Recipe: Chocolate Pull-Apart Bread

Chocolatey, stick and sweet – this is bread with a difference, says Bettina Campolucci Bordi. This recipe is great to make as a family or with kids, and it also makes a lovely gift.

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Recipe: Chocolate Pull-Apart Bread

Makes one loaf

Ingredients

• 180 ml (6 fl oz/generous 1⁄2 cup) plant milk
• 80 g (3 oz) vegan butter
• 25 g (1 oz) fresh yeast or 2 teaspoons fast-action dry yeast
• 4 teaspoons soft brown sugar
• 440 g (1 lb/2 cups) plain (all-purpose) organic flour
• pinch of salt

For the filling

• 60 g (2 oz) hazelnuts
• 50 g (2 oz) vegan butter
• 90 g (31⁄2 oz/1⁄2 cup) soft brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 100 g (31⁄2 oz) chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (optional)

For the icing

• 100 g (31⁄2 oz/3⁄4 cup) icing (confectioner’s) sugar
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon vegan butter, melted
• 1⁄2 vanilla pod (bean), split and the seeds scraped out, or 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract

Method

1. Gently heat the milk and butter in a saucepan over a low heat. Remove from the heat and leave to cool down until the mixture is warm but not piping hot. A good way to test this is to dip your finger in the mixture – it should be warm but not burning. This ensures that the fresh yeast (if using) is activated and that will dissolve.
2. Once the mixture reaches a warm temperature, add the yeast and mix well. Then stir in the sugar and pinch of salt until fully dissolved.
3. Transfer this mixture to a bowl and add the flour. Mix everything together well and then use the heel of your hand to knead until a nice dough ball is formed.
4. Once the dough has been worked and is slightly springy, leave in the bowl, cover with a dish towel and keep somewhere warm to rise for at least 1 hour to 1 hour
   30 minutes.
5. While the bread is rising, make the filling by heating the hazelnuts in a saucepan until they start to toast. Once toasted, remove from the pan and set aside.
6. Add the butter and sugar to the same pan and heat until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Stir in the spices and remove from the heat.
7. Line a large loaf pan with baking parchment and arrange a handful of hazelnuts over the bottom along with a spoonful or two of the butter-sugar mixture.
8. Now arrange the dough. Cut the dough in half and then in half again until you have 16 bigger pieces or 32 smaller ones. Roll the pieces into balls and dip them in the remaining butter-sugar mixture.
9. Start building the balls up in the loaf pan, adding some chocolate chips and the rest of the hazelnuts between the layers of balls. Don’t squish the balls or worry about any gaps as those will be filled when the dough rises again. Cover with a dish towel and leave to prove for 30 minutes.
10. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/gas 4).
11. Bake the bread for 30–45 minutes until golden brown. Once baked, allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack and turn out once cooled.
12. Mix the ingredients for the icing together in a bowl and drizzle over the bread once it has cooled down completely.

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