Choc-bread

The smell of a fresh loaf of bread that comes out of the oven is sublime, isn't it? And how about adding some chocolate on top of it?! Yes, exactly, I know it is hard to resist.

Today I am going to teach you how to make some choc-bread, which is my way of calling some bread, filled with chocolate spread. Let's see how to make it!

Gather what you need first. For this project you will need the following ingredients:

• 1 medium egg
• 100 g granulated sugar
• 500 g strong flour
• 125 g plain whole milk yogurt
• 100 ml vegetable oil
• 100 ml milk
• 50 g chocolate spread
• 7 g instant yeast

Tips:

• Take the egg out of the fridge at least 2 hours before using it.You do not want it to be cold
• Use lukewarm milk: heat the milk in the microwave for 30 s. This way there will not be a temperature shock!

Timings:

• Prep time: 15 mins + 2.5 hours for rising and proofing
• Cook time: 20 mins

Servings:

• 12 portions (surely you can restrain yourself)

Storing:

• The choc-bread keeps extremely well. Store it on the counter for 5 days max. You can also freeze it on the first day, after it has cooled down.

You can easily make the choc-bread lactose free and vegan if you use lactose free milk (oat / almond / soy milk) and lactose free yogurt and vegan chocolate spread. If you prefer to use other spreads (jam or peanut butter), rather than the chocolate one, you can substitute them in equal quantities.

Start with the dry ingredients: take the all-purpose flour and add the yeast and two teaspoons of sugar taken from the initial quantity. Stir. The sugar is key in this step since it activates the yeast.

Take the rest of the sugar and add the lukewarm milk and the entire quantity of yogurt. Pour the vegetable oil and crack the egg open into the mix. Whisk the emulsion vigorously until you reach an uniform texture (about 2 mins).

Pour the mix of liquids prepared in the previous step into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix with a fork while pouring the wet ingredients. Continue mixing until you reach a resistant consistency. A few humps and bumps are fine in this step.

Use your hands now to carry on mixing the dough until you reach a smooth texture. Start in the same bowl you have used in the previous step, then take the dough out of it and continue kneading on a clean surface. Sprinkle the surface with some flour if needed, so that the dough does not stick. Once the dough looks nice and smooth and the lumps have dissolved, shape it into a ball and make a cross-shaped cut on top of your dough using a sharp knife.

Now transfer the dough ball iback into the bowl and cover the top with some cling film. Let it rise in the fridge for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, take the dough out from the fridge and move it to a clean and lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin flatten the dough to 0.5 cm thick and aim for a rectangular shape.

Spread a thin layer of chocolate spread on the dough making sure to leave about 2 cm around the edges free. Roll the rectangle up from one of the long edges. Cover a flat baking tin with baking paper and move the roll there. Cover the roll with cling film and let it proof for 30 mins.

Pre-heat the oven to 170° C (static).

Remove the cling film. Using a pair of scissors, cut the surface of the roll diagonally about 2 cm deep in the following way: make one cut and fold its lip to the left-hand side. Make the second cut 4 cm apart and bend the lip to the right-hand side. Alternate until you reach the end of the loaf. The cuts should not be too deep, but deep enough to reach the second layer of the dough and let a bit of spread emerge.

Brush the surface with some milk using a food brush. Make sure not to brush the chocolate part that emerges from your cuts.

Place the roll in the oven and bake it for 30 mins.

Let it cool down before serving.

Enjoy!