Sweet Tangzhong Chocolate Bread

For the tangzhong:

200gr filtered water

40gr bread flour

Mix and cook on the stove until it reaches a starch gel consistency.

If you are impatient like I am, chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes or in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Optimally I refrigerate it overnight so that my dough is less sticky and liquidy and thus, easier to handle.

Remove the tangzhong mixture from the fridge and let it come to room temperature (approx. 1 hour)

Ingredients

For the dough:

600gr bread flour

130gr sugar

6gr salt

8gr instant yeast

260ml warm milk

1 large egg room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

Tangzhong

60gr butter room temperature

For the chocolate dough:

30gr cocoa powder

2gr espresso or instant coffee powder

Egg Wash:

1 egg yolk

15ml milk

For the filling:

Option 1:

Nutella or your favorite spread

Option 2:

120gr Vanilla Custard:

500gr Milk

Vanilla Extract

100gr Sugar

50gr Corn Flour

200gr of your Chocolate Spread

Option 3:

70 gr heavy cream

140gr chocolate bar cut into small pieces or chocolate chips

Heat the heavy cream till you start seeing small bubbles on the surface. Add the hot heavy cream to the chocolate pieces so that it covers them. Wait for one minute and then stir till they dissolve.

Method

For the dough:

Combine the dry ingredients, the bread flour, sugar, salt and instant yeast. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients (warm milk, egg and tangzhong).

Using the dough hook on your mixer, on low-medium speed, knead for 2 minutes until the ingredients are incorporated.

Add the butter and continue mixing on medium-high speed for 8 minutes for the gluten to develop. After 8 minutes, transfer the dough to an oiled surface and give the dough the shape of a ball. Divide the dough to 2 equal portions.

Transfer one of the 2 portions back to your stand mixer, add the cocoa powder and espresso powder and knead for one more minute until the dough has absorbed all the powder.

Transfer the doughs to 2 separate oiled bowls making sure that every side of them gets oiled, cover with plastic wrap and let them proof in a warm environment for 1 – 1 ½ hours (if your environment is not warm, let them proof in the oven at 37C. Be careful! The oven should not be hotter than that!).

After they double in size, punch them to degas them, transfer them again to an oiled surface and sprinkle some flour on top of them. With a rolling pin flatten each dough and give them the same rectangular shape (they should have roughly the same size).

Transfer the cocoa dough on top of the simple dough.

Spread nutella, your favorite spread, or the Option 2 or 3 above.

For Option 2 (shown in the video) you need to heat 400gr milk with half the sugar and mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl (100gr milk, vanilla extract and corn flour).

When the milk is hot, pour it into the corn flour mixture while whisking.

Then return to the pan and heat it, whisking until it thickens and the custard is ready.

Fold the dough, starting from the longer side and shaping it like a log.

Transfer it to a bread pan lined with parchment paper, cover with plastic wrap and let it proof for another 40 minutes-1hour. Meanwhile preheat your oven at 180C (356F) degrees.

After the bread has proofed, egg-wash it and transfer it into the preheated oven. Bake for 35 minutes (!! Reminder that every oven is different and your oven might need less or more time to be ready!)

Let it cool in the pan for10 minutes and then place on a wire rack to cool completely. After it has cooled down, sometimes I pipe some more chocolate into it because chocolate can never be enough!

Slice into it and send me your thoughts so that I can share some of the happiness with you! :)

Have a nice week and you in the next recipe!