brioche with chocolate swirl

I have needed to have my hands in dough lately.  It is calming.  Yeastie beasties are such nice friendly beasts.  Though I admit I really have not conquered croissants yet.  I especially like chocolate filled croissants.  Part of it is they are sweet but not too sweet.  Brioche I like and when I saw a recipe for chocolate filled brioche I thought why not.

I took the brioche dough made with creme fraiche and swirled the chocolate through it.  So good.  I also went back to easy.  A bit of a dump here, a bit of a dump there for making brioche.  I usually only use the scale the first couple times and then I eye it.  I am already there with this brioche dough, so this time the quantities are in volumes.  Bread is really this easy.  Nothing to be afraid of.  Just lovely warm yumminess.

brioche with chocolate swirl

sourdough starter

3/4 cup water

1 cup flour 

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

8 ounces creme fraiche

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

4 plus cups of flour

1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips.  I used mini so if you use larger you will want to chop them.

1 teaspoon cinnamon

a two finger pinch ancho chili pepper ground

a two finger pinch chipolte pepper ground

The night before, mix the sourdough starter, water, and 1 cup flour in a large bowl.  Cover and let get bubbly.  The next day, take a bit of the starter out for the next time.

Mix in the eggs, milk, sugar, and salt.  Mix in 3 1/2 cups flour.  The dough should be very wet.  Mix in another 1/2 cup of flour.  Turn out the dough on a floured surface.  Knead until smooth but try not too add too much dough.  Cover and let rise for an hour and a half.  

Mix the chocolate, cinnamon, and peppers together in a small bowl.

Butter a jelly roll pan or  a large deep casserole dish.  When the dough has risen, turn out and roll into a large rectangle.  Spread the chocolate mixture over it.  Roll up along the long side (short side if you wish LARGE pieces later).  Place in the pan, same side down, and cover.  Let rise for one hour.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour or until golden and hollow.

Just lovely.  It was my breakfast this morning!