Sea Salt and Cocoa Shortbread

I think culinary encouragement goes a long way, especially for avid bakers and food bloggers.

You reach a point where the learning curve plateaus and the people you’re feeding assume everything you create will be delicious and beautifully photographed. And believe me, it’s pretty disappointing when you spend hours preparing something, only to have a good friend pick at their plate and say polite things like “it’s okay” or “it’s pretty good” or “I’m just not that hungry.”

Furthermore, there’s a sort of social detachment that comes with increased culinary ability. Suddenly, people don’t want to share their cooking with you, or they preface edible gifts with statements like “I made you these cookies, but you probably won’t like them” or “here is this pastry, but it’s store-bought so you don’t have to eat it.”

So, it can be pretty tough when everything starts to go wrong. I found it very comforting that a bad week in the kitchen had Molly of Orangette on the verge of tears. Her description of failed dough as “oat-and-brown-sugar hummus” is priceless, and probably familiar to more than one baker.

One of the things I love most about food blogs is that sense of shared baking failure that follows a post like Molly’s. Suddenly everyone has a kind word and a story about flipping pancakes onto the floor, cleaning spilled batter out of the oven, or substituting/omitting ingredients with disastrous results. And, in many cases, people will share a fantastic recipe to compensate for the troublesome one.

I, too, have weeks where all recipes fail, and the possibility of baking something great is utterly squashed. I’ve been testing chocolate recipes for an upcoming presentation, and some of them were just terrible! Luckily, these sea salt and shortbread cookies turned out very well. They’re quite rich, and I think they’re best small, maybe served on a saucer alongside some coffee. The crisp, crumbly texture is addictive.

I roll out the soft dough inside of a gallon-sized plastic bag, chill it, and then cut it into shapes. It’s best to leave the bag open while you do this, so air can escape. Dorie Greenspan gives a good description of this technique in Baking From my Home to Yours, which you can view here.

Chocolate Shortbread with Cacao Nibs and Sea Salt
Adapted from Elizabeth Falkner’s recipe in The Essence of Chocolate

1 cup all purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup + 2 tbsp cocoa nibs, crushed with a rolling pin
1 tsp fine or coarse sea salt (I used fleur de sel)
12 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature (don’t use cold butter!)
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

Sift the flour and cocoa into a small bowl and whisk to combine. In another bowl, combine the nibs and sea salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy, stopping occasionally to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Mix in the vanilla. Add half of the flour mixture and mix on low speed. Add the remaining flour mixture, stopping as necessary to scrape down the bowl. Once incorporated, mix on medium speed for 1-2 minutes, or until well combined. Mix in the nibs and salt. (The dough can be refrigerated, well wrapped, for up to 1 week, or frozen for up to 2 months).

On a lightly floured board or between two pieces of parchment paper, roll the dough into a square ¼ inch thick. Cut into 1 by 2.5 inch rectangles or other desired shape, and place on the prepared pans about 1 inch apart (they will spread a little).

Bake for 15 minutes. It is sometimes difficult to tell when these are done- one of the best indications is the smell of baked cookies in the air. When the cookies are nudged, they shouldn’t feel soft, but the bottoms should seem crisp. Avoid over-baking to avoid a bitter flavor.

Remove from the oven and transfer shortbread to a cooling rack to cool completely. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Black and Gold Baking

Over the weekend, Pittsburgh bakeries, grocery stores, and Eat'n Parks cranked out seemingly enough black and gold sweets to fill a football stadium. Bakery workers in Johnstown worked overtime. By Friday my grocery store was sold out of individually packaged yellow food coloring, and a friend told me she couldn't find yellow sprinkles anywhere.

Despite our local enthusiasm, I don't really associate the super bowl with baking. While many newspapers run a super bowl themed food section, they tend to focus on savory items. All of the Post Gazette's reader recipes were savory, and I noticed that most of my friends/coworkers preferred purchasing Steelers baked goods to making them.

In some cases, it makes sense that savory super bowl fare outshines the sweet; i'd much rather eat wings, pierogies, and sauerkraut than oversized sugar cookies and artificially colored cupcakes. Still, I think some people avoid baking for a crowd because they assume it is difficult and expensive and yields a mediocre product. And sometimes it's hard to resist the novelty of a storebought cake shaped like a football field.

Two days before the super bowl, I felt a rush of Steelers fever and decided to find some simple recipes that would be appetizing, even if I had to spend extra money for the multi-pack of food coloring. I have an aversion to black food coloring, so I picked recipes that used cocoa for color contrast.

I added yellow food coloring to a plain batch of rice krispie treats and to the plain batter in this tried and true recipe for marble cake. The chocolate rice krispie treats are from Lora Brody's Chocolate American Style. The recipe is a simple but potent variation on the traditional one. Be sure to use a good-flavored cocoa as it really impacts the taste. I used dutch-process cocoa from Penzey's.

If you're hungry for more black and gold baking, check out these black and gold pastries from Jean-Marc Chatellier, or the "Steelers Cupcake" flickr results.

Chocolate Cereal Treats
adapted from Lora Brody's Chocolate American Style
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 10oz bag of mini marshmallows
2/3 cup dutch-process cocoa powder
6 cups rice krispies (or 4 cups + 2 cups cheerios)
1/2 cup dried sweet or tart cherries (optional)

Butter a 9x13in pan. In a large saucepan or pot, combine the butter and marshmallows. Cook and stir over low heat, until the marshmallows are almost completely melted. Add the cocoa powder and stir until the mixture is smooth and even-colored. Turn off the heat and stir in the cereal. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and use a piece of wax paper or plastic wrap to smooth the mixture in the pan. Sprinkle the cherries over the cereal and use the paper or plastic to press them in gently.

When fully cooled, turn the contents out of the pan onto a cutting board and cut into squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Croissants from Jean-Marc Chatellier

Last week I stopped by Jean Marc Chatellier to buy pastries for work. I decided on assorted croissants: 2 plain, 2 almond, and 3 chocolate. I was sorely tempted by a tray of freshly made lemon tarts, but I thought they'd be a little much for breakfast.

If you can get to Millvale, the bakery is worth a visit. Not all of the pastries are my favorite, but they are executed with elegance and attention to detail. There's always something interesting to see; on previous visits I've seen Jean-Marc working on exquisite wedding cakes with elaborate florals.

These croissants were quite large. The almond croissant was filled with a pastry cream which was delicious, but not the almond cream I was expecting. Still, $9 dollars for 7 pastries is a bargain, and there are enough varieties for everyone to find something they like.

Reuben's Legendary Apple Pancake

The first time I made this pancake, I tried to flip in in the pan. I gave the skillet a forceful jerk and the 8-inch pancake, beautifully caramelized, ended up on the floor in pieces- a sticky mess of apples, and raisins, and undercooked batter. It was tragic, really.

The idea of a sugar encrusted apple pancake sounded irresistible, so I was determined to try again. My second attempt was much more successful. While Richard Sax's recipe is fairly simple in terms of ingredients and technique, the execution can be troublesome. I had a few notes on the process:

It's hard getting the batter to cook evenly before the first flip, and it's easy to burn the sugar if the heat is too high. I'd recommend letting the batter sit a while on low heat before trying to pull back the edges and let the uncooked batter flow underneath. I'd also suggest greasing the plate you turn the pancake onto, as the caramel gets very sticky.

The finished product was inexpensive and, in my opinion, worth the trouble. I like the simple, clean flavors. It's best eaten shortly after it's made, but the cold leftovers are still pretty tasty.

You can find the recipe here.

Buckwheat Crepes with Apples and Gruyere

I found this recipe in the dessert section of Leite's Culinaria. I think it's better suited to breakfast or brunch, but that's negotiable. I love apples in savory contexts like slaws, vegetable mashes, and chutneys. Here, they're combined with Spanish onions, smoked ham, and Gruyere cheese, with a touch of nutmeg and lemon.

Both the crepes and filling can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until needed. It's a great recipe if you're cooking for one or two, or if you want a fancy snack on hand. I loved that the simple components turned into something so sophisticated and subtle.

The filling is quick to assemble and can be made in smaller quantities if needed. It's also quite adaptable: you can use bacon instead of ham, or omit the meat for a less savory variation. I'd love to try adding some thyme or another fresh herb.

I have a few notes: Initially, my batter was too thick and yielded dense, rubbery crepes. I had to add about 1/2 cup more water to get the right consistency. I worried the crepes would be too thick or too plain, but they were well suited to the filling.

Be sure to cook the filling in a large skillet- an 11-inch fry pan comfortably held the half batch in a single layer. A full batch probably won't fit in anything smaller. Also, when filling the crepes, make sure to fold the crepe up before it becomes too brittle. The longer it cooks, the less flexible it will be.

I didn't bother buttering the skillet before cooking each crepe, or brushing the finished crepes with melted butter. They seemed fine as-is, and I enjoyed them thoroughly.

Buckwheat Crepes with Apples and Gruyere
adapted from Marie Simmons's Things Cooks Love

Crepe batter:
1 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon coarse salt
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons salted or unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
4 tablespoons salted or unsalted butter
3 yellow onions, cut into 1/8-inch wedges
6 slightly green Golden Delicious apples, quartered, cored, and cut crosswise into 1/8-inch
wedges
2 ounces smoked ham, thinly slivered (optional)
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of coarse salt

1 tablespoon salted or unsalted butter, melted, plus 2 tablespoons, softened
3 cups (12 ounces) coarsely grated Gruyère or Comté cheese

Directions:
Make the crepe batter
1. In a large bowl, stir together the buckwheat flour, all-purpose flour, and salt. In a
small bowl, whisk the eggs until well blended; stir in the water and butter.

2. Gradually whisk the egg mixture into the flour mixture until the batter is smooth.
Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. The batter should be the consistency of heavy
cream. If it is too thick, whisk in additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Make the filling
1. While the batter is resting, make the filling. In a large skillet, melt the butter
over medium-low heat. Add the onions; increase the heat to medium, and cook,
stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the apples and cook, stirring, for 10 to 15 minutes, until
the apples begin to brown and have softened. Add the ham and sprinkle with the
lemon juice, nutmeg, and salt. Cover and set aside until ready to fill the crepes.

Make and assemble the crepes
1. Heat a 9- to 11-inch crepe pan over medium-low heat until hot enough for a drop
of water to sizzle on contact. Brush the surface of the crepe pan with a thin film of
the melted butter. Blot any excess with the tip of a paper towel. Stir the crepe batter
well with the whisk.

2. Ladle about 1/3 cup of the batter into the heated pan, and simultaneously tilt and
roll the pan from side to side to coat the surface with a thin layer of batter. Cook for
1 minute, or until the edges begin to set. Run the tip of a small narrow rubber
spatula under the edges of the crepe to loosen it from the pan. Use your fingertips to
lift the crepe and quickly flip it over. Cook the other side for 30 seconds, or until the
batter is set into a thin pancake. Do not brown the crepe or cook it until crisp.
Transfer the crepe to a large, round plate. Repeat with the remaining batter,
brushing the pan with more butter if necessary. Stack the crepes as they are made.
You should have 12 crepes. If making ahead, wrap the crepes in plastic wrap or
aluminum foil to prevent drying out. The crepes can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.

3. If the crepes have been made ahead, first fill them one at a time by warming each
crepe in the pan over low heat. Otherwise, when the fresh crepe is cooked and still in
the pan, sprinkle about 1/4 cup of the cheese in the center. Top the cheese with a
large spoonful of the warm apple filling, spreading it into a single layer. Fold in two
opposite sides of the circle to cover the filling. Then fold in the remaining two
rounded sides, overlapping slightly, to form a square envelope. With a wide spatula,
lift the crepe from the pan and invert it, so it is seam side down, onto a serving
plate. Cover with aluminum foil to keep warm if not serving at once. Fill the
remaining crepes in the same way. Reserve the remaining filling.

4. Just before serving, brush the smooth top of each crepe with a thin film of the
softened butter. Reheat the remaining apple filling and spoon a portion on top of
each crepe. Serve at once.

Salty Thin and Crispy Oatmeal Cookies

Several people have asked for this recipe since I posted the photos in November, so I figured it was time to post it. It yields a thin, very crisp cookie that's good for snacking. Since the dough is heavy on sugar, it's important to wait until the cookies are fully cooled before eating them (unless you're a fan of that tough, stick-to-your teeth texture).

While the sea salt topping is optional, I think it's a great contrast to the sweet cookies. My cookies spread to 3.5-4 inches in diameter (too large for my tastes), so next time i'd divide the dough into smaller portions. I think smaller, uniformly shaped cookies would bake more evenly.

Do avoid overbaking the cookies- they quickly change from perfect to burnt. Golden brown and dark brown cookies have a marked difference in taste. I forgot a batch in the oven and when I finally pulled them out they were carbon...happens to the best of us!

Salty Thin and Crispy Oatmeal Cookies
adapted from Cook's Illustrated
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool, about 65 degrees
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 350 degrees. Line 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.

2. In standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars at medium-low speed until just combined. Increase speed to medium and continue to beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula. Add egg and vanilla and beat on medium-low until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down bowl again. With mixer running at low speed, add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated and smooth, 10 seconds. With mixer still running on low, gradually add oats and mix until well incorporated, 20 seconds. Give dough final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no flour pockets remain and ingredients are evenly distributed.

3. Divide dough into 24 equal portions, each about 2 tablespoons, then roll between palms into balls. Place cookies on prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 1/2 inches apart, 8 dough balls per sheet. Using fingertips, gently press each dough ball to 3/4-inch thickness. Lightly sprinkle sea salt evenly over flattened dough balls before baking.

4. Bake 1 sheet at a time until cookies are deep golden brown, 13 to 16 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack; cool cookies completely on sheet.

Strip District Sweets

Yesterday morning, if you had asked me if I liked caramel corn, I would have said no. I knew two kinds of caramel corn: Cracker Jack, and the kind that comes in a multi-compartmented Christmas tin-the stale, achingly-sweet caramel corn that always ends up contaminated with radioactive orange cheese corn. (Apparently some people like the half-cheese half-caramel option!)

And yet I felt a sudden urge to stop in the Pittsburgh Popcorn Company while I was in the Strip. It took over the space next to Colangelo's (formerly Il Piccolo Forno) that used to sell fancy stationery and ceramics. The owners met working at a popcorn shop in NYC. The interior is cheery and somewhat whimsical. You can watch someone drizzling chocolate over freshly made caramel corn while someone else, perched on a ladder, carefully monitors a giant kettle of popping corn.

I bought a bag of Chocolate Pecan Praline popcorn. This is the sort of sweet i'd rather buy than make myself; caramel corn recipes can be difficult (David Lebovitz has posts on multiple attempts, and Adam Roberts failed 8 times before succeeding), and it is dangerous to have lying around in big quantities. Amanda from Slow Like Honey said it looked like crack in a bag.

I don't see myself buying fancy popcorn regularly, but I did enjoy it (though I wished it had a few pinches of sea-salt thrown in). Good quality chocolate and toasted nuts make such a difference in taste. I also appreciated that the store had Steelers tins and a special "Black and Gold" flavor...I love Pittsburgh for things like that.

After my popcorn adventure I stopped by Enrico Biscotti for a chocolate croissant. Their croissants are some of my favorite in the city, though the plain ones have varied in consistency over the years. They have a nice yeasty flavor and flaky, yielding texture. I like to heat them up in the oven.

Saturday coffee and pastry is one of my favorite habits. I'm usually in the mood for pastries i'd never bake at home, and chocolate croissants definitely fit in that category.

Tuscan Bean Stew with Sausage and Kale

I did some baking during the holidays, but not much. Some of my favorite items were Pains D'Amande and Bill Granger's Pear Cake with Vanilla Custard (made with apples instead).

Now that the holiday season is over and the weather is less than optimal, i'm in the mood for soup. I've started to cooking huge pots of soup on Sundays. I'll divvy the soup into tupperwares for work and freeze the extra for weeks when i'm too tired to cook (which are often at the moment).

I used this recipe as an opportunity to (finally) buy some sausage from the Parma Sausage Company. It had great flavor, though it made the soup a little rich and I might use less next time. You can buy loose sausage in relatively inexpensive 1.5lb packages. I've made the vegetarian version of this soup as well, which is flavored with extra herbs and porcini mushrooms instead of meat.

I should start baking more once I settle back into work. I've been reading lots of recipes for slice and bake cookies, and i'm looking for an excuse to use the 40% butterfat, not "ultra-pasteurized" Turner's cream from Whole Foods. Too bad I sold the ice cream maker...

Tuscan Bean Stew with Sausage and Cabbage
adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Table salt
1 pound dried cannellini beans (about 2 cups)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 large onion, chopped medium (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 medium celery ribs, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3/4 cup)
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
8 medium garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 cups water
2 bay leaves
1/2 medium head savoy cabbage, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used kale)
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes drained and rinsed
1 sprig fresh oregano leaves
Ground black pepper

Instructions
1. Dissolve 3 tablespoons salt in 4 quarts cold water in large bowl or container. Add beans and soak at room temperature for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours. Drain and rinse well.

2. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 250 degrees. Heat oil and sausage in large Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook, breaking meat into small pieces with wooden spoon until it loses its raw color, about 8 minutes. Transfer sausage to paper towel-lined plate and place in refrigerator. Add onion, celery, and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and lightly browned, 10 to 16 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in broth, water, bay leaves, and soaked beans. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Cover pot, transfer to oven, and cook until beans are almost tender (very center of beans will still be firm), 45 minutes to 1 hour.

3. Remove pot from oven and stir in greens, sausage, and tomatoes. Return pot to oven and continue to cook until beans and greens are fully tender, 30 to 40 minutes longer.

4. Remove pot from oven and submerge oregano sprig in stew. Cover and let stand 15 minutes. Discard bay leaves and oregano sprig and season stew with salt and pepper to taste. If desired, use back of spoon to press some beans against side of pot to thicken stew.

Toffee Chocolate Nut Wedges

Sometimes I feel like the holiday season is an unspoken competition. It can be a competition to give the best food gift, cook the best meal, or distribute the most cookies to the most people. When I go to a holiday party, I feel like it's a competition to make the most talked-about dish and go home with the least leftovers, without upstaging the hostess.

I know the holiday doesn't have to be competetive. Still, as a baker, there's nothing worse than to spend hours working on something elaborate and seasonal only to have no one eat it. Or have someone tell you they wanted to eat it, but they ate too many Candy Cane Joe-Joe's, or one too many pieces of Aunt So-and-So's super wonder fudge bark thing.

To cut back on holiday baking stress, it's good to have a repertoire of quick, impressive, cost-effective recipes. If you, like me, put off most of your holiday baking until the very last minute, you'll love this recipe for Toffee Chocolate Nut Wedges. With minimal effort, these delicious, elegant cookies can be baked and assembled in less than an hour.

Rather than crunchy, like shortbread, these cookies are tender with crisped edges. The toasted nuts add a needed textural contrast to the cookie base and smooth, creamy ganache.

I think these cookies could be even more visually striking with different topping combinations. I had mendiants in mind when I thought of different ingredients to add: cocoa nibs, sea salt, pistachios, almonds, candied orange peel, dried tart cherries, cranberries, and raisins. Even white chocolate with candy cane pieces.

I don't think these cookies would go unnoticed at anyone's party! Even if they did...at least they keep well.

Toffee Chocolate Nut Wedges
adapted from Abigail Johnson Dodge's The Weekend Baker
8 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ c dark brown sugar, firmly packed
¼ tsp table salt
1 yolk from large egg
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
1 c all-purpose flour
5 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
3 tbsp heavy cream
½ c chopped pecans (or walnuts), toasted

Position an oven rack in the middle and preheat to 350F. Lightly grease a 9.5" tart pan with a removable bottom. A pie plate or similarly sized baking pan will work, but you won't get the nice fluted edges.

In a large bowl, combine the butter, dark brown sugar and salt. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat just until combined. Pour in the flour and beat on low speed until the dough begins to clump together. Scrape the dough into the prepared pan, scattering the pieces evenly. Pat the dough into the bottom (not up the sides) of the prepared pan to form an even layer. Bake until the top looks dry and the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 25 to 27 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate with the cream in a double boiler or in the microwave. Stir until smooth. When the crust is baked, transfer the pan to a rack. Pour the warm ganache over the warm crust and spread evenly to within 1/2” of the edge. Scatter the nuts over the ganache and gently press them into the chocolate. Let cool until the chocolate is set, about 4 hours at room temperature or about 2 hours in the refrigerator. Remove the outer ring of the tart pan and cut the “cookie tart” into 16 wedges. Serve the wedges chilled or at room temperature.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Loaf

This is a recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread, but we like to call it Super Chocolate Awesome Bread. These were literally the first words out of my friend's mouth when he took a bite.

It's one of two recipes i've tried from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking- the second one being the Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins, which were also nicknamed Super Chocolate Awesome Muffins. The same friend had already devoured two before I'd had two bites. They were that good.

It's the simplicity of these two recipes that made me want to try them first. Both can be mixed up in practically no time, and they yield beautiful, moist cakes oozing with melting chocolate. The pumpkin bread is quite spicy; several people actually thought it was gingerbread. I'm tempted to try it without the chocolate, as i've been hurting for a good plain pumpkin bread recipe.

For the muffins, I bought already over-ripe bananas from Penn Mac. It's usually a good place to go if you don't want to wait for bananas to ripen. The espresso powder in the batter is a nice, dark complement to the chocolate. The coffee flavor was hard to identify in the final product- I thought it was nicely balanced. You can view a reprint of the recipe here, but the original uses only semisweet chocolate.

Not all of the recipes in this book appeal to me, but I liked these two so much that i'll probably try a few more!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp clove
1/2 tsp ginger
2 tsp salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree (15oz can)
3 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup water, room temperature
1 cup (12 oz) chocolate chips or chopped semisweet chocolate

Preheat the oven to 350F and position a rack in the middle. Grease and flour two 9x5 inch loaf pans or line them with foil or parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk together the oil and pumpkin puree. Add the granulated sugar and whisk to combine. Add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract and water. Mix in the chocolate with a rubber spatula.

Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Do not overmix (and don't worry if you see a few small streaks of flour). Divide into the two pans and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then unmold leave to cool completely.