Braided Brioche Chocolate Chip Bread - Parāoa Tōpuku Me Ngā Titipi Tiakarete

A slightly sweet braided brioche bread with a hint of vanilla and pops of chocolate chips!

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 45

Rising Time 2 30

Servings large loaf (16 slices)

Ingredients

The Dough - Te Pokenga

⅔ C wai wera (hot water, from the tap)
½ C miraka (milk)
½ C huka hāura (brown sugar or caster sugar)
1 ¼ tbsp (10g) īhi tere (instant yeast)
2 hēki (eggs, size 6)
1 tbsp wanira (vanilla)
4 ¼ C (637 g) puehu parāoa kounga (high grade flour)
2 tsp tote (salt, fine)
90 g pata kūteretere (softened butter, cut into small pieces)
1 C (200 g) titipi tiakarete (chocolate chips or drops, I prefer drops as they are a bit bigger)

The Glaze - Te Mōhinuhinu

1 tbsp huka hāura (brown sugar)
1 hēki (egg)

The Final Glaze - Te Mōhinuhinu Whakamutunga

30 g pata (butter)
2 tbsp marahihi māpere (maple syrup, honey will also work here)

Instructions

The Dough - Te Pokenga

Add the wai wera (hot water), miraka (milk) and huka hāura (brown sugar) in to a large bowl. Stir it all together until the sugar is dissolved.
Stir in the īhi tere (instant yeast) and allow to activate for five minutes until foamy.
Add in the hēki (eggs), wanira (vanilla), puehu parāoa (flour) and tote (salt). Whakaranuhia - mix it all together to combine. Once you have a shaggy dough, tip it out on to a lightly floured bench.
Knead it until the dough comes together. You can do this for 3-4 minutes by hand or in a mixer with a dough hook for 2-3 minutes.
Then, if you're kneading by hand, spread out the dough and dot on the pata kūteretere (softened butter). Knead for a further 10 minutes. The dough will be quite sticky to start with but it comes together - trust the process.
If you are kneading with a mixer, add in the pata (butter) in one go and knead it for 8 minutes.
Once the dough is lovely and stretchy, stretch it on to the bench and sprinkle over the titipi tiakarete (chocolate chips/drops), fold in the corners and gently knead them in.
Form the dough in to a ball, place in a bowl and cover. Leave for 1 1/2 - 2 hours or until it has doubled in size.
Once risen, cut the dough into four equal portions. I weigh mine for accuracy but you can just eye ball it if you want to. Roll each portion into a 30 cm rope.
Arrange the pieces side by side. Pinch the four ends together at the top.
Take the fourth strand (on the right) and weave it over and under the other strands until it lands on the other side. Take the fourth strand (on the right) again and weave it over and under the other strands until it lands on the other side. Refer to the video for a guide.
Repeat this process until all the dough is braided, always taking the strand from the right and weaving it under and over all the other pieces.
Tuck both of the ends in so you have a nice shape and place it on to a well oiled tray. Cover with a tea towel and rise for 50-60 minutes.
10 minutes before the bread has finished rising, preheat the oven to 180 °C.

The Glaze - Te Mōhinuhinu

Combine the hēki (egg) and huka hāura (brown sugar) in a small bowl. Whisk it until smooth and baste all over the parāoa (bread).
Brush this all over the braid with a pastry brush. This helps the bread become golden when baking. If you don't have an extra egg, mix the huka (sugar) with 4 tbsp of miraka (milk) and brush that on.
Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes at 180 °C.
Then, turn the oven down to 160 °C and bake for a further 35 minutes.

The Final Glaze - Te Mōhinuhinu Whakamutunga

Just before the parāoa (bread) has baked, melt the pata (butter) and marahihi māpere (maple syrup or honey) in a pot or in the microwave.
Remove the delicious parāoa (bread) from the oven and brush on the mōhinuhinu (glaze). Serve fresh with my whipped vanilla butter. It is also delicious as toast the next day.