CHOCOLATE BRIOCHE RECIPE

Hello and thank you for joining me here today. As I mentioned in my recent Sundays With Celia blog post, I made a Chocolate Brioche recipe to give as a hostess gift during the holidays. So today I thought I’d share the yummy recipe with you. I obtained it over on the terrific website, Bake From Scratch, where I adapted their recipe for Brioche au Chocolat Loaf.

Bread baking, like most cooking, is a science that requires some skill, the right equipment, and practice to get it right. I’ve been working on my bread baking skills for many years now and still find it challenging, especially because I live at high altitude, 5,000+ feet, and the climate is very dry here. Both of these conditions challenge a bread baker. But the enjoyment of eating freshly baked bread is well worth the effort. If you haven’t tried bread baking now is the time to give it a shot. It really is very fulfilling.

As far as bread baking equipment goes, I have, and simply cannot live without, my Bosch Universal Mixer. As far as I’m concerned, it is an essential piece of equipment for serious home bread bakers. That is not to say that you can’t make bread without one, as it is possible to use a standing mixer such as a KitchenAid Pro, but I’d be careful using a less powerful mixer with heavy bread doughs. They can be very taxing on the motors. I know, I burned out a KitchenAid mixer making pizza dough one time years ago.

And, proper mixing is especially important with this particular recipe, which involves incorporating a lot of butter into the dough, the key to what makes Brioche soft and light. In fact, Brioche, as you would imagine, is of French origin. Compared to other types of breads it is almost like a pastry, as it is loaded with eggs and butter, plus contains milk and sugar, making it a perfect sweet bread to be enjoyed for breakfast.

You’ll need to plan ahead to prepare this recipe, as the dough develops in the refrigerator overnight. So start the dough in the afternoon, the day before you plan to bake it.

So let me show you how to make this Chocolate Brioche recipe. Here’s what you’ll need to make 2 loaves. One for you and one to give away as a lovely gift from your kitchen. Or, you can freeze the second loaf to enjoy later.

2/3 Cup Warm Whole Milk (80° to 100°)

1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar

2 Tablespoons (2 Packets) Fresh Active Dry Yeast

6 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

10 Eggs (at room temperature)

2 Teaspoons Salt

2 Cups (1 Pound) Unsalted Butter, Softened, cut into 1 Tablespoon Slices

 1 1/2 Cups Good Quality Semi Sweet Chocolate, Chopped

1 Egg, Beaten (for egg wash)

Fit your mixer with the paddle attachment then add the warm milk, sugar and yeast. It is interesting to note that yeast needs 2 things to activate:

1. Heat, which it gets from the warm (not hot) milk.
2. Food, which it gets from the sugar

Now, let this mixture stand and do its work for about 15 minutes. It should get a bit foamy which means the yeast is alive and working.

Now, turn the mixer on low speed and slowly add in all 10 eggs and then 3 cups of flour, reserving the remaining 3 1/2 cups of flour for later. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until smooth, about 3 minutes.

To start the initial fermentation stage, cover the bowl of your mixer with plastic wrap and place it in a warm, draft-free location for about 45 minutes. I use my kitchen’s warming drawer for this step, which has a “proofing” function. About 75°F is a good temperature for properly proofing bread. After 45 minutes you should start to see a few bubbles forming in the dough.

Now switch from the paddle attachment to the dough hook on your mixer. With the mixer on low, gradually add the salt and remaining 3 1/2 cups flour to the dough. Once the flour is incorporated increase the speed to medium and kneed the dough for about 10 minutes or until it begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

With the mixer still on medium speed, begin adding the slices of butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, letting each pat of butter incorporate into the dough before adding more.

Generously spray a large mixing bowl with cooking spray. Turn the dough out into the bowl, rolling it around until it is fully coated with cooking spray. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and return it to a warm, draft-free location and let it double in size. This will take about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Once the dough has about doubled in size, punch it down to remove the air. Once again, tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight.

In the morning turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into 2 equal portions.

Using a rolling pin, roll each of the 2 portions of dough into a rectangular shape about the width of your loaf pans. Sprinkle each of the 2 portions of dough with half of the chopped chocolate.

Press the chocolate down gently into the dough.

Starting from the narrow end, roll the dough into a log.

Place each roll of dough seam-side-down into 2 loaf pans that have been generously coated in butter. Loosely cover the dough with plastic and again, place in a warm, draft-free location until the dough has puffed up, filling the loaf pan. This will take about 40 minutes.

The loaf will increase in size and look like the photo below when it is properly risen and ready for the oven.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Brush the tops of the loaves with the beaten egg. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes more or until an instant-read thermometer registers 190°F when inserted into the center of the loaf. Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes. Remove the bread from the loaf pans and cool on a cooling rack before serving.

As I mentioned, this very special bread makes a great hostess gift. Wrap it up in cellophane, tie it with a festive bow, add a gift tag and voila, you have a wonderful gift from your kitchen.

For more great hostess gift ideas visit my Pinterest Page entitled, “Gifts From The Kitchen”.

Here’s the handy, dandy, printable recipe…

CHOCOLATE BRIOCHE RECIPE

 

Print

This scrumptious, sweet bread makes a wonderful gift from the kitchen. Start it the night before you need it, as it requires a nights rest to become its delicious best. This recipe makes 2 loaves, one for you and one to give away.

Author: Celia Becker

Recipe type: Bread

Cuisine: French

Serves: 2 Loves

Ingredients

• ⅔ Cup Warm Whole Milk (80° to 100°)
• ½ Cup Granulated Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons (2 Packets) Fresh Active Dry Yeast
• 6½ Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 10 Eggs (at room temperature)
• 2 Teaspoons Salt
• 2 Cups (1 Pound) Unsalted Butter, Softened, cut into 1 Tablespoon Slices
• 1½ Cups Good Quality Semi Sweet Chocolate, Chopped
• 1 Egg, Beaten (for egg wash)

Instructions

1. Fit your mixer with the paddle attachment then add the warm milk, sugar and yeast.
2. Let this mixture stand and do its work for about 15 minutes. It should get a bit foamy which means the yeast is alive and working.
3. Now, turn the mixer on low speed and slowly add in all 10 eggs and then 3 cups of flour, reserving the remaining 3½ cups of flour for later. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until smooth, about 3 minutes.
4. To start the initial fermentation stage, cover the bowl of your mixer with plastic wrap and place it in a warm, draft-free location for about 45 minutes. After 45 minutes you should start to see a few bubbles forming in the dough.
5. Switch from the paddle attachment to the dough hook on your mixer.
6. With the mixer on low, gradually add the salt and remaining 3½ cups flour to the dough.
7. Once the flour is incorporated increase the speed to medium and kneed the dough for about 10 minutes or until it begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
8. With the mixer still on medium speed, begin adding the slices of butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, letting each pat of butter incorporate into the dough before adding more.
9. Generously spray a large mixing bowl with cooking spray. Turn the dough out into the bowl, rolling it around until it is fully coated with cooking spray.
10. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and return it to a warm, draft-free location and let it double in size. This will take about 2 to 2½ hours.
11. Once the dough has about doubled in size, punch it down to remove the air. Once again, tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight.
12. In the morning turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
13. Cut the dough into 2 equal portions.
14. Using a rolling pin, roll each portion of dough into a rectangular shape about the width of your loaf pans.
15. Sprinkle each of the 2 portions of dough with half of the chopped chocolate.
16. Press the chocolate down gently into the dough.
17. Starting from the narrow end, roll the dough into a log.
18. Place each roll of dough seam-side-down into 2 loaf pans that have been generously coated in butter.
19. Loosely cover the dough with plastic and again, place in a warm, draft-free location until the dough has puffed up, filling the loaf pan. This will take about 40 minutes.
20. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Brush the tops of the loaves with the beaten egg.
21. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes more or until an instant-read thermometer registers 190°F when inserted into the center of the loaf.
22. Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes. Remove the bread from the loaf pans and cool on a cooling rack before serving.

Notes

If you prefer, dark chocolate can be used. If only one loaf of bread is needed simply cut this recipe in half.

3.4.3177

So there you have it: CHOCOLATE BRIOCHE RECIPE

Thanks so much for dropping in!

Express Yourself!

No blog post is truly complete without a word from you. I’d be so delighted if you’d leave a comment below.

All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Unless otherwise noted, all photos are the original property of Celia Becker @ www.AfterOrangeCounty.com and may not be reproduced without specific permission. This post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.  It’s what helps to make this blog possible. Thanks so much for your support.