How to make chocolate Easter bread

Make this soft and rich egg bread with Nutella and toasted hazelnuts to create a deliciously chocolatey and nutty treat this Easter! Don’t let its twisted pattern fool you, it might look complicated but it’s even easier than a standard braid.

 

Get all the tips for making egg bread, watch the video and get the recipe below.

 

What makes this chocolate loaf so special is the enriched egg bread. This dough has eggs, butter and milk added to it, which gives it a beautiful golden colour, small tender crumb and rich flavour.

 

To incorporate all the butter and eggs, a countertop mixer will make your job a lot easier. You can also make it by hand, but it will take longer and require a good amount of elbow grease to get the dough to pass the windowpane test.

 

This test makes sure that enough gluten has developed in the dough for the bread to rise and have a good texture. To do the windowpane test:

 

 

If the dough breaks before you can see through it, knead it a little longer before repeating the test.

 

This recipe calls for bread flour rather than standard plain flour. Bread flour contains more gluten, so it’s much easier to develop the gluten strands that give the bread its structure. It’s easy to find in supermarkets in the baking aisle. If you don’t have access to bread flour you can use plain flour.

 

Once kneaded, your dough should be soft, smooth and supple. If you find that your dough is cracking and crumbling, add a tablespoon of water or milk at a time and knead it in. Repeat until it reaches the correct consistency.

 

If your dough is very sticky and isn’t gathering into a cohesive ball, add a tablespoon of flour at a time and knead until the dough firms up.

 

One great thing about this egg bread dough is that it can be prepped ahead. Make it the day before your Easter gathering, then you can bake it and pull it fresh out of the oven to everyone’s delight. Follow the recipe up to step 5, then refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temperature and continue from step 6.

 

If you find that the dough is too soft an difficult to work with at room temperature, pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.

 

Once the loaf has cooled, store in an airtight container or wrap in cling film. Refrigerate for up to 3 days. Warm slices in the microwave for 20 seconds or warm in a low oven for 15 minutes.

 

To freeze, wrap whole loaf well in cling film and freeze for one month. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator.