How to make chocolate braided bread

Make this soft and rich egg bread with Nutella and toasted hazelnuts to create a deliciously chocolaty and nutty loaf! Don’t let its twisted pattern fool you, it might look complicated but it’s even easier than a standard braid.

Get all the tips for making egg bread, watch the video and get the recipe below.

Making the egg bread dough

What makes this chocolate loaf so special is the enriched egg bread. This dough has eggs, butter and milk added to it, which gives it a beautiful golden colour, small tender crumb and rich flavour.

To incorporate all the butter and eggs, a countertop mixer will make your job a lot easier. You can also make it by hand, but it will take longer and require a good amount of elbow grease to get the dough to pass the windowpane test.

What is the windowpane test?

The windowpane test makes sure that you've kneaded the dough enough. If you can pull the dough thin enough that it becomes translucent, you'll know that you've developed enough gluten in the dough so that when it bakes, it has the right texture.

To do the windowpane test:

Cut off a walnut sized ball of dough and flatten it between your fingers.
Gently pull and spread the dough apart.
If kneaded enough, the dough will easily pull into a thin, translucent “windowpane” without tearing or breaking.

If the dough breaks before you can see through it, knead it a little longer until it passes the test.

Do you need to use bread flour?

Bread flour contains more gluten, so it’s much easier to develop the gluten strands that give the bread its structure. It’s easy to find in supermarkets in the baking aisle. If you don’t have access to bread flour you can use plain flour.

How to fix cracked or sticky dough

Once kneaded, your dough should be soft, smooth and supple. If you find that your dough is still crumbly or cracks are appearing, add a tablespoon of water or milk and knead it in. Repeat until it reaches the correct consistency.

If your dough is too sticky and isn’t gathering into a cohesive ball, add a tablespoon of flour at a time and knead until the dough firms up.

My dough is too soft to braid

Pop your dough in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up if you're finding that it's too soft to work with.

How to make the dough ahead of time

One great thing about this egg bread dough is that it can be prepped ahead. Make the dough the day before you intend to eat it and store it in the fridge, then you can bake it fresh the next day. Follow the recipe up to step 5, then refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temperature and continue from step 6.

How to store the cooked chocolate bread

Once the loaf has cooled, store in an airtight container or wrap in cling film. Refrigerate for up to 3 days. Warm slices in the microwave for 20 seconds or warm in a low oven for 15 minutes.

To freeze, wrap whole loaf well in cling film and freeze for one month. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator.

Choc Hazelnut Egg Bread recipe

Get the recipe that you can collect in your myfoodbook cookbooks: Choc Hazelnut Egg Bread

Ingredients

EGG BREAD DOUGH
4 cups (600g) bread flour
2 tsp (7g) active dry yeast
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp salt
60g cold butter, diced
½ cup (125ml) cold milk
½ cup (125ml) cold water
2 eggs, lightly beaten, 1 egg for glazing

CHOC HAZELNUT FILLING
½ cup (165g) chocolate hazelnut spread
⅓ cup (45g) toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

Method

EGG BREAD DOUGH

Place 2 cups of the flour, yeast, sugar and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix at low speed for 30 seconds or until well combined
Add butter, milk and water. Beat at low speed for 1-2 minutes or until butter has been completely incorporated. Remaining at low speed, gradually add beaten eggs a little at a time, mixing well between each addition. Increase speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes. Mixture should now be glossy and sticky
Remove paddle attachment and insert dough hook. Beat on low speed and slowly add remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, until it forms a firm dough
Increase speed and knead for 5 minutes or until it forms a firm, smooth and elastic dough. Test using the windowpane method (see tips)
Tip dough onto a lightly floured work surface and form into a ball. Place in an oiled bowl. Cover and allow to rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size

CHOC HAZELNUT EGG BREAD BRAID

Punch down dough and roll out to form a 30cm x 30cm square. Spread chocolate hazelnut spread onto dough leaving a 1cm border on all sides. Sprinkle over chopped hazelnuts
Roll dough to form a log. Place onto a lined baking tray. With a sharp knife cut down the centre lengthwise, so that the two halves of dough are not completely separated but remain attached at one end
Braid the two strands without tightening and try to keep the dough with the choc hazelnut facing up. Cover with cling film and place in warm place for 30 minutes
Preheat oven to 200°C/180°C (fan-forced). Glaze braid with remaining beaten egg and bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Check at 15 minutes and if browning too fast, cover with foil. Cool on tray and serve warm or at room temperature

Australian Eggs is a contributing recipe partner at myfoodbook.com.au. This feature includes a mix of content sourced from Australian Eggs and our own opinions. Find out more about Australian Eggs.