’d want to dissolve it in the warm water first and let it sit a few minutes before proceeding.
• Xanthan Gum: This is a precision-sensitive ingredient, so don’t skip it or eyeball the amount. It acts as a binder that helps the dough hold together and gives the finished loaves a better crumb structure. The most common mistake here is adding too much, which makes the dough gummy and hard to work with — measure carefully and trust the small amount called for.
• Salt
• 70% Dark Chocolate: This is the other precision-sensitive ingredient worth paying close attention to. Coarsely chop it yourself rather than using pre-made chips — irregular pieces melt unevenly into the dough and create pockets of rich, fudgy chocolate throughout each slice. The high cacao percentage keeps the chocolate flavor intense without making the bread overly sweet.
• 45% Milk Chocolate: It softens the bitterness of the dark chocolate and adds a creamier sweetness to the final loaf. Like the dark chocolate, chop it coarsely so the pieces vary in size. Together, the two chocolates create a layered chocolate flavor that’s more interesting than using just one type.

Variations for Preston Hill Bakery Chocolate Bread

• Mini Loaves. Divide the dough into four pieces instead of two and shape each into a smaller ball before the second proof. Smaller loaves bake through a little faster, so start checking the internal temperature around the 20-minute mark.
• Extra Dark. Use all 70% dark chocolate instead of splitting between dark and milk. The finished bread will be more intensely bitter and less sweet, which works really well sliced thick and spread with salted butter.
• Add nuts! Swap out on of the chocolate for toasted pecan, walnuts or peanuts! You could also use peanut butter chips for a chocolate and peanut butter loaf.

Professional Tips for Perfect Preston Hill Bakery Chocolate Bread

• Let the autolyse do its work. The 45-minute rest after the initial flour and water stir isn’t optional. That rest allows the gluten to develop before any other ingredients are added, which is what gives these loaves a cohesive crumb despite all the chocolate folded in later. Rushing past it will make the dough harder to bring together.
• Add the chocolate in stages and don’t rush it. The instructions call for three separate additions with 30 seconds of mixing after each, and there’s a reason for that. Adding it all at once can break the dough’s structure before it’s ready to hold the weight. You’ll notice the dough actually tightens and comes together more with each addition, which is the sign you’re on the right track.
• Use a thermometer. Tapping the bottom of the loaf for a hollow sound is a useful cue, but the internal temperature is the more reliable indicator here. Pull the loaves when the center reads 200°F so you don’t end up with an underbaked, gummy interior hiding under a beautifully browned crust.
• Cool completely before slicing. This is the step most bakers skip, and it’s the one that matters most with this recipe. The chocolate pockets inside the bread need time to set as the loaves cool, and cutting in too early turns those pockets into a sticky, messy smear rather than clean, distinct layers of chocolate in each slice.

How to Make Preston Hill Bakery Chocolate Bread

Use these step-by-step instructions to make a rich, deeply chocolatey yeasted loaf with a crackly crust and soft, chocolate-studded crumb. Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Make the Dough

Step 1: Combine flour and water, then rest. Add the bread flour, whole wheat flour, and warm water to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Stir until the mixture just comes together into a shaggy, rough mass — it won’t look like much yet, and that’s completely normal. Cover the bowl and let it sit for 45 minutes.

This rest is the autolyse stage, where the flour and water work together to start building gluten before any other ingredients are added. Don’t skip or shorten it — the dough’s final texture depends on it.

Step 2: Add cocoa powder, yeast, and xanthan gum. Uncover the bowl and add the cocoa powder, instant yeast, and xanthan gum. Mix at medium speed for about 1 minute until everything is incorporated.

Step 3: Add salt and remaining flour. Add the salt and mix for another minute at medium speed. Then add the remaining bread flour and whole wheat flour, stir briefly to incorporate, and increase the speed to medium-high. Mix for 2 minutes. The dough will still be sticky at this point, but it should start pulling away from the sides of the bowl and gathering around the dough hook.

If the dough isn’t starting to ball up after 2 minutes, add more bread flour one tablespoon at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition, until it begins to come together. Don’t add too much at once — a slightly sticky dough is correct here.

Step 4: Fold in the chopped chocolate. Add the coarsely chopped dark chocolate and milk chocolate in three separate additions, mixing for about 30 seconds after each one. You’ll notice something satisfying happening here: the dough actually tightens and becomes more cohesive with each addition as the chocolate pieces anchor the structure. By the final addition, the dough should feel noticeably more organized and hold its shape when you press it.

Proof

Step 5: Transfer and let the dough rise. Gather the dough into a rough ball with your hands — it will be dense and slightly tacky but manageable — and transfer it to a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set it somewhere warm for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in size.

A cold kitchen will slow this rise considerably. If your kitchen runs cool, try setting the bowl near a warm oven or inside an oven with just the light on to give the yeast a better environment to work in.

Pre-Shape adn Final Proof

Step 6: Pre-shape the loaves and let them rise again. Punch down the risen dough to release the gas, then turn it out onto your work surface and divide it into two equal pieces. Roughly shape each piece into a ball — don’t worry about making them perfectly round, just tuck the dough under itself enough to create a little surface tension — and transfer them to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let them rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes, until they’ve nearly doubled and look noticeably puffy.

Bake

Step 7: Heat your oven to 400ºF while the loaves finish their second rise. Uncover the dough and slide the baking sheet into the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, until the loaves are deeply set and sound hollow when you tap them on the bottom — that hollow thud is the sound you’re listening for. If you have an instant-read thermometer, the center should register 200ºF.

Step 8: Cool completely before slicing. Transfer the loaves to a wire cooling rack and let them cool completely before cutting into them. The crumb needs time to finish setting, and slicing too early will give you a gummy, compressed interior rather than the open, chocolate-studded texture you’re after.

It can take up to an hour for these loaves to cool through to the center. I know it’s hard to wait, but the texture is genuinely better once they’ve had that time to rest.

Recipe FAQs

Before You Go

This chocolate chip bread is one of those loaves that earns a permanent spot in your rotation. Browse our Bread Recipes or try this whole wheat sourdough next!