Chocolate Easter Egg Bread Recipe

My chocolate easter egg bread recipe makes a huge, gorgeous, tasty braided sweet bread that's perfect for Easter holiday breakfasts.

Easter bread is enjoyed in many European countries like Italy, Greece and Portugal, and traditionally involves real eggs baked into bread. My version uses chocolate mini eggs – both baked into the dough and dotted on top after baking to decorate – to create a sweet version.

You can also watch me make this on YouTube:

Ready? Let's go.

Ingredients:

2 tsp of dry active yeast or 10g fresh yeast
100ml warm milk
1 tsp caster sugar
500g bread flour
4 eggs
3 tbsp honey
50g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 tsp salt

To Glaze / Top:

1 egg beaten with a dash of milk
Chocolate mini Easter eggs / Mini Eggs

To Ice:

100g icing sugar
1 tbsp water

To Decorate:

Sprinkles
More Mini Eggs

Method:

1. Sprinkle or mash the yeast into the warm milk and stir in the sugar until well combined.. Wait a minute or two until it begins to bubble.

2. Stir the yeast mixture with all the rest of the ingredients, switching from a wooden spoon to your hands when it begins to form a dough (or using a machine with a dough hook to bring the ingredients together and partially knead).

3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured surface and knead funtil the dough is smooth and elastic (about 15 minutes if you used your hands, or five if you used a dough hook).

4. Form the dough into a ball, pop it in a lightly-oiled bowl and cover with clingfilm or a damp tea towel until doubled in size (30 mins to two hours, depending on how warm your room is).

5. Punch the dough back down, divide into three even portions and roll into long, even ropes.

6. Braid the ropes, and form a large circle with the braid, pinching the ends together.

7. Place on a tray lined with non-stick baking paper, and cover again to proof for a further 30 minutes to an hour until puffy.

8. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C, and beat the egg and milk together for the glaze.

9. Uncover your proofed dough, brush generously with the egg glaze, and stud with a few mini chocolate eggs (push the eggs down firmly as they'll pop up a bit as they bake).

10. Bake for 35–40 minutes, until risen and deeply golden. Leave to cool completely.

11. To make the icing, simply stir the icing sugar and water together until you have a thick, but still drizzle-able, consistency.

12. Drizzle the icing over your bread, sprinkle over some sprinkles, and dot on more chocolate mini eggs. Let the icing dry for a few minutes before slicing and serving.

Enjoy, and have fun.