Schoggi Brötli
“There’s nothing better than bread and chocolate,” said my Swiss mother often, when I was growing up, “I mean good bread and good chocolate.”
(I can tell you that the Canadian varieties were never up to snuff.)
But take her back to Switzerland and put a Mutschli (bread roll) in her hand and impale that bread on a Schoggistängeli (chocolate stick).
Then she’d be waxing poetic.
It’s true. Sometimes you just need bread and chocolate, and these big buns are the perfect solution. It’s a buttery dough, similar to Zopf, stuffed with chocolate and sprinkled with almonds.
Even my mum agrees.
And feel free to stab it with a Schoggistängeli for extreme chocolate decadence. (This part is not Swiss mother-approved.)
500 g flour
1 tsp salt
300 ml milk
20 g fresh yeast or 2 tsp dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
60 g butter, soft
150 g dark chocolate, chopped
For the topping
1 egg white, lightly whisked
pinch of salt
100 g flaked almonds
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.
In another bowl, whisk together the milk, yeast, and sugar.
Make a well in the flour and add the liquid ingredients. Stir this together until a dough starts to form, then add the butter and chocolate and begin to knead it on the table. Knead for about 15-20 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic. Alternatively, mix for about 10 minutes in a stand mixer with a dough hook. Cover and let rise for about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 190° C / 375° F / gas mark 5.
Form the dough into six large balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Whisk together the egg and salt, then brush the dough, and sprinkle with the flaked almonds.
Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until they are golden and sound hollow when you tap their bottoms.
I put the chocolate in with the butter and knead it for the full time. This is easier in a mixer than by hand (the chocolate shards can be a bit awkward), but I like that they splinter in the mixer and make the dough even more chocolatey. If you are doing it by hand, you could also try to knead the chocolate in closer to the end.
I split the dough into six big portions, but you could also split it into eight smaller pieces, or even twelve baby buns.
My favourite chocolate to use is Frey 72% dark chocolate from the Migros, but any nice dark chocolate would work.
A reader suggested a less messy way to egg wash: rather than brushing and sprinkling, just dip the bun in the egg, then in the nuts.
More chocolate?
Basler Schoggitorf
