Dark Chocolate Brioche Pretzels

I'd planned on making homemade hot dog buns for my birthday party but unknowingly Joshua bought buns so then I had a bunch of brioche dough left on my hands. A very awesome awesome problem! My sister had given me a Smitten Kitchen cookbook for my birthday so I jumped right to making these cuties. Seriously cuties!

 my dough was already made, I love my Flour bakery cookbook version so I made that one, so I couldn't mix the chocolate in but rolling in it instead actually made them quite pretty.

Dark Chocolate Brioche Pretzels:

4 1/2 cups flour
3 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbs salt
1/2 cup cold water
5 eggs
1 cup + 6 tbs butter; room temp! cut into 10-2 pieces
1 cup dark chocolate; very finely chopped
raw coarse sugar for topping
3 tbs coconut oil; melted

1    in a mixer fit with a dough hook and combine flour, yeast, sugar, salt water and 5 eggs
2    beat on low for a few minutes, stop and start to make sure all the dry ingredients are incorporated
3    beat for another 3-5 mintues, it should form a very shaggy dry looking dough
4    then, mixer on low, add in the butter one slice at a time, make sure each disappears into the
      dough before you add the next
5    once all of the butter in incorporated run on low for about 10 mintues
6    then turn up the speed to about medium and beat for about 15 minutes
the dough will look shaggy for awhile but eventually it will start to become sticky, smooth, and shiny
7     then turn up the speed to medium-high for 1 minute, the dough should start to make a
      slapping sound on the bowl
8    put the dough in a oil coated bowl and cover with plastic wrap, let it proof in the fridge for
      6 hours or overnight, or at this point you can freeze it for up to a week
9    then pull the dough out and place it in a warm dry place for 3-4 hours to let the dough come
      to room tempurature and rise
if you have frozen it let it sit in the fridge overnight and then do step 9
10  preheat the oven to 350 and have dark chocolate chopped and layed out over a surface that you
      can roll the dough in, also place parchment paper on 2 baking sheets and lightly oil
11  divide the dough gently into 8 even pieces
12   roll each piece with your hands into about an 18" rope then roll it gently in the chocolate
13   hold the dough by the ends over the baking sheet and make a full twist near the ends,
      then fold them down over the bottom, forming a pretzel
14  repeat this with the remaining doughs
15  lightly drizzle coconut oil over top of each pretzel and shake some raw thick sugar over top of them
16  bake for 12-15 minutes
17  let cool for a few minutes and let the chocolate reharden

then eat one for breakfast slathered in nutella :)

O man I love playing with brioche dough! It is so pillowy and divine!