This Chocolate Bread Wreath is a big hug of chocolate goodness in the form of a soft chocolate-flavored dough. Baked with walnuts and glazed with rich chocolate, this your ultimate chocolate bread.
It has been over a week of cold and stuffy noses in our house. We are still recovering from the nasty virus that hit us all and here I am, done with all the hot soups and honey-lemon tea, and all I crave is some chocolate decadence after my taste buds have been muted from the sickness.
I am sure glad that my girls are now well and so much better, and I am thankful that I am now up and blogging again. The baking has not resumed yet and I am a few days late for the month but it will come…
For now though, Chocolate Bread Wreath with Walnuts and Chocolate Glaze.
This is the first ever chocolate dough on the blog despite the many bread recipes here, and I cannot still figure out why it took me so long to make this one. I mean chocolate dough? It is straight delicious. What is better than bread than a chocolate flavored one, right?
This Chocolate Bread Wreath is made of a dough that has cocoa powder in it, giving it that exact notes of chocolate with nutty flavor profile from the walnuts mixed in.
The bread is braided beautifully into a wreath and to finish, a luxurious glaze of chocolate is drizzled all over. It is quite a centerpiece if you ask me.
How to Make Chocolate Bread Wreath with Walnuts and Chocolate Glaze?
In a large mixing bowl, combine:
- 1 cup of all-purpose flour
- 1 cup warm milk
- 2 tsp sugar
- Yeast
Stir everything together until smooth. Cover it with plastic and let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, until bubbly.
To the same bowl, add:
- 2 lightly beaten eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- cocoa powder
- salt,
- 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts
- 1/2 cup of flour
Stir everything using a wooden spoon until all the ingredients and incorporated and the mixture is smooth.
Add the softened butter bit by bit, stirring well after each addition. Add just enough remaining flour gradually until the dough gathers in the center of the bowl. You are looking for a soft, shaggy dough that is not dry.
Turn the dough into a lightly floured board. Knead it until the dough is smooth and elastic. You may not need the entire flour. I always have about 1/2 to 1/3 cup of flour left.
Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let it rise for an hour until doubled in size.
Punch the dough down and divide it into 3 equal portions. Let them rest for 10 minutes. After resting, roll each portion into a rope that is 20 inches long.
Braid them together starting from one end down the other end. Join the ends together to form a circle. To seal the dough, make the end overlap by putting one end over the other. Pinch them together to close the circle.
Transfer the dough into a greased baking sheet. Place a ball of foil in the center of the circle to retain the shape of the dough as it rises. Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise for 45-60 minutes, until puffy and doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 375 F. To make the egg wash, beat the egg with 1 tbsp of milk. Brush the dough with the egg wash using a pastry brush. Bake the bread for 20-25 minutes. Drizzle the chocolate glaze over the bread and sprinkle some walnuts over top.
Pointers and Tip To Make Chocolate Bread Wreath
- You can use finely chopped almonds instead of walnuts to mix to the dough. Similarly, sliced almonds can be used as toppings instead of walnuts.
- To shape the braid into a wreath, it helps to overlap the two ends by placing one on top of the other. Pinch the ends together to seal the circle. Overlapping will ensure you have uniform thickness around the edges.
- Once the bread is shaped into a wreath, crumple a piece of foil into a ball and tuck it in the center hole of the wreath. This helps the wreath to retain its shape. The foil stays all throughout baking as well.
- You can cover the bread loosely with a foil during the last ten minutes of baking to avoid over-browning. Once the bread sounds hollow when you tap it, the bread is done baking.
More Chocolate Goodness for You:
- Chocolate Chip Loaf Bread
- Chocolate Croissants
- Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
- Chocolate Brioche
- Chocolate Hazelnut Rolls
- Chocolate Banana Bread
- Chocolate Cake with Whipped Chocolate Icing
- Chocolate Chiffon Cake with Orange Chocolate Glaze
- Best Ever Chocolate Brownies
Chocolate Bread Wreath with walnuts and Chocolate Glaze
This Chocolate Bread Wreath is your ultimate chocolate bread made with chocolate dough and topped with crunchy almonds then drizzled with a rich chocolate glaze.
Ingredients
- 3 and 1/2 to 4 and 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
- 1 cup warm milk 105-115 F
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 and 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts or almonds
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup (75 g) butter softened
For brushing on the Dough
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 1 tbsp milk
For the Topping and Glaze
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 2 tbsp hot water
- almonds or walnuts for sprinkling on the bread
Instructions
-
In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of all-purpose flour,1 cup warm milk, 2 tsp sugar, and yeast. Stir everything together until smooth. Cover it with plastic and let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, until bubbly.
-
To the same bowl, add 2 lightly beaten eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, cocoa powder, salt, 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts and 1/2 cup of flour. Stir everything using a wooden spoon until all the ingredients and incorporated and the mixture is smooth.
-
Add the softened butter bit by bit, stirring well after each addition. Add just enough remaining flour gradually until the dough gathers in the center of the bowl. You are looking for a soft, shaggy dough that is not dry.
-
Turn the dough into a lightly floured board. Knead it until the dough is smooth and elastic. You may not need the entire flour. I always have about 1/2 to 1/3 cup of flour left. Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let it rise for an hour until doubled in size.
-
Punch the dough down and divide it into 3 equal portions. Let them rest for 10 minutes. After resting, roll each portion into a rope that is 20 inches long. Braid them together starting from one end down the other end. Join the ends together to form a circle. To seal the dough, make the end overlap by putting one end over the other. Pinch them together to close the circle.
-
Transfer the dough into a large greased baking sheet. Place a ball of foil in the center of the circle to retain the shape of the dough as it rises. Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise for 45-60 minutes, until puffy and doubled in size.
-
Preheat oven to 375 F. To make the egg wash, beat the egg with 1 tbsp of milk. Brush the dough with the egg wash using a pastry brush. Bake the bread for 20-25 minutes. The bread will be hollow once you tap it. Drizzle the chocolate glaze over the bread and sprinkle some walnuts over top.
Make the Chocolate Glaze
-
In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate and butter. Remove from heat and stir in icing sugar and hot water. Stir until smooth. Adjust consistency as needed. Add more sugar to thicken up and more hot water to thin it down. You want a thick glaze that is pourable.
Recipe Notes
Recipe adapted from Midwest Living.
If you make a recipe, please hashtag #womanscribbles on Instagram or tag me @sanna.womancribbles. I would like to see your baking!
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