Enjoy this Braided Sweet Bread recipe with a chocolate nut butter warm from the oven. Such a delicious treat to have for breakfast or brunch. This recipe makes two loaves -freeze one for later.
In a large mixing bowl (of a stand mixer) combine 1½ cups of flour with yeast. Set aside.
Combine milk, potato, butter, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat on medium heat until butter starts to melt.
Remove from heat.
Add to flour mixture and mix at low speed for about one minute.
Add eggs and continue beating until well incorporated (2-3 minutes).
Switch to the dough hook.
Add the rest of the flour (3-3¼ cups) and mix for about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Alternately, you can knead by hand.
Once you have your ball of dough, place it in a lightly greased bowl, turning it over once to grease the top. This prevents it from drying out.
Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for about 45 minutes or until double in size.
While waiting, prepare the fillings.
To Make the Filling:
While the dough is rising, prepare the chocolate hazelnut butter. We need about ½- ⅔ cups of this nut butter for our yeast bread recipe.
We also need a brown sugar filling. In a small bowl, whisk together ½ cup brown sugar, 1½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of flour. Set aside for now.
Rolling and Braiding the Bread:
Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down.
Transfer to a lightly floured surface and divide it in half since we are making two loaves.
Cover and allow it to rest for 10 minutes. This will make it easier to roll out.
Lightly flour your working surface.
Working with one ball of dough at a time, roll into a 12 x 9-inch rectangle.
Spread half of the chocolate hazelnut butter to within 1 inch of the edges. Sprinkle half of the brown sugar mixture over the top of the nut butter. Press it down lightly.
Starting with the long side, tightly roll up the dough jelly-style.
Pinch the seams and ends to seal properly.
Transfer to parchment paper.
Place the seam side down. With a pastry cutter or sharp knife, Cut the entire roll (lengthwise) in half.
Carefully line up both halves to form an "X" leaving the cut side up. Loosley braid each half, keeping the cut sides up. Please watch the video.
Cover and let rise for about 45 minutes or until double in size. Repeat for the same steps for the other ball of dough.
Preheat oven to 375° F (190°C).
Baking the bread:
With a pastry brush, lightly brush the entire surface of the bread with egg wash.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown on top.
Remove from baking sheet and transfer to a wire rack to cool down. Cool for 15-20 minutes before slicing...if you can resist.
Video
Notes
Test your yeast to make sure it is still active.
When kneading the yeast dough in the stand mixer, it should pull away from the bowl. If not add 1-2 tablespoons of flour. The dough should be soft but not sticky.
Roll out one ball at a time while leaving the other ball of dough covered in plastic wrap to prevent the dough from drying out.
Brushing the surface of the bread with egg wash ensures a golden shiny crust.
As every oven heats up differently, place a piece of foil loosely over the top of the bread if it is browning too quickly. Also, consider lowering the oven to 350° F (175° C).
Best served the same day it is made.
What is the finger poke test? In order to determine if the dough has risen enough, poke it with a lightly greased finger. If the indentation remains, continue with the next step. If it springs back, allow it to rise for another 15 minutes or so. Can I bake this in a loaf pan? Yes, if you prefer, this bread can be baked in a 9 x 5 loaf pan. Grease and line the pan with parchment paper. Please keep in mind that the nutritional information provided below is just a rough estimate and variations can occur depending on the specific ingredients used.