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It’s official: I’m addicted to this chocolate cinnamon swirl bread. It’s chocolatey. It’s cinnamon-y. It’s soft and swirly. And most important – it’s chocolate in bread… and you can totally eat it for breakfast. Did I mention the chocolate?! The chocolate that’s in the bread. Yes, yes, y’all —> The chocolate love is real ♡♡♡
This bread was inspired by our recent trip home (over Easter). It was just a quick Saturday/Sunday trip, so we stayed with family. Sunday morning we woke up to a wonderfully delicious spread of fruits, pastries, breads, and bagels. After eating approximately 75 strawberries, a pineapple and a half, and an extra crispy everything bagel loaded with cream cheese (and tomatoes!), I made my way over to the sweet breads and pastries. As I scanned the spread my eyes instantly locked down on the humble yet intriguing loaf of chocolate cinnamon swirl bread. Chocolate! In a cinnamon swirl bread?! What a very pleasant surprise.
After consuming 2 slices and then half of a third (stopping myself only because Easter dinner was only hours away), I pulled out my mini notepad and jotted down these exact words “MAKE CINNAMON SWIRL BREAD WITH CHOCOLATE ASAP”. And that my friends, is exactly what I did.
This bread is a simple combination of very basic ingredients. If you have flour, salt, yeast, cinnamon, granulated sugar, brown sugar, water, chocolate, an egg, AND some patience (a very important ingredient in this recipe!) —-> YOU CAN MAKE THIS BREAD TODAY. Shoot… did I just scream that? Sorry. This bread just gets me that excited.
So, above I mentioned a whole slew of ingredients plus one ingredient not found on shelves or in stores. That my friends, would be patience. You will need patience not because this recipe is hard to follow or complicated in steps and procedures, but because this is a real bread (with yeast and rising and kneading), and with that comes waiting. You’ll have to wait while the the dough rises, and again for a second rise once it’s been stuffed and rolled. Waiting is never fun, but hey – at least you can keep busy while you wait. Read a book, watch a movie, clean your house – I dunno! You’ll figure it out 😉 And a few hours later, your reward for all that waiting will be warm, gooey, cinnamon swirl chocolate bread. #Worththewaitbaby
Chocolate Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Ingredients
For the Bread:
- 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 packet (2¼ tsp) + 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water, more only if needed
For the filling:
- 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
The topping:
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
Instructions
For the bread:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook combine the dry ingredients; stir well until there are no clumps in the mixture (you may use a whisk for this step if need be).
- Add 1 cup of water and mix on medium speed until combined. Add in more water, a few tablespoons at a time, just until the dough forms a ball around the hook. The dough will be pretty wet/sticky - not to worry! Simply cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm spot for two and a half hours, or until the dough has almost tripled in size.
- When the two and a half hours are up, generously sprinkle some flour onto on a clean work surface. Coat the palms of your hands in flour, then transfer the dough to the prepared work surface. Give the dough just a few gently kneads to make sure it's evenly mixed, then roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about 9" x 18".
For the filling:
- In a small bowl combined the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle this mixture over the surface of the dough, then sprinkle your mini chocolate chips.
Assembly:
- Starting from the short end - gently but firmly - stretch and roll the dough up (jellyroll style) with the chocolate and cinnamon sugar inside. You want to stretch the dough as you roll and roll as tightly as possible - this helps there be a defined swirl and less air bubbles.
- Place the rolled bread dough, seam side down, in the prepared loaf pan; cover with saran wrap and let rise in a warm place for one hour, or until it's doubled in size.
When ready to bake:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly brush the top of the loaf with the egg wash, then place the loaf pan inside the oven; bake for 35 minutes, the bread will be deeply golden brown on the top. Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer the bread to cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.
how many servings did this make ?
This looks amazing and I’m off to make it right now! Just one question! Can it be toasted?
Hi Lisa. Yes! I have toasted this is in the oven for a few minutes (at 350 degrees) on a baking sheet with parchment paper (to catch any melting chocolate).
omigosh THAT SWIRL. I already love cinn swirl bread with the fire of a thousand suns and then you add chocolate???
holy toledo
Swirly, chocolaty perfection!
That sounds amazing! I love cinnamon swirl bread, of course chocolate makes everything better though 🙂
This looks absolutely amazing! Like babka-meets-cinnamon-swirl-bread. I definitely need to make this stat!
I am such a fan of cinnamon swirl bread, loved how you added chocolate to it! I’ve never made it before! Must try!!