Chocolate Brioche Twist

Chocolate Brioche Twist- a classic brioche dough twisted with milk chocolate and baked. Perfect as an Easter breakfast treat.

This week, for the #GBBOTwitterBakeAlong,  I have made a Chocolate Brioche Twist.

My heart sank a little when I saw the challenges in last week's GBBO. I love watching Bread Week and I love making bread in my breadmaker but I have little to no experience of any kind of fancy breadmaking. So when I saw twists and sweet dough and showstoppers using 3 different types of flour, I wasn't sure how I would get on with trying something similar out for myself.

I decided to make a Chocolate Brioche Twist as it didn't seem too scary or complicated and I was very pleased with how it turned out. It's absolutely delicious for one thing, and it looks pretty impressive when it's baked.

Brioche is made of an enriched dough using eggs, sugar and butter which gives it a slightly more cakey, buttery texture. As you'd expect from the name, it's French, but you'll also see it baked in Greece as a traditional Easter food.

For my Chocolate Brioche Twist, I made a basic brioche dough, risen once. I made it in the breadmaker, but if you don't have one, you could make your dough using a food processor with a dough hook. Once it had risen, I rolled it out, spread melted chocolate mixed with butter over it, rolled it up, sliced it and twisted it. Much easier than it sounds! When baked, it perfect as a little something to have with a cuppa for elevenses, or as an after-school treat.

 Go ahead and give it a try- it's easier than you think!

Chocolate Brioche Twist

Ingredients

250g plain white flour

150g butter

4 heaped tbsp caster sugar

7g fast action yeast

3 eggs

100g milk chocolate

milk

Method

1. Put the flour, 100g of the butter, the sugar, the yeast and the eggs in the breadmaker and set it to the brioche dough setting. Alternatively, put the same ingredients into a food processor and use the dough hook until you have a nice elastic dough. Then leave to rise for around 2 hours or until doubled.

2. About 20 mins before the time is up, melt the chocolate gently in a completely dry pan with the remaining butter. Leave to cool. 

3. When risen, turn it out on to a floured surface, roll it with your hand until the stickiness is lightly  covered with flour.

4. Then roll it out into a large rectangle. You'll need to be fairly firm with your rolling pin, as it will spring back.

5. Use a silicone spatula to spread the chocolate mixture as close to the edges of the dough as you can.

6. Roll it up on the longest edge, like a sausage and then lay onto a chopping board.

7. Using a sharp knife, slice the sausage shape right down the middle lengthways, so you have two long pieces and you can see the layers.

8. Pinch the top ends of the two strips together.

9. Twist the rest around each other, pinch the other ends and then bring round into a circle and pinch together again.

10. Lift gently and put onto a large, lightly greased baking tray.

11. Pop into the oven at 190 (180 fan, gas mark 4) for 18 mins, then cover with foil and cook for a further 7 mins.

12. Lift carefully off the baking tray and onto a cooling rack.