This Easy Soft and Fluffy Sweet Marbled Bread Recipe feature alluring swirls of vanilla and chocolate. Although it may look dizzyingly complicated it is actually super easy to make. This bread is similar to the braided bread that we enjoy very much as well, but with a new flavor twist – literally, beautifully and deliciously!
Thin layers of delicious cinnamony chocolate dough weaved with white vanilla dough is not only eye-catching but amazingly delicious. Airy, light, and sweet aromatic bread, each slice with its own uniquely gorgeous design that looks hard to believe it’s actually edible. Add some butter spread and it is so gloriously delicious you will want to enjoy a slice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner 😉 !
Sweet Marbled Bread Ingredients
- Lukewarm whole milk
- Sugar (divided)
- Dry active yeast
- Large eggs (room temperature)
- Sea salt
- Pure vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)
- Cacao (or cocoa) powder
- Ground cinnamon
Sweet Marbled Bread Egg Wash Ingredients
- Water
- Egg
How to Make the Sweet Marbled Bread Recipe
First things first, start by proofing the yeast. In a bowl, combine lukewarm milk, 1/4 cup of sugar (reserve 3/4 cup of sugar for later), and yeast. Stir it together until the sugar and yeast dissolve. Place it in a warm place and let the yeast proof.
Beat eggs and the remaining ¾ cup of sugar together on high speed for 5 minutes.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and add proofed yeast, sea salt, and vanilla.
Switch to the dough hook attachment. Stir in sifted flour, adding 1/2 cup at a time, for four cups in total. Then mix in the softened butter.
As soon as the butter is mixed in, it’s time to divide the dough in two. (The dough is not done yet and will still be pretty sticky. After splitting the dough, you will be adding more flour to both white and chocolate dough.)
Dividing the Dough Instructions
Using a silicone spatula, transfer half of the dough into a medium glass bowl (and reserve for adding cacao and cinnamon later, after finishing mixing the white dough first).
Attach the bowl back on the mixer stand and mix in more flour by adding 1/2 cup at a time, about 1.5 cups in total. The dough should be soft and stretchy, and should not stick to the spatula.
Transfer the white well-mixed dough into a second glass bowl greased with olive oil. Cover the bowl with plastic food wrap and place it into a warm location to rise.
Transfer the reserved half of the dough back into the mixer bowl and add 1/4 cup cacao (or cocoa powder) and 1/4 tsp. of ground cinnamon. Mix everything in, by adding 1/2 cup of flour at a time, for a total of one cup of additional flour. The dough should be stretchy and should not stick to the bowl or spatula.
Transfer the chocolate dough back into another glass bowl greased with olive oil. Place the chocolate dough next to the white dough and allow it to rise for about an hour to an hour an half.
Marbled Bread Eggs Wash Instructions
Towards the end of the rising time, make the eggs wash. Beat an egg with water until well combined and set aside until ready for use.
Assembling the Sweet Marbled Bread
Work with one color of dough at a time. Move the white dough onto a well-floured working surface. Knead the dough into a ball and split the white dough in half (keep in mind that this recipe makes 2 loaves of marbled bread). Place the second half of the white dough back into the glass bowl and cover it again with plastic to prevent it from drying out. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about 1/4″ in thickness.
Repeat the same steps with the chocolate dough as with the white. Roll it out into about the same size rectangle, 1/4″ in thickness, and place the chocolate dough on top of the white one. The chocolate dough will want to shrink, so you can just pinch the edges together sporadically, in multiple places. They do not have to be perfectly aligned as you will be rolling the dough out again.
Fold the dough into vertical four folds and roll the dough out again to about 1/2″ in thickness. As mentioned before, it doesn’t have to be exact or perfect (that’s the beauty of working with yeast dough, it will bloat out of shape, anyway).
Then fold that large strip of dough in half and roll it out again to about 1″ in thickness throughout the entire rectangle.
Make 3 even cuts in the dough (without cutting all the way through) to make 3 strips for the dough to be braided. Finally, braid the marbled dough strips and tuck in the edge under the loaf. (While braiding, you may turn the strips to reveal the marbled cut sides even more, if you wish.)
Place the marbled braid into a bread pan greased with butter and lined with parchment paper. Tuck in both ends of the underneath the braid. Place the dough into a warm place to proof for 45 minutes.
Repeat the same instractions with the second half of the dough.
Sweet Marbled Bread Baking Instructions
Start preheating the oven to 350 F (180 C) 30 minutes into the final proofing time. Right before placing the bread in the oven to bake, brush both loaves of bread dough with the egg wash multiple times using a pastry brush.
Bake the bread in the preheated oven at 350 F (180 C) for 40 to 45 minutes. Insert a long wooden toothpick into the center of the bread to check for readiness. If it comes out clean, then the bread is done baking.
Remove from the oven and let the bread cool in the baking pans for about 15 minutes before transferring them onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Serve bread warm with some butter, hot cup of tea, or latte. Enjoy!
Warning: this bread is amazingly delicious, so get ready to battle with an overindulging temptation, or you’ll have more than one slice! But it’s ok if you give in, I won’t blame you because I did as well… it is just that good! 😉
If you make this Easy Soft and Fluffy Sweet Marbled Bread Recipe, please share a picture with me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. Tag with #valyastasteofhome. I’d love to see your creations!
This Easy Soft and Fluffy Sweet Marbled Bread Recipe feature alluring swirls of vanilla and chocolate. Although it may look dizzyingly complicated it is actually super easy to make. Airy, light, and sweet aromatic bread, each slice with its own uniquely gorgeous design that looks hard to believe it's actually edible.
- 1 cup – lukewarm organic whole milk
- ¼ cup – sugar
- 2 tsp. – dry active yeast
- 5 large – eggs (I used home-raised room temperature eggs)
- ¾ cup – sugar
- ¼ tsp. – sea salt
- 2 tsp. – pure vanilla extract
- 6 ½ cups – organic all-purpose flour
- 6 oz. – unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ¼ cup – organic cacao (or cocoa) powder
- ¼ tsp. – ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp. – water
- 1 large – egg
-
First things first, start by proofing the yeast. In a bowl, combine lukewarm milk, 1/4 cup of sugar (reserve 3/4 cup of sugar for later), and yeast. Stir it together until the sugar and yeast dissolve. Place it in a warm place and let the yeast proof.
-
Beat eggs and the remaining ¾ cup of sugar together on high speed for 5 minutes.
-
Reduce the mixer speed to low and add proofed yeast, sea salt, and vanilla.
-
Switch to the dough hook attachment. Stir in sifted flour, adding 1/2 cup at a time, for four cups in total. Then mix in the softened butter.
-
As soon as the butter is mixed in, it’s time to divide the dough in two. (The dough is not done yet and will still be pretty sticky. After splitting the dough, you will be adding more flour to both white and chocolate dough.)
-
Using a silicone spatula, transfer half of the dough into a medium glass bowl (and reserve for adding cacao and cinnamon later, after finishing mixing the white dough first).
-
Attach the bowl back on the mixer stand and mix in more flour by adding 1/2 cup at a time, about 1.5 cups in total. The dough should be soft and stretchy and should not stick to the spatula.
-
Transfer the white well-mixed dough into a second glass bowl greased with olive oil. Cover the bowl with plastic food wrap and place it into a warm location to rise.
-
Transfer the reserved half of the dough back into the mixer bowl and add 1/4 cup cacao (or cocoa powder) and 1/4 tsp. of ground cinnamon. Mix everything in, by adding 1/2 cup of flour at a time, for a total of one cup of additional flour. The dough should be stretchy and should not stick to the bowl or spatula.
-
Towards the end of the rising time, make the eggs wash. Beat an egg with water until well combined and set aside until ready for use.
-
Work with one color of dough at a time. Move the white dough onto a well-floured working surface. Knead the dough into a ball and split the white dough in half (keep in mind that this recipe makes 2 loaves of marbled bread). Place the second half of the white dough back into the glass bowl and cover it again with plastic to prevent it from drying out. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about 1/4″ in thickness.
-
Repeat the same steps with the chocolate dough as with the white. Roll it out into about the same size rectangle, 1/4″ in thickness, and place the chocolate dough on top of the white one. The chocolate dough will want to shrink, so you can just pinch the edges together sporadically, in multiple places. They do not have to be perfectly aligned as you will be rolling the dough out again.
-
Fold the dough into vertical four folds and roll the dough out again to about 1/2″ in thickness. As mentioned before, it doesn’t have to be exact or perfect (that’s the beauty of working with yeast dough, it will bloat out of shape, anyway).
-
Then fold that large strip of dough in half and roll it out again to about 1″ in thickness throughout the entire rectangle.
-
Make 3 even cuts in the dough (without cutting all the way through) to make 3 strips for the dough to be braided. Finally, braid the marbled dough strips and tuck in the edge under the loaf. (While braiding, you may turn the strips to reveal the marbled cut sides even more, if you wish.)
-
Place the marbled braid into a bread pan greased with butter and lined with parchment paper. Tuck in both ends of the underneath the braid. Place the dough into a warm place to proof for 45 minutes.
-
Repeat the same instructions with the second half of the dough.
-
Start preheating the oven to 350 F (180 C) 30 minutes into the final proofing time. Right before placing the bread in the oven to bake, brush both loaves of bread dough with the egg wash multiple times.
-
Bake the bread in the preheated oven at 350 F (180 C) for 40 to 45 minutes. Insert a long wooden toothpick into the center of the bread to check for readiness. If it comes out clean, then the bread is done baking.
-
Remove from the oven and let the bread cool in the baking pans for about 15 minutes before transferring them onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
-
Serve bread warm with some butter, a hot cup of tea, or a latte. Enjoy!
Warning: this bread is amazingly delicious, so get ready to battle with an overindulging temptation, or you’ll have more than one slice! But it’s ok if you give in, I won’t blame you because I did as well… it is just that good! 😉
More sweet bread recipes you’ll love:
- Sweet Buns with Fresh Cherry Filling (Piroshki)
- Sweet Farmers Cheese and Strawberry Braid
- Easy Poppy Seed Roll Recipe
- Pumpkin Pull-Apart Bread with Pecans and Caramel
- Sweet Swirl Apple Buns
Check out all bread recipes.
Wow! Sooo beautiful! I wanna try! 😋👍
Thank you for the kind words! Let me know how it goes if you ever get to make the recipe.