chocolate swirl buns

I've talked before about the fact that my father and I have vastly different views on food. It's a dinnertime struggle that has been silently raging ever since I learned to cook. Pot roast vs. pesto-crusted tilapia. Meatloaf vs. mediterranean veggie salad. Pork chops vs. pad thai. It's been an epic battle. However, within the war zone there are brief moments of peace. There are some foods that dad and I can and do agree on.

For example, chili is neutral ground. So are BBQ ribs. And a temporary truce is called for any and all pastries that involve chocolate. We agree 100% that they are a good thing. No questions asked. However, as soon as said pastries are gone, the battle rages on.

So, while I usually enjoy antagonizing my father with crazy and unusual dishes, on my last Sunday morning at home I made these. Pastries plus chocolate. It was a Sunday of peace. Well, it was peaceful aside from me having to threaten bloody murder to keep my brother from devouring all twelve buns in one day. But that's fairly standard stuff.

I know the recipe looks long but a lot of the time involved in making these buns is inactive, waiting for the dough to rise and bake. And the payoff is soooo worth the wait. Happy Monday!

Chocolate Swirl Buns

Dough:
1/2 cup milk, preferably whole
1/4 cup plus a pinch of granulated sugar
2 1/4 tsp (one 1/4 ounce envelope) active dry yeast
1 large egg, brought to room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1/2 tsp table salt
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus additional for bowl and muffin tins

Filling:
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 pound semisweet chocolate
Pinch of salt
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:
Prepare dough: Warm milk and a pinch of sugar to between 110 to 116°F. If you don’t have a thermometer, you’re looking for it to be warm but not hot to the touch; best to err on the cool side. Sprinkle yeast over milk and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and remaining 1/4 cup sugar, then slowly whisk in yeast mixture.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour and salt. Run mixer on low and add egg mixture, mixing until combined. Add butter and mix until incorporated. Switch mixer to dough hook and let it knead the dough for 8-10 minutes on low speed. Butter a large bowl and place dough in it. Cover loosely with a lint-free towel or plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled.

Meanwhile, prepare filling: If your chocolate is in large bars, roughly chop it. Then, you can let a food processor do the rest of the work, pulsing the chopped chocolate with the salt, sugar, and cinnamon until the chocolate is very finely chopped with some parts almost powdery. Add butter and pulse machine until it’s distributed throughout the chocolate. (If you don’t have a food processor, just chop the chocolate until it’s very finely chopped, then stir in the sugar, salt, cinnamon and butter until it makes a paste.) Set mixture aside.

Generously butter a standard 12-muffin tin; set aside.

Form buns: Once dough is doubled, turn it out onto a well-floured surface and gently deflate it with floured hands. Let it rest for another 5 minutes. Once rested, roll dough into a large, large rectangle. The short sides should be a scant 11 to 12 inches. The other side can be as loooong as you can roll it. The longer you can make it, the more dramatic and swirled your buns will be.

Sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough’s surface. It’ll be clumpy and uneven; just do your best. Tightly roll the dough back over the filling from one short end to the other, forming a 12 to 13-inch log. With a sharp serrated knife, gently saw 1-inch segments off the log and place each in a prepared muffin cup. Loosely cover buns with plastic wrap or a lint-free towel and let them rise for another 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C).

Bake: Bake buns for 15 to 20 minutes, until puffed and brown. If you have an instant read thermometer, you can take the buns out when it reads 185 to 190 degrees in the middle of each bun.

Set buns on cooling rack. Once cool, unmold and eat!

Do ahead: These buns can be formed, placed in the muffin cups and refrigerated (loosely covered with plastic, which you might want to oil to keep it from sticking) the night before, to bake in the morning. You can bake them directly from the fridge. They can be baked and frozen until needed, up to 1 month.

Yield: 12 buns
Source: barely adapted from Smitten Kitchen