End of Summer
Summer is winding down, although that can’t be seen in the weather in Austin, TX (still heat wave central) or Birmingham, England (where we’ve barely seen the sun since May). While we might have to wait a few weeks for the autumnal vibes to really hit us, we are certainly looking forward to it. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – autumn is the best time to hygge, cozy up with a cup of tea, warm blanket, and delicious slice of cake, and just find the joy in the most basic things in life. So, this autumn, we are bringing plenty of cozy vibes with our recipes too! Nothing beats an afternoon of baking when it’s rainy and leaves are falling outside, and with that in mind, we bring you today’s recipe – one for you to bookmark to bake in the next few months!
Today’s Recipe
Have you ever thought wow, wouldn’t a combination of cake and bread just be the best thing ever? And not a cake just baked in a loaf tin, like banana or pumpkin bread, but a sweet bread, like brioche, that you can slice and toast and top with whatever you like. We obviously aren’t claiming that we have invented this – breads like this are available in lots of bakeries and grocery stores – but it is a seriously delicious combo and we had to share our version of a sweet chocolate bread. This idea came to us because we had made our cinnamon swirl bread, based on our kanelsnegle pastries, and we also had a recipe for these amazing triple chocolate snails. So, why not create a bread out of the chocolate pastries too?
How to Make Chokoladebrød
The process itself is like making any other yeasted and enriched bread dough, such as dough for cinnamon rolls or sweet dinner rolls. The only difference here is that we like to add a shot of espresso or instant coffee to our dough, because the coffee really brings out the chocolate flavor. Make sure to knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic and no longer sticky – you may need to add more flour! Then, let this rise for 45 minutes to an hour.
Roll it out and top with egg white (or melted/softened butter, if you would like!) then the sugar, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips. Roll this up and make sure to pinch together the seams and roll the loaf lightly against the surface you’re working on to ensure that no filling bursts out of the dough when it’s baking. Let the loaf rise for a second time in a parchment-lined or non-stick loaf pan, then bake for about 30-35 minutes. We like to top our final bread with chocolate icing for decorative (and delicious) purposes but feel free to decorate however you like. Or don’t add anything to the top – that way you can slice, toast in a toaster oven (not a stand-up one, as the chocolate chips could melt in it) and slather with butter 😋 Enjoy!
Chokoladebrød (Chocolate Swirl Bread)
Ingredients
Dough
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) milk
- 30 ml (~1 shot) of espresso
- 2 tsp instant yeast (2.25 tsp active-dry yeast, 17.5g fresh yeast)
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 50 grams (1/4 cup) sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (or vaniljesukker, if you happen to have it!)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 325 grams (2 & 2/3 cups) all-purpose flour
- 50 grams (~1/2 cup) cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 57 grams (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 egg for egg wash
Remonce (Filling)
- 1 egg white (for brushing on the dough; you can also use melted butter, or spread on softened butter!)
- 20 grams brown sugar
- 20 grams granulated sugar
- 10 grams (~1.5 tbsp) cocoa powder, unsweetened
- Pinch of salt
- 100 grams (~3/4 cup) chocolate chips (you can also chop up a chocolate bar for this!)
Icing (Optional!)
- 113 grams (1 cup) Powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder, unsweetened
- Water or milk
- Chocolate chips for decoration
Instructions
- Heat up the milk, either in the microwave or in a saucepan, until it is "fingervarm" (finger warm), meaning it should feel warm to the touch but not hot. You don't want to kill the yeast! If using active dry or fresh yeast, add the yeast along with one teaspoon of the sugar in this recipe, and stir to dissolve. Let it rest 5-10 minutes until it begins to froth and bubble a little bit. (If your yeast doesn't do anything, it may be expired. Check the expiration date on the package and start over with new yeast!) If using instant yeast, you don't need to activate it, and you can add the milk and yeast directly to the egg mixture in the next step.
- Combine the egg, egg yolk, remaining sugar, vanilla extract, and salt in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix together until you have a homogenous mixture.
- Add the milk and yeast mixture to the egg mixture and whisk to combine. Add in one shot of espresso as well, and mix to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and cocoa powder to get rid of any large lumps.
- Slowly add the flour and cocoa powder mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring with a wooden spoon, or using the dough hook on your stand mixer. Once the dough starts to come together, you can start kneading. Note: you may not need to add all of the flour, which is why we recommend adding it slowly and gauging how dry the dough appears. You can always add more flour as you knead, but it's very difficult to get moisture back into the dough once it is too dry.
- Add the softened butter and knead until smooth and elastic, probably around 5-10 minutes. Add a bit of flour if the dough sticks to your hands or the surface. If you prefer not to get your hands messy and covered in butter, you can knead the dough with a dough hook attachment in a stand mixer.
- The texture of your dough before its first rise should be soft and smooth, not sticky and not too dry.
- Cover and let your dough rise for about 45 minutes, or until doubled in size. You can use the "poke" test to check whether your dough is done rising; if you poke the dough and it leaves an indentation and doesn't spring back immediately, it should be ready!
- For the filling, combine brown sugar, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, and a pinch of salt and stir together until well combined. This may make a little more than you will need, so if you feel like it is too much, leave some off when you sprinkle it on the dough after rolling it out!
- Once your dough has doubled in size, roll it out into a rectangle that is approximately 7.5" by 18" in size. It should not be wider than the loaf pan you will bake this in! We baked this in a large loaf pan, but it will definitely fit in a smaller pan as well. Note that while we found that while the shape is better in a smaller pan, we had some trouble with the loaf splitting on the top.
- Add 1 egg white to a small bowl. Using a pastry brush, brush egg white along the top of the dough so the sugar and cocoa powder mixture will stick to the dough. If you want to, you can use melted butter or softened butter to brush/spread over the top instead!
- Sprinkle sugar and cocoa powder mixture across the top.
- Follow by sprinkling on chocolate chips in an even layer over the top.
- Roll the dough up into a log. You'll want to roll from the shorter edge of the rectangle, so that your loaf has a more pronounced swirl. Roll as tightly as you can to prevent gaps from forming!
- Once you roll to the end, pinch the seam shut, on the ends and along the length of the rolled up log as well. Roll the loaf lightly against the surface you're working on to make the seam flat against the loaf.
- Add parchment paper to your loaf pan and oil any exposed sides. We like our parchment paper to hang over the sides so that it is easy to remove the loaf after baking. Place the loaf in the pan and cover.
- Let the loaf rise another 45 minutes. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- You can use the "poke" test to check whether your dough is done rising; if you poke the dough and it leaves an indentation and doesn't spring back immediately, it should be ready!
- Make your egg wash (1 egg whisked together with a splash of water until there are no more gloopy streaks of egg white), then brush over the loaf.
- Bake for about 30-35 minutes.
- Once done, remove from the loaf pan and let cool for around 20-30 minutes on a wire rack.
- For the optional icing: combine powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and water/milk until you reach your desired icing consistency. Remember, a little bit of liquid goes a long way, so start with a cup of powdered sugar and a tiny bit of water or milk! You can always make more icing if needed as well. You also don't need to add icing if you don't want to! Pour over the top of the loaf and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Best enjoyed warm. We recommend if you don't have icing on it, to slice it and toast in a toaster oven (don't get melted chocolate chips in an upright toaster!), then eat it topped with butter!
hej, chokoladebrødet er virkelig lækkert. Alle er begejstrede for det.
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Tusind tak 🙂