My percentages of Bread Wins have improved…but I am still far from being a competent bread maker. More and more I get the feeling that this, in particular, is going to be a life long endeavor. So if I embrace the philosophy that it’s a marathon and not a sprint, then I’m just happy to make it to the next mile marker. Doesn’t really matter how many miles are behind me, I’m one step closer to the finish line.
I never would have had the courage to try Chocolate Filled Sweet Braid had it not been for two of my favorite local bloggers, Beth and Lan. These ladies and I attended a free demonstration put on by King Arthur Flour a few months ago. The truth is, I probably wouldn’t have gone by myself so it’s only by grace of the fact that they joined me that I went at all…I can be a little introverted that way. If you happened to be at the Holiday Inn by MOM’S that night, we were the ones causing all kinds of trouble in the front row. After seeing the uber talented KAF staffer breeze through the dough, I started to think maybe I could too. I left the demo armed with a shot of confidence, a recipe, and a packet of Red Star Yeast.
Since this is me we’re talking about, you know that I had to have at least one bump in the road to Chocolate Filled Sweet Bread. And it was a pretty big one. Once I had done the math to scale the recipe in half and had myself all nicely mis en placed, my sponge didn’t start. There was no bubbly action going on that I could see. So I set that bowl aside and started again. This time the sponge developed some lovely bubbly froth and I was in business. Maybe the first sponge’s lack of cooperation was The Universe challenging me to see how committed I was to the task at hand. Or maybe I just manged to mangle things.
Either way, the point is that I persevered…and I marked this particular mile with Chocolate Filled Sweet Braid.
Sweet Braid Dough
Adapted from King Arthur Flour
Sponge
- 1 ounce unbleached all purpose flour
- 3 ounces warm water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
Dough
- all of the sponge
- 3 ounces plain low fat yogurt or buttermilk
- 2 ounces butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 1 3/4 ounces sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla or citrus zest
- 9 to 12 ounces unbleached all purpose flour
Filling
- 5 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 3/4 ounces sugar
- 2 ounces sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To make the sponge, combine the warm water and 1 teaspoon sugar in a small bowl and stir to dissolve. Stir in the yeast and 1/4 cup flour. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for about 15 minutes or until bubbly.
In a large bowl, combine the sponge, yogurt or buttermilk, butter, eggs, remaining sugar, salt, and vanilla. Add the remaining flour 1 cup at a time, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Once the dough pulls away from the bowl, stop adding flour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead with lightly floured hands for 5 minutes until pliable and soft but not sticky. Spray the bowl you mixed the dough in with nonstick cooking spray while you let the dough rest. Continue to knead the dough until it is smooth and springy (if you gently make an indentation into the dough with your finger the dough will spring back).
Return the dough to the greased bowl, turn to coat it with the nonstick spray and cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a dish towel. Let the dough sit in a warm place for approximately 1 1/2 hours or until doubled.
Gently deflate the dough and roll into a rectangle approximately 10 x 14 on a sheet of parchment paper. Using a butter knife or plastic bench scraper, gently score the dough so that it is divided into thirds. Be sure not to cut through the dough, you just want to mark it for reference. Cut notches out of each of the four corners and then use your butter knife or bench scraper to cut 1″ wide strips in the two outer thirds of the dough. The center of your dough will be “fringed” with the strips on each side. Try to get your strips to line up as much as possible on each side.
Stir 1 tablespoon all purpose flour into half of the prepared filling and spread over the center third of the dough, leaving 1″ at the top and bottom uncovered. Reserve the other half of the filling for another use. Sprinkle 6 ounces chocolate chips over the filling.
Fold the top and bottom flaps down over the filling and then bring the strips of dough fringe across the filling on a diagonal, alternating from side to side. Press and pinch each strip into the side of the dough as you go until the loaf is braided.
Brush the top of the braid with an egg wash of one egg beaten with one tablespoon water and sprinkle the top with coarse sugar. Loosely cover the braid with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 to 45 minutes or until puffed.
While the braid rests and proofs, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Uncover the braid and slide the sheet of parchment onto a half sheet pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and the internal temperature registers 190 degrees on an instant read thermometer. Transfer the braid still on the parchment to a rack to cool for 30 minutes before slicing.
Bon Appetit Hon 
Looks delicious – sort of like a healthier Pain au Chocolat 🙂 I’m also not the best bread maker in the world, but every once in a while, I give it a go.
Maggy, now that you say that, this does remind me of Pain au Chocolat. Hey y’all I almost made fancy french pastry!!! I’m really amazed that there isn’t some kind of support group for those of us who struggle with bread making.
I am so impressed. You are totally going to conquer this thing. That was no simple bread.
I have a dumb question. (yeah, yeah – there are no dumb questions, blah blah…) Anyway, when exactly would you serve or eat a bread such as this? Is it a sort of breakfast treat, or more like a dessert or just a mid-day snack?
Jennifer, it actually looks more intimidating than it was. It’s a little fussy having to cut the tabs and braid them but even that is pretty forgiving. I say there is no wrong time to enjoy this. I recall having it in the morning and as a late day snack.
Awesome photo Wendi! I am so glad that you have had a string of good luck with bread recipes. As you have seen we have been a little obsessed with bread lately too.
Adam, my confidence with breadmaking has gotten a nice little boost. This weekend I’m going to give fluffy dinner rolls a try. Who knows, maybe I’ll have another win to report on. You say ‘obsessed with bread’ like it’s a bad thing.
It’s like a blast from the past! That demo was so much fun! I need to try the loaf still though.
Beth, that was a fun evening. I mean it when I say that I probably wouldn’t have gone without you and Lan. And if I wouldn’t have gone, I would have never even thought to try making this. So thanks hon.
You would never know from your picture that you hit a few stumbling blocks when making this bread. The photo looks perfect.
Thanks Jen. This might be a good candidate for your morning chocolate fix.
YES! i love that bread and i am so glad you attempted it and it was successful. that evening was so fun and informative, i left that place feeling like a winner… well because i won a sack of flour…
Lan, you’re right about feeling like a winner…even without the bag of flour or bench scraper. I left feeling very empowered by that demo.
Looks like Babka! Mmmm, I love Babka!
Kitch, my only knowledge of Babka is from Seinfeld. Maybe I should go ask The Google about it.
Wow. Can I come over for breakfast?
Mark, you’re welcome at my table anytime.
Your bread looks perfect, Wendi. Truly. You’re getting damn good at this.
You need a montage for your bread-making sessions. Clips of you stopping to wipe the sweat from your brow before resuming kneading, clouds of flour rising up from your workspace, a random jump-roping shot. All set to I Need a Hero.
Ali, I DO need a theme song for my bread adventures. Why didn’t I think of that before? I bet you that’s the missing piece to this puzzle. I see a new post….select my theme song!
Is it just me? I see no chocolate in the recipe for the filling.
Holy Crap Jacki, you’re right. This is the bad part about blogging backlog…not being able to easily go back to the source recipe. If memory serves me correctly, the chocolate part was just semi or bittersweet (your choice) chips sprinkled over the cream cheese layer. I’ve looked on KAF’s web site and can’t find this particular variation of the recipe.
Beth or Lan, do either of you possibly still have that booklet with the recipe? I can’t recall how much chocolate the recipe called for.
Oh YES! This recipe just brought a huge smile to my face. =)
Glad I could brighten your Wednesday Jenna.
Congratulations on conquering your fear of yeast! The bread looks lovely and I would happily eat the whole thing. 🙂
Tracy, I wouldn’t say that I’ve vanquished that fear entirely. I still have a healthy dose of it following me around the kitchen.
This reminds me of Pain au Chocolat too! It looks absolutely delicious and the braiding so neat. You definitely conquered this one.
I now feel like I should try this again…and tell everyone it is Pain au Chocolat.
Looks like you did a wonderful job to me. Thanks for sharing. It totally reminds me of Pain au Chocolat. Can’t wait for you to update the recipe to add the chocolate amount.
I’m checking with my demo pals Beth and Lan to see if either of them still have the original recipe. Although, you could probably successfully use as much or as little chocolate as you like.
I reached out to the folks at King Arthur Flour and according to the info they provided you should use 1/2 cup chocolate for the filling. Or you could at least use that as a starting point and add more to your taste.