150gmsButter, cut into small cubes and softenedThe recipe asks for unsalted, but I used salted butter
Vegetable oil for greasing the bowl
Chocolate filling
50gmsCocoa powder
30gmsicing sugar
130gmsDark chocolate 70%, melted
120gmsButter, meltedThe recipe asks for unsalted, but I used salted butter
100gmsWalnuts, chopped
Syrup
260gmsSugar
160mlWater
Instructions
Dough
Place the flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a mixing bowl. Stir it all well. Add the eggs and water and mix it all well till the dough starts coming together. A stand mixer works the best for this recipe, though you can do this dough by hand too.
Now start adding the softened cubes of butter, a few at a time. Continue mixing till the dough is shiny, smooth and elastic.
Place the dough in a big bowl, greased with the vegetable oil, cover tightly with plastic wrap and leave it in the fridge overnight.
Filling
Mix together the melted chocolate, butter, icing sugar and cocoa powder.
Take the dough out of the refrigerator, and divide it into 2. Roll each half into a rectangle 14'* 11* roughly. Spread the chocolate filling evenly on both rectangles, leaving 2 cm border all around. Sprinkle with the chopped walnuts.
Roll the dough tightly into a log, starting from the long side. Cut the log lengthwise into 2. With the cut side facing up, pinch the ends of both sides together.
Start with the right side dough, take it over the left side dough, continue down the length, making a braid. Gently tuck in both the ends under themselves. Repeat with the second rectangle.
Line 2 8"* 4" loaf pans with parchment paper. Place the 2 braids carefully with the cut sides showing on top. Cover the pans with damp tea towels and keep them in a draft-free area for 1.5 - 2 hours.
Preheat your oven to 190C. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Syrup
Bring the sugar and water to a boil. Take it off the heat and allow it to cool.
As soon as the breads come out of the oven, brush each loaf liberally with the sugar syrup. Leave the breads in the pan till they are just warm. Take them out on a cooling rack to cool completely. We preferred to tear into the loaf while it was still warm! Enjoy!
Notes
If you want to cut down on some of the effort, you can use Nutella for filling.