Cherry, Chocolate & Almond Bread Ring

After watching Great British Bake Off this week, there was no doubt in my mind what I would be making. It definitely wasn't going to be the Dampfnudel technical challenge as they really didn't look very appealing, and the showstopper was a bit too showstopping for my liking. I love adding flavours to home made bread but I must admit that I used my bread maker to make the basic dough for this loaf (sorry Mr H), but I'll use my frozen shoulder as an excuse for that!

I knew that any type of bread with chocolate in would go down well with the kids, and this loaf, with it's crisp exterior and gooey filling, was no exception.

Cherry, Chocolate & Almond Bread Ring

500g Strong white bread flour

1/2 tsp salt

50g caster sugar

50g butter, softened

7g dried yeast

1 egg

225ml milk (room temperature)

filling

50g ground almonds

50g +20g butter

10g caster sugar

200g dark cherries (I used frozen ones), chopped

100g dark chocolate chips + extra for drizzling

• add the bread flour to a bowl (if you're using a breadmaker, add the ingredients in the order that your instructions state)
• add the salt, sugar, butter, yeast & egg 
• add approx 200ml of milk & start mixing everything together, adding more milk if necessary
• once the dough has come together, take it out of the bowl & knead for 10 minutes, until smooth & elastic 
• place in a large bowl & cover with clingfilm
• leave in a warm place to double in size
• once the dough has proved, turn out onto a lightly floured surface
• Roll into a large rectangle, approx 40cm x 30cm
• mix the ground almonds with 50g softened butter & spread over the dough
• scatter the chopped cherries and chocolate chips evenly over the dough
• roll up along the long edge into a tight sausage 
• form into a ring and pinch the ends together
• snip the dough with scissors approx every 2" around the ring
• place onto a lightly buttered baking sheet, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise for approx 1 hour
• brush generously with 20g melted butter
• bake in a preheated 200C oven for approx 15-20 minutes
• leave to cool on a wire rack before drizzling with melted chocolate

I am joining in with the Mummy Mishaps Great Bloggers Bake Off