Chocolate egg bread

Whisk together 1 egg yolk and 1 whole egg along with the honey and oil in a bowl. Sift together the flour, sugar and yeast in another bowl. Make a well in the centre. 

Put the egg mixture into the well, then start to mix with a wooden spoon, pulling the flour in from the sides of the bowl. Measure 125ml lukewarm water (too hot and it will kill the yeast) into a jug. Begin to pour in the water to form a thick and slightly sticky dough – you might not need to use all the water. Use your hands to shape the dough into a ball, then turn out on to a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until smooth.

Put the dough into a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for an hour, or until doubled in size. Separate the dough into 3 equal pieces, and roll into strands approximately 3cm thick and 40cm long. Lay the strands lengthways next to each other.

Begin plaiting by lifting the placing the outside right strand over the middle strand. You now have a new middle strand. Place the far left strand over the middle strand. Again, you now have a new middle strand. Continue until you reach the end, then flip the plait over, and repeat with the other end. Gently tuck each end in, then transfer to a lined baking tray.

Cover the loaf with a clean tea towel and allow to rise again for an hour, until puffed up. Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/gas mark 5. Brush the loaf all over with the remaining egg white and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the sugar to a saucepan with 4 tbsp water, then bring to the boil. Simmer for a few minutes until syrupy. 5 minutes before the bread is done, carefully brush on most of the syrup. The bread should be golden with a nice sticky glaze. Cool slightly, then brush on the remaining glaze. Push the micro eggs into the grooves of the bread, then sprinkle liberally with the party sprinkles.