The smell of a warm, sweet brioche just coming out of the oven is my idea of heaven. With the end of the year and the Holidays coming up, I made a deliciously festive Chocolate Brioche Bread Wreath.
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If you ask me, there is nothing more satisfying than making your own bread. The smell, the taste, the excitement of seeing it slowly rising – it is just too fun! Today, I am associating this favourite of mine with another one – Dark Chocolate. Perfect for breakfast, brunch and especially for the holidays, this Chocolate Brioche Bread Wreath is a real show stopper recipe!
What is a Brioche
Brioche is probably my favourite type of Sweet Bread. They are so light, fluffy and addictively delicious. But what is Brioche, after all? Brioche is a classic French Sweet Yeast Bread that is made with Eggs and Butter. Although usually called a bread, brioche belongs more to the “Viennoiserie” category – baked goods that are richer than breads because they have fat in them. Brioches can be served plain or made with different types of filling. The most commons ones are probably Chocolate Chips or Raisins, but you can pretty much fill them with anything!
The Basic Brioche Recipe is really great because it is super versatile. The dough is really easy to work with because it is enriched, which makes it easy to shape in any way you want. Once again, I based my recipe on one I found in my favourite recipe book ever: “The Complete Guide to Baking: Bread, Brioche and other Gourmet Treats”
Basic Brioche Ingredients:
- Milk (preferably full cream)
- Yeast (I used Instant Dry Yeast)
- Sugar (Brown Sugar in this case)
- Plain Flour
- Eggs
- Butter
- Salt
Looking for other delicious Sweet Bread Recipes? Check out my other ones:
Apple Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread
Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Brioche Buns
How to make a Bread Wreath
There are a few different ways to make a Bread Wreath. The easiest one is probably to use the Babka technique. A Babka Bread is rolled into a large rectangle, covered with a filling, rolled on its length then sliced in half lengthwise. The two parts are then twisted around each other to create the famous Babka ‘Shape’. In the case of a Bread Wreath, you would simply add an extra step: roll the long twisty bread into a circle. I particularly love this Chocolate Babka Wreath made by Michelle from the Brown Eyed Baker. This technique has been explained step by step with photos in this recipe:
You may want to check it out to better understand how to make this recipe, as it starts with the exact same process. To make this Chocolate Brioche Bread Wreathe, I used another technique. Or more specifically, I pushed this technique a little bit further. Instead of making a Bread Wreath out of one large dough, I divided the Brioche into 8 little twisted buns that I placed next to each other to create a Wreath.
Chocolate Brioche Bread Wreath
Making this recipe may seem a little bit complicated, but trust me – it is easier than it seems! The recipe is basically the same as the one I used to make my Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Brioche Buns. Just like for this recipe, I divided my Brioche Dough into small, individual buns. I rolled each buns into a rectangle, covered them with the Dark Chocolate Ganache filling, then rolled them into a rope-like shape. Slice the dough ropes in half, lengthwise and twist them around each other. Lastly, wrap the twisted dough on itself to create little buns.
To create this Chocolate Brioche Bread Wreath, I used a classic Tube Pan like the one I used to make my Chocolate Chiffon Cake. I highly recommend greasing your tube pan well to avoid getting your bread wreath stuck in. To create the Wreath effect, simply place each little Chocolate Brioche Buns next to each other in the Tube Pan and let them prove until they touch. While baking, the Brioche Bread will rise and the individual buns will connect to form the Wreath. You will then be able to simply pull one bun out rather than having to slice it. It’s that easy!
More Bread Recipes:
Easy Rosemary Focaccia Bread
Spinach and Ricotta Rolls
Pesto Mozzarella Babka Bread
Cinnamon Scrolls from Scratch
Lemon Sweet Rolls
Chocolate Brioche Bread Wreath Recipe:
Chocolate Brioche Bread Wreath
Ingredients
Brioche Bread
- 125 ml Full Cream Milk
- 1 pack Instant Dry Yeast
- 4 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 300 gr Plain Flour
- 2 Eggs
- 80 gr Unsalted Butter
- 1 pinch Salt
Chocolate Filling
- 75 gr Dark Chocolate
- 75 ml Full Cream Milk
Egg Wash
- 1 Egg
- 1 tbsp Full Cream Milk
Instructions
To make the Brioche
- Heat up the Milk to be warm (but not boiling hot). Mix in 1 tbsp. of Brown Sugar and the Instant Dry Yeast. Whisk until the Sugar has dissolved and set aside for 10 to 15 minutes, or until foamy and thick.
- Place the Plain Flour and the rest of the Brown Sugar in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the two beaten eggs, then the Milk with the Yeast. With a fork, mix the dough until all the flour has been incorporated into the Eggs and Milk.
- Cut the Butter in small cubes and add to the dough. Gently knead it in until it has been fully incorporated. You shouldn’t see any pieces of butter left.
- Add the pinch of salt, then transfer the dough onto your floured bench. Gently knead the dough for about 5 to 10 minutes, without adding to much flour. The dough will be relatively sticky at the start but should get dryer as you knead it.
- Place the dough in a large bowl dusted with flour and cover with greased cling wrap. The plastic wrap should be place directly in contact with the dough. Leave to prove in a warm place for about 2 hours, or until it has doubled in size.
Chocolate Filling
- When the dough has finished its first proving, start preparing the chocolate filling. Place the Dark Chocolate in a heat proof bowl. Warm up the Milk and pour it over the Chocolate. Stir with a silicone spatula until smooth.
To assemble the Chocolate Brioche Bread Wreath
- Divide the Brioche Dough into 8 equal parts. You can use a kitchen scale to be precise if you want.
- Roll each ball of dough into a rectangle. Using a pastry brush, cover with the chocolate then roll the dough on its long side. Using your palms, roll the tube for a few seconds to make sure it is properly sealed.
- Slice the tube lengthwise, stopping just before the end of the tube to keep the two parts attached. Twist the two parts around each other then starting from one end, roll up the twist until you get a little bun.Repeat with the 8 rolls.
- Generously Grease a Tube Pan and place each Chocolate Brioche Roll in it to create a wreath.
Egg Wash
- Whisk the Egg and Milk then generously brush it over the rolls.
- Cover the pan with a towel and set aside in a warm place for the second proving – about 1 to 1,5 hour.
- Preheat the oven on 180’C. When warm, place the pan in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the rolls have a golden colour.
- Gently remove the wreath for the tube pan and leave on a rack to cool down.
Hi there, I'm Sylvie - a Belgian Expat living in Melbourne, Australia. I am addicted to baking and love to share my favourite recipes and tips. Join me on my Baking Journey! - Sylvie
I so have to make this bread. Thank you for linking to #CookblogShare
Glad you liked the recipe, Jacqui!
This is perfect for a Christmas girl’s party I have this weekend! So excited to try the recipe!
Definitely a great christmas treat! Glad you like the recipe, Jen – and hope you love it even more when you try it 😉
I will for sure try this one, cause it souded really yummy
Thanks Jack, let me know when you do – I would love to hear how you went with the recipe!
What a stunning dish! I am pinning this one to try soon! 🙂 It looks and sounds absolutely delicious 🙂
Thanks Alexandra, it is one of the recipe I cannot wait to make again because it was soo yum haha!
This looks heavenly! I have never made brioche before but I’m excited to try it now! Thanks for sharing!
Brioches are actually really easy to make, I hope you do try it 🙂 Thanks for your comment, Whitney!
That looks luscious! You got a beautiful swirl through that dough, too. Yum!
Thanks Denise, that chocolate swirl turned out great!
This looks absolutely stunning! Such a beautiful brioche, and perfectly baked
Thank you Kat, glad you liked the recipe!
Oh boy I bet this is good! And you made it so pretty.
Thanks Mimi, glad you liked the recipe!
I’m so sad! I don’t know what happened but this bread did not work for me 🙁 i noticed when mixing the milk, yeast and sugar my mixture never got thick? Then my dough didn’t rise while I let it sit and it didn’t rise in the oven, so Im not exactly sure what went wrong. Initially I mixed the milk yeast and 4tbsp of sugar instead of just 1, so i ended up making the yeast mixture twice and it did not froth or get thick either time. Do you know what the problem could be?
Hi Heather, I am so sorry to hear that the recipe didnt work for you! But the good news is, it’s not because of you or something that you did wrong: if the milk never got thicker after being mixed with the yeast then the dough didnt rise during proving time, it means that the yeast didnt activate. That usually happens when the yeast is dead. Did you use brand new yeast, or some that you had been storing? Once opened, it is recommended to store yeast in the fridge or freezer to extend its shelf life; but eventually, the yeast will die. The other option is that your kitchen is really cold? The yeast needs to be in a warm environment to activate (both in the milk, then when proving). From what you are saying, it seems like the yeast would have definitely been the issue.
I would simply recommend to chuck out your yeast and get a new, fresh packet 🙂 Let me know how you go!
Sounds really good, i have a question i’ve already the dough rising in my fridge right now. If i’m going to serve it 4 days from today. How can i do this, Can i freeze it and at which stage ?
Thanks a lot!!
Hi Sylvia, I’m so glad you want to try this recipe! There are two ways to freeze these brioche buns:
– leave the dough to rise completely, then prepare the rolls with the chocolate. Place in the pan, cover completely with wrap and leave in the freezer until the night before you think you will bake them. Transfer in the fridge to thaw overnight, then brush with egg wash and bake normally.
– you can also prepare the rolls and half-bake them before freezing them. If doing so, let them cool down completely and wrap them well, removing as much air as you can. The night before serving, thaw in the fridge then finish the baking in the oven. I would recommend brushing with egg-wash before the second bake for a fresher glaze!
I have not tried to freeze these brioche buns but I believe that the first option – to freeze them before baking them – will leave you with fresher bread!
Please let me know how you go 🙂