Chocolate nut braid

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 200 ml milk, lukewarm
• 30 g yeast, fresh
• 600 g wheat flour type 550 or 405
• 100 g sugar
• 1 packet of vanilla sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 100 g butter, room temperature
• Butter or oil for the mold
• 220 g hazelnuts, ground , for variant B 1/3 more
• 100 g chocolate, grated or chocolate sprinkles
• 150 g sugar, for variant B 1/3 more
• 2 tbsp honey
• 100 g breadcrumbs
• 2 tsp cinnamon powder
• 2 eggs
• 180 ml milk
• 2 tbsp apricot jam
• 100 g powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp lemon juice or rum or liqueur 43, to taste
• 1 tbsp water

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour 50 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 43 minutes; Total time approx. 3 hours 18 minutes

Light yeast plait with chocolate and nut filling; [Variant B: Nut plait without chocolate]

For the yeast dough, mix the flour, sugar, and vanilla sugar in a bowl. Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk (optimal temperature: 32–37°C). Slowly pour the yeast milk into the flour and, using a fork and some of the flour, mix to form a pre-dough. Let the pre-dough rise for 20 minutes. Then add the salt, eggs, and room-temperature butter and knead with a food processor on low speed for 10 minutes or with a hand mixer for 5 minutes. Then, cover the yeast dough and let it rise for 45 minutes (it also works overnight in the refrigerator). In the meantime, prepare the filling. To do this, mix the ground hazelnuts, chocolate, sugar, honey, breadcrumbs, cinnamon, and eggs with a food processor or hand mixer. Gradually add the milk until you get a spreadable mixture. For version B, use 1/3 more hazelnuts and sugar instead of chocolate. Grease the baking pan well with butter or oil. Briefly knead the risen yeast dough again and roll it out to a thickness of about 5 mm. The width should be the same as the baking pan. Spread the yeast dough with the nut braid filling and roll it up. Cut the dough roll in half lengthwise with a sharp knife. Wrap the two halves of the dough roll around each other so that the cut sides with the filling remain on top. Then place the nut braid in the greased baking pan, cover with a damp cloth, and let it rise for about 45-60 minutes (ideal results: preheat oven to 50°C (top/bottom heat), turn off, and place the braid in the oven to rise). Bake the nut braid in a preheated oven at 200°C (top/bottom heat, fan: 180°C) for a total of about 43 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes and then uncovered for 23 minutes. Let the braid cool slightly and then turn it out of the pan. Briefly bring the apricot jam to a boil and spread it over the still-warm plaited bread. Mix a glaze from powdered sugar, lemon juice, liqueur, or rum, and water and spread it over the nut plaited bread. This recipe makes enough for two nut plaits in two 25 cm loaf pans, or for one nut plait in a wreath pan.