Chocolate and Orange Braided Bread

Soft, buttery, sweet yeasted orange bread laced with swirls of black cocoa bread and a deliciously indulgent sweetened condensed milk glaze. Enjoy it with a dollop of Greek yoghurt and seasonal fruit on the side. It just cannot get better than this! This loaf is best enjoyed the day it’s baked, but it will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

	Glaze, optional
240 ml Whole milk, lukewarm 50 g Sweetened condensed milk 1 Large egg, lightly beaten 1 tsp Vanilla extract 450 g Plain flour 1/3 tsp Sea salt 1 tbsp Instant dried yeast 50 g Unsalted butter, softened 1 p Dr. Oetker orange peel ©angiesrecipes 1 tbsp Sweetened condensed milk 1 ½ tbsp Black cocoa powder ©angiesrecipes	1 tbsp Butter, softened 1 tbsp Sweetened condensed milk

In the mixing bowl of your mixer, add in milk, sweetened condensed milk, egg (reserve 1 tablespoon for the topping), vanilla extract, flour, sea salt and instant dried yeast. Mix on slow until everything comes together. Add in butter and mix until combined. Increase the speed and knead for a further 4-5 minutes until the dough has pullded away from the sides of the bowl, smooth and elastic. Scrape out dough and shape into a ball.
Divide the dough in two portions. Add the orange peel to one portion of dough and knead for a few minutes. Place it in a greased bowl and cover.
Place another portion of dough ball back to the mixing bowl and add in black cocoa powder and sweetened condensed milk. Knead for 5 minutes until well combined. If the dough sticky, add little flour. Place the cocoa dough ball in another greased bowl and cover.
Allow both dough balls to proof for 1‐1½ hours. Grease a 30cm loaf pan or line with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F.
Turn out each dough on a lightly greased work surface and gently press the air out, then roll out into a 24x34cm rectangle. Place the cocoa dough on top of the orange rectangle.
Cut the bottom ⅔ into 4 sections. Cut each section into 3 strips. Twist 3 strips and braid. Repeat for other 3 sections. Start at top and roll tightly all the way down. Place the roll into the prepared pan. Cover and proof for about 45 minutes until doubled in size. Brush the top with reserved egg. Bake in the middle of hot oven for 30-35 minutes.
Mix 1 tablespoon of butter and sweetened condensed milk. Brush the bread while still hot. Let cool on a wire rack before cutting.

8 comments:

Tom 21/7/25 13:18: ...and a sweet treat for the eyes too!
DEZMOND 21/7/25 13:23: That is so pretty, bet it was fun to make! I do love die schokolie und orangen combo very much.
Norma2 21/7/25 16:53: Angie, it's winter here, and there's nothing better than treating ourselves to a chocolate bread with bits of orange peel.
Hugs
Lola Martínez 21/7/25 17:14: Que maravilla de pan, con él precaria con gusto, es una dulce tentación.
Lucimar da Silva Moreira 21/7/25 17:25: Que delicia esse pão ele ficaria bem aqui em casa, Angie boa semana bjs.
Pantherka 21/7/25 17:26: Interesting combination, the bread looks pretty nice.
Asep Haryono 21/7/25 17:34: This looks absolutely divine! The combination of orange and black cocoa is so creative and that swirl is just gorgeous! I can almost smell it through the screen. Thanks for sharing such a unique and comforting recipe.

Can’t wait to try this one soon
sotis 21/7/25 17:44: il est aussi beau qu'il est gourmand ce pain!!!bisous