Vegan Chocolate Nut Braid

A chocolate-nutty dream - whether for Easter or just as a treat!

Raised pastry is one of my favorite pastries. Whether as a base for cake or just as braided yeast bun. But it only gets really awesome with a delicious filling. And what matches better than nuts and chocolate? That's right! Nuts, chocolate and yeast dough! This chocolate-nut Striezel impresses with its fluffy consistency, bittersweet chocolate and crunchy hazelnuts. In other words, everything your heart desires.

Whether you bake the braid for Easter brunch or nibble it on another occasion - for yeast braid is always the right time ;)

For 1 yeast bun with hazelnut filling you will need:

For the yeast dough:

• 200ml unsweetened soy milk, lukewarm

• 80g soft margarine

• 500g light spelt flour

• 80g sugar

• 1 pinch of salt

• ½ cube fresh yeast

For the filling:

• 50g hazelnuts, chopped

• 150g hazelnuts, ground

• 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

• 100g sugar

• 1 tsp. ground vanilla

• 80g vegan dark chocolate

• some unsweetened soy milk, lukewarm

To coat:

• 2 tablespoons unsweetened soy milk

• 1 tsp. sugar

• chopped hazelnuts

Preparation:

1. Take the margarine and the yeast out of the refrigerator the night before so that they come to room temperature.

2. Put the flour in a bowl and make a hole in the center with a tablespoon.

3. Crumble the yeast into the hole, add a tablespoon of the sugar and a small amount of the soy milk and mix gently.

4. This pre-dough is now allowed to rise, covered, in a warm place for about 15 minutes.

5. Then add the salt, the remaining sugar, soy milk and margarine and knead everything for at least 5 minutes to form a smooth dough.

6. Let the dough rise for about 1 hour covered in a warm place.

7. In the meantime, roughly chop the chocolate and mix it with the remaining ingredients for the filling.

8. Make sure that the milk is not too hot, so that the chocolate does not melt.

9. When the dough has about doubled in volume, transfer it to a floured work surface and roll it out into a rectangle (about 30 x 40 cm).

10. Spread the filling on the dough and leave some space at the edges.

11. Roll up the dough from the long side.

12. Cut the roll in half lengthwise with a sharp knife and lay the dough strips on top of each other to form an X on top of each other.

13. Twist the two strands together and press the ends tightly.

14. Carefully place the braid on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and and let it rise covered for 30 minutes in a warm place.

15. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F top / bottom heat.

16. Melt the sugar in the warm soy milk and brush the bun with it.

17. Finally, you can sprinkle some chopped hazelnuts on top.

18. Then bake the yeast plait for about 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Are you hot for yeast dough? Then try my fluffy easter bread!