This Chocolate Swirl Bread Loaf is a real showstopper and is bread with the x-factor!. Make a slightly sweet milk bread dough and split it in half. Keep one plain and flavour the other with a cocoa mixture. Roll the doughs together, allow them to rise and once baked the most beautiful pattern is revealed. So, let me walk you through the simple stages of this recipe.
Parāoa Miraka (milk bread) is such a lovely, soft bread loaf with a few little twists on the way. As far as I understand parāoa miraka (milk bread) originates in Japan.
The Chocolate Swirl Bread Loaf:
This recipe starts by making a simple tanzhong, which is a roux of miraka (milk), wai (water) and puehu parāoa (flour). This helps the bread stay soft for a little longer. Add the tanzhong to the other ingredients and knead the dough until stretchy. Then split the dough in half and keep one plain and mix a ranunga kōkō (cocoa mixture) in to the other one. Once the dough has risen, roll them out and then place them on top of each other. Then roll them both up like a scroll to create a swirl pattern. Lastly, pre-cut the loaf in to slices and place it in a tin. Once it is baked, pull the dough apart or cut it with a serrated knife to reveal the pattern inside. Te mutunga mai o te ātaahua – absolutely beautiful!
Spread this with my whipped vanilla butter or chocolate almond butter and you have yourself a party. If you want the same loaf without the chocolate swirl, check this recipe out: milk bread loaf.
Some more parāoa (bread) recipes to try:
Feel like something a little sweeter? Then you must try my Sticky Maple and Pecan Scrolls, Sticky Gingerbread Scrolls or my Samoan Coconut Buns (Pani Popo).
Or do you want to make parāoa (bread) but cut out the kneading part? You have to try my No-knead Bread Buns or try their cheesy cousin; Cheesy No-knead Bread Buns. These no-knead recipes are also delicious: No-knead Focaccia Bread , No-knead Bread Buns, No-knead White Bread Loaf or Rustic No-knead White Bread.
Check out other parāo (bread) recipes here.
Videography and photography by Sarah Henderson.
Milk Bread with a Chocolate Swirl – Parāoa Miraka Me Te Kōripo Tiakarete
Ingredients
The Tangzhong
- ⅓ C miraka (milk)
- ⅓ C wai (water)
- ⅓ C (50 g) puehu parāoa kounga (high grade flour)
- 1 tbsp wanira (vanilla)
The Sweet Dough – Te Pokenga Reka
- 230 ml miraka mahana (warm milk, you should be able to hold your finger in the milk. If not, it is too hot)
- ¼ C huka hāura (brown sugar or white sugar will work)
- 8 g (1 sachet) īhi tere (instant yeast)
- 3 C (450 g) puehu parāoa kounga (high grade flour)
- 2 tsp tote (salt, fine)
The Cocoa Paste – Te Pē Kōkō
- 2 ½ tbsp kōkō (cocoa)
- 2 tbsp huka hāura (brown sugar)
- 2 tbsp miraka (milk)
Instructions
The Tangzhong
- Add the miraka (milk), wai (water) and puehu parāoa kounga (high grade flour) in to a pot. Heat over medium heat as you whisk it until it thickens to thick paste.
- Remove from the heat, add to a small bowl. Stir through wanira (vanilla). Leave in the fridge to cool as you continue with the dough.
The Sweet Dough – Te Pokenga Reka
- Add the miraka mahana (warm milk) and huka hāura (brown sugar) in to a large bowl. Stir until the huka (sugar) is dissolved in to the miraka (milk).
- Sprinkle over the īhi tere (instant yeast) and stir again. Leave to activate for a few minutes until frothy.
- Add the puehu parāoa kounga (high grade flour), tote (salt) and the tangzhong paste in to the yeast mixture. Mix until a shaggy dough forms.
- If you are kneading it by hand, add the dough to a lightly floured bench and knead for 12-15 minutes until the dough is soft and stretchy.If you are kneading it in a mixer, knead for 10-12 minutes until the dough is soft and stretchy.
- Divide the dough in to two pieces. Form one of the pieces in to a ball and place it in to a bowl. Cover with a tea towel. Use the other piece turn in to the chocolate flavour.
The Cocoa Paste – Te Pē Kōkō
- Mix the kōkō (cocoa), huka hāura (brown sugar) and miraka (milk) in to a small bowl until it forms a smooth paste.
- Spread out the second piece of dough in to a rectangle. Spread the pē kōkō (cocoa paste) on to it. Knead it gently for a few minutes until it is all mixed through, it should not need more flour.
- Place it in a bowl and cover with a tea towel. Rise both of the pieces of dough for 1 ½ hours or until doubled in size.
- Oil a loaf tin. My tin is 22 cm long, 9.5 cm wide and 10 cm high.
- Once they have risen, take each piece and out roll them out to a 40 cm long rectangle.
- Get the loaf tin you are using and make the rectangle 4 cm shorter than the length of the tin. My tin is 22 cm long so I made my rectangles 40 cm long and 18 cm wide. Make the cocoa dough slightly smaller than the plain one.
- Place the cocoa flavoured dough on top of the plain one. Now gently roll it up in to a tight roll.
- Cut the roll into 8 – 10 pieces of the dough, cutting all the way through. Keep the pieces roughly together as you do this. Cutting them like this enable you to pull the parāoa (bread) apart in to perfect slices once it is baked.
- Gently hold the pieces as one log and lower them in to your prepared tin. Cover and allow them to rise for another 45 minutes.
- Pre-heat the oven to 170 °C.
- Bake for 43 minutes until golden. Rub a little butter on to the freshly baked bread and pull apart or cut those delicious slices you have created! Tau kē – awesome!
- To make it even better, serve it warm or toasted with my whipped vanilla butter or chocolate almond butter!
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