544.Chocolate Orange Swirl Buns

Chocolate Orange Swirl Buns#Bread Bakers

Orangey Fragrance

Not only is the combination of chocolate and orange heavenly, lovely, delish, flavourful but the aroma is just out of this world especially when baking. When Shireen Sequeira of Ruchik Randhap set the theme of baking with cocoa, cacao, carob in any form for the month of March, I was in a bit of dilemma. Have baked muffins, quick breads, bundt with cocoa. Don’t like carob at all. So I thought of a yeast bake but using cocoa, carob or cacao in a yeast bread, I was a bit apprehensive. Will it turn out too chocolatey, or just right? So the hunt for a recipe started. I knew it had to a yeast based bake though I so desperately wanted to make a quick bread, a safer option. My search took me to smitten kitchen.com and chocolate orange swirl buns was decided on. A recipe with probably just the right amount of chocolate. The buns turned out really good with the orange and chocolate combination of flavours. I’ve frozen half of them, the rest hubby and  I had them for breakfast over the weekend. So without too much of rambling I’ll get to the recipe. (To tell you the truth, its just too hot to think and type!)

CHOCOLATE ORANGE SWIRL BUNS
Makes 12
Recipe source : Smitten Kitchen

For the dough:
2½ cups all purpose flour (plain flour)
¼ cup sugar *
¾ cup warm milk
2 tsp dry instant active yeast
1 large egg – room temperature
¼ tsp salt
3 tbsp butter – room temperature
1 tbsp orange zest (grated orange rind)

extra flour for kneading and rolling
extra butter for greasing
little milk for brushing

Filling:
3 tbsp soft butter
¼ cup sugar
200g dark chocolate -grated
1 tbsp orange zest (grated orange rind)
a generous pinchof sea salt

1. Mix flour, sugar, zest, salt and yeast in a big bowl.
2. Add 1 tbsp butter and rub it into the flour.
3. Mix egg and milk.
4. Add the egg milk mixture and form a dough.
5. Dust the work top with little flour and knead the dough.
6. Add little butter at intervals till its all used up.
7. Knead till you get a smooth and silky dough, for about 10 -15 minutes by hand or about 7-10 minutes by machine. If the dough sticks too much add a little more flour.
8. Shape the dough into a round ball and place it in a greased bowl.
9. Place the bowl in a warm place and let the dough rise for 1½ hr or till its double the size.
10. Grease a muffin tray lightly with butter.
11. Dust the worktop with little flour and gently fold the dough.
12. Roll it into a rectangle of 12″ X 16″.
13. Sprinkle the sugar even over the rolled rectangle.
14. Sprinkle the grated chocolate over it.
15. Finally sprinkle the orange zest and sea salt over it.
16. Starting from the short side, roll the dough tightly , like a swiss roll.
17. Pinch the seam.
18. Cut into 1″ thick slices with a serrated knife.
19. Place the cut slices in the muffin tray.
20. Cover the tray with a cloth or cling film, lightly.
21. Let the buns rise till they are double in size or for 30- 45 minutes.
22. Preheat the oven to 180° C.
23. Brush the top with milk.
24. Bake the buns for 15-20 minutes or till the top of the buns are light golden colour.
25. Remove the buns from the muffin tray and let them cool on a wire rack.