Chocolate, Cardamom & Banana Focaccia Bread
- kitchen-jungle
- Jun 2, 2020
- 3 min read
Firstly, I apologise if I ruined the concept of Focaccia but also not sorry because this recipe was magical… The crispy edges of the focaccia against the soft, chocolatey middle that had been soaked into the bread along with little chewy, caramelised banana pieces occasionally popping up, all complimented with a background note of cardamom #sorrynotsorry
Admittedly, the bread was not a pretty sight and the photos were definitely a challenge and do not do it justice, but this one is definitely worth trying.
The recipe has been adapted from my Caramalised Onion, Olive, Garlic & Mozerella Focaccia. I made the dough as normal (If you read this blog, then you’ll know not to forget to save a few episodes of that series you're watching, as it can be a slow
process, but completely worth it)
I rolled the dough out and was really generous with the chocolate spread (with no shame). The thought of using Nutella did cross my mind, but I didn’t want this to overpower the cardamom and banana flavours, so I opted for a plain chocolate spread instead.
After a scatter of chopped bananas and a sprinkle of some ground cardamom powder, I rolled it as you would to make a cinnamon roll.
Here comes the messy part; once you have the long roll of dough in front of you, take a knife and slice it halfway. I then cut the half again along the middle, but this is completely optional.
It should be known that it got very, very messy at this point but still completely worth it.
I then transferred the sliced roll onto a greased tray and let it prove again for around 40 minutes. Once it had doubled in size again, as you would with focaccia, I started to make indentations into the bread and baked it for around 20 minutes.
The bread should be served immediately whilst it is still warm and if you really have no shame and wish to live life on the edge, definitely spread some butter onto the bread for that additional luxurious feel.
In the fear of coming down the next morning to have some for breakfast and being disappointed to finding out that it has all gone (because this happens very often in our household), I can assure you that half of the bread has been secretly transferred into a sandwich bag and buried in the freezer alongside the brussels sprouts and frozen sweetcorn. It’s keeping the frozen cookie dough company ;) No one will find it here, it’s safer this way... This reserved portion is for those next few lazy Sunday mornings.
Here is the full recipe:
Click here to see the full method for making the bread, when I made my Caramalised Onion, Olive, Garlic & Mozerella Focaccia.
Filling:
400g Chocolate Spread / Nutella (Don’t be shy)
1 Tablespoon of Ground Cardamom
3-4 ripe bananas, chopped up
3-4 Tablespoons of Vegetable Oil to grease the tray
Focaccia Dough
1kg of Plain Flour
14g Dried Fast Action Yeast
4 Teaspoons of Salt/Sea Salt
350ml – 400ml of Lukewarm Water
To make the dough – Add the flour into a large mixing bowl. On one side of the bowl, add the instant yeast and on the other side add the salt. (Remember this separation stops the salt from killing off the yeast which you do not want to do)
Then mix this all together, make a well in the centre and slowly pour in some of your water a little at a time. Combine together, adding more water if necessary, till it reaches a firm dough.
Sprinkle a work surface with some extra plain flour and start to knead the dough on a clean work surface.
Once it is smooth, return the dough into your large mixing bowl and cover this with a tea towel for 45 minutes till it has doubled in size.
Knock out the air in the dough and roll the dough out into a rough rectangular shape (Don’t worry if the dough is not evenly spread out)
Spread the chocolate spread on the dough, all the way to the corners and sprinkle over the cardamom powder and chopped bananas.
Start to roll the dough (Like a Swiss roll) Once you have the long roll of dough in front of you, take a knife and slice it halfway.
I then cut the half again along the middle, but this is completely optional.
Transfer the sliced roll onto a greased tray and let it prove again for around 40 minutes.
Once it has doubled in size again, to resemble that focaccia look, press your fingers into the dough to make dimples (I also found that this distributes the fillings evenly too).
Bake the focaccia at 220 degrees Celsius until it is bubbling. Serve immediately whilst it is still warm.