This chocolate challah bread is very similar to a babka. It’s made of a sweet challah dough, filled with a chocolatey ganache and sprinkled with a streusel-like topping!
My skating friend (and Team Mom) S has been such a lifesaver lately. I’ve had a difficult few weeks for me personally, and she’s lifted my spirits each time I’ve seen her. Over the past two-ish months, she’s gifted me with maple syrup, strawberries, muffins, and other goodies. I haven’t had the mental capacity to bake much on my own, and she’s done the baking for me.
She told me that she wanted to be the one person who baked for me, since I usually did the baking for others. That really touched my soul. Countless other friends have also been cheering me up – my brother sent flowers, my dear friend S sent some Cronut holes from Dominique Ansel, and my skating mama friend A sent me a yellow care package. It’s been so comforting to know that my friends are here to lift me up (it’s nothing major, so don’t worry!).
This time, I thought I’d return the favor to S. When I went to bake something with my sourdough discard this past weekend, I made some sourdough discard focaccia and sourdough discard challah. I ended up gifting the two challah loaves to others, so I didn’t have anything for S. My husband mentioned something about a chocolate challah, and as it turns out, I’ve never made one before!
I did a bit of internet sleuthing and found this recipe that seemed pretty straightforward. There are three components to this bread: the bread itself, the filling, and the topping. This whole process will take about 3-ish hours, but most of that is proofing time. This recipe also makes 2 loaves, so you can keep one and gift one (or eat both – this is a judgment-free zone).
While I enjoyed the flavor of the bread, I found it to be on the drier side. I baked my bread for 33 minutes, and my oven runs cold. I probably could have gotten away with a 30 minute bake, and that’s likely what I’ll do the next time. I gifted the other loaf to S and can’t wait to see what she says about the bread!
Husband’s rating: 4 out of 5
Addie’s rating: 4.5 out of 5
My rating: 4 out of 5
Chocolate challah bread
Ingredients
Bread dough
- 1 cup water lukewarm
- 2 Tablespoons active dry yeast Yes, this is correct. It's 2 TABLESPOONS.
- ¼ cup plus ½ teaspoon granulated sugar divided
- 3 and ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs beaten
- ¼ cup (4 Tablespoons or ½ stick) unsalted butter melted
Filling
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup (1 stick or 8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Topping
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter cubed
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
Instructions
Make the dough
- In a large measuring cup, add the water. Then sprinkle the yeast and ½ teaspoon of the sugar on top. Allow it rest for 5-10 minutes or until the mixture becomes frothy.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add the flour, ¼ cup of granulated sugar, and the salt. Mix with a spoon or spatula.
- Turn the mixer to low and add in the eggs and the melted butter. Mix well.
- Then add in the yeast mixture until a dough forms. You may need to stop the mixer to scrape the sides of the bowl.
- Your dough should be tacky and come together. If it's too wet (like mine was), add a little bit of flour at a time until the dough looks smooth but doesn't stick to your hands. I ended up adding an extra cup of flour.
- Let the mixer knead the dough for a few minutes. Then transfer to a well-oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a towel and allow to rest in a warm spot until doubled, about 90 minutes to 2 hours.
Make the filling
- While the dough is rising, make the filling. In a medium sized bowl, add the chocolate chips and the butter. Heat in the microwave for about 50-60 seconds. Stir. If there are still lumps, heat in the microwave again in 15-20 second increments. Stir until the mixture is smooth and free from lumps.
- Add the vanilla, powdered sugar, and the cocoa powder. Mix until smooth and set aside.
Roll the dough
- Lightly grease two standard 9" x 5" loaf pans and set aside.
- Lightly flour a clean working surface.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down. Using a bench scraper or a knife, cut the dough in half. Set one half aside.
- Using one of the dough halves, roll it out with a rolling pin to an approximate 12" x 16" rectangle.
- Spread the chocolate filling on top of the dough, using an offset spatula to smooth it out. You'll want to leave about a half inch border around the perimeter.
- Starting on the short end, roll the dough tightly into a log, jelly-roll style. Make sure the seam is on the bottom when finished.
- Using a bench scraper or a knife, cut the dough in half, lengthwise.
- Turn each half of the cut dough up, so that the chocolate filling side is exposed and pointing towards the ceiling.
- Pinch two of the ends together and twist the two halves together like a strand of DNA. Pinch the other ends together.
- Gently place it in one of your prepared loaf pans, making sure the exposed side is pointing up. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Cover the pans and allow to double again, about 1 hour.
Make the topping
- As the bread is proofing, make the topping. In a medium sized bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, and sugar together. Mix.
- Add the butter cubes together, and using your fingers, work the butter into the mixture until you achieve small crumbly pieces. It should look like wet sand. Add in the chocolate chips and mix.
Bake the bread
- Preheat your oven to 350℉.
- Using a pastry brush, brush the top of each loaf with the melted butter.
- Sprinkle the topping on top of the melted butter.
- Bake in your preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until the bread looks golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (it might have some melted chocolate, and that's OK).
- Remove the pans from the oven and allow to cool completely before slicing and serving.