Chocolate Lava Mochi Soft European Bread

Gently pull the bread with your hand, and you'll find it soft and fluffy with a naturally light texture. The outer crust is soft and fluffy, and you can even stretch it to reveal its delicate structure. The moment you pull it open, the chocolate sauce inside bursts out with a "whoosh," creating a wonderfully warm chocolate filling that coats the chewy mochi filling, along with crunchy nut pieces. The mochi is bouncy and stretchy, the crunchy nuts balance the sweetness, and the chocolate is rich and creamy. The soft bread sandwiched with the bursting filling and nuts is a perfect combination of soft, chewy, crunchy, and sweet flavors in one bite—pure satisfaction!

Ingredients

300g high-gluten flour
15g cocoa powder
30g butter
50g of egg liquid
180g pure milk
3 grams of dry yeast
20g milk powder
30 grams of sugar
3 grams of salt
140g glutinous rice flour
40g rice flour
240g milk
55 grams of white sugar
30g butter
Approximately 18 chocolate coins
Nuts as needed

Steps

Softening the butter: First, soften the butter until it's soft enough that you can easily pierce it with chopsticks.
Mixing dry ingredients: Pour the high-gluten flour, cocoa powder, milk powder, dry yeast, and salt into the mixing bowl and mix well.
Adding liquids and kneading the dough: Pour in the milk and egg liquid, knead on low speed for 3 minutes, then mix on high speed for 6 minutes, until the dough can be stretched into an 80% membrane.
Knead on low speed for 3 minutes, then mix on high speed for 6 minutes, until the dough can be stretched into a thin film (about 80% of its original consistency).
Add the softened butter and knead on low speed for 3 minutes to fully incorporate the butter into the dough. Then knead on high speed for 8 minutes, until a thin, smooth membrane forms.
First fermentation: Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place it in a humid environment at 30°C to ferment until it doubles in size.
Preparing the Mochi Filling: While the dough is fermenting, let's make the soul of the mochi! Mix glutinous rice flour, cornstarch, milk, and sugar until smooth, making sure there are no lumps, preferably sifted. Then steam it in a steamer for 15-20 minutes, or until there is no dry powder left. Remember to cover it with plastic wrap or a lid to prevent water vapor from dripping in and ruining my precious mochi! After steaming, while it's still hot, add softened butter and mix well. Divide it into 6 equal portions, and the mochi base is done!
Rest for 15 minutes: Divide the risen dough into 6 equal portions, roll them into balls, cover with plastic wrap, and let them rest for 15 minutes (watch the video if you don't understand).
Filling and Shaping: Take a rested dough ball and roll it out. Roll out the mochi a little thinner (just a bit smaller than the dough). Spread it on the dough, sprinkle with your favorite nuts, and then stuff in 3-4 Valrhona chocolate coins (I'm a bit stingy, so I only put in 3, but it's still super delicious!). Then roll it up tightly, making sure the filling doesn't "run away" halfway through!
Second fermentation: Place the prepared dough in a warm environment (around 35°C is best; placing a bowl of hot water in the oven will create a humid environment) and ferment until it increases in size by 1.5 times. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Quickly score your desired patterns on the fermented dough with a bread knife, then sprinkle with flour for a more appealing look.
Baking: Place the dough in a preheated oven. I usually use a conventional oven with it on the lower rack, but you can also put it on the middle rack. Bake for about 20 minutes, but be careful with your oven. If you're worried about it burning, cover it with aluminum foil halfway through baking. The aroma of chocolate will fill the whole house as soon as it comes out of the oven—who can resist that? I could show off two big ones at once!