Chocolate Star Bread

Chocolate Star Bread
Recipe from King Arthur Flour


The geniuses at King Arthur Flour are the brains behind this showstopper, which is much easier than it looks.  I substituted the cinnamon sugar with cinnamon chocolate filling from when I made a chocolate babkallah.


DOUGH
2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup potato flour
1/4 cup  nonfat dry milk
3/4 cup + 2 to 4 tablespoons lukewarm water
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt

FILLING
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
⅓ cup brown sugar
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

METHOD

Mix chocolate, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.

Sift together flour, potato flour, and dry milk.  Combine all of the dough ingredients and mix.  Knead dough by mixer or a lightly floured surface until soft and smooth.  Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour, until almost doubled in size.  Divide the dough into four.  Shape each piece into a ball, cover the balls, and allow them to rest for 15 minutes.  

On a lightly greased or floured work surface, roll one piece of dough into a 10" circle. Place the circle on a piece of parchment, brush a thin coat of beaten egg on the surface, then evenly sprinkle with chocolate filling, leaving 1/4" of bare dough around the perimeter.  Roll out a second circle the same size as the first, and place it on top of the filling-covered circle. Repeat the layering process, leaving the top circle bare.

Place a 2" round cutter in the center of the dough circle as a guide. With a bench knife or sharp knife, cut the circle into 16 equal strips, from the cutter to the edge, through all the layers.  Using two hands, pick up two adjacent strips and twist them away from each other twice so that the top side is facing up again. Repeat with the remaining strips of dough so that you end up with eight pairs of strips.  Pinch the pairs of strips together to create a star-like shape with eight points. 

Transfer the star on the parchment to a baking sheet. Cover the star and let it rise for 45 minutes.  While the star is rising, preheat the oven to 400°F.  Brush the star with a thin coat of beaten egg. Bake it for 12 to 15 minutes, until it's nicely golden with dark brown cinnamon streaks; the center should register 200°F on a digital thermometer.