Chocolate swirl buns

450g strong white bread flour
1 tsp salt
75g sugar
1 x 7g sachet dried yeast
50g butter
150ml milk
150ml water

For the filling:

100g butter, at room temperature
100g caster sugar
100g dark chocolate, chopped

To finish:

1 egg
Splash of milk

Sieve the flour into a large bowl, then add the salt, sugar, and dried yeast. In a small saucepan, gently melt the butter, then turn off the heat and add the milk and water. The liquid should be warm but not hot when it’s added to the dry ingredients, otherwise it will kill the yeast, so stick your finger in to check before you mix it into the flour.

As before, I just mixed it in the KitchenAid (someone took issue to me saying that my white bread dough was ‘no knead, arguing that I’d basically used a very expensive kneading machine instead of my hands - but this dough is mixed rather than kneaded, as it’s rather sticky. So shush). Pour in the (warm, not hot) liquid, then just leave it to mix for about five minutes until it’s lovely and smooth and springy.

Cover with a damp cloth and leave somewhere warm for an hour or so until the dough has puffed up to about double its original size. Knock it down with a floury fist (matron), then flour your work surface generously and tip out the dough.

NOTE: A lovely friend of mine (find her on Instagram at @rubbishwife), told me that she does her second prove overnight in the fridge so she can have delicious bread/buns quickly in the morning - a revelation! I’ve yet to try it but it’s on my list for next time.

If you’re making the chocolate swirl buns: roll the dough out into a rough rectangle (it helps if you end up with the wider side in front of you). I don’t measure it, but I’d say I probably ended up with something like a 60cm x 30cm shape (very roughly). Also remember: the wider the rectangle, the more buns you get (obviously they’ll be smaller though - up to you).

Mix up the filling by mashing the butter and sugar with a fork - it helps if it’s room temperature. Spread it out all over the dough, getting it right to the edges, then sprinkle over the chopped chocolate, distributing it as evenly as you can. Now just roll the dough up, keeping it as tight as you can, into a big sausage, then chop the sausage up into 5cm slices.

Instead of a baking try lined with baking paper this time I used a large springform tin, but either is fine. Space the rolls out, coaxing them back into a round shape if they get a bit squashed - they’ll smoosh together as they rise.

Leave them to rise again somewhere warm until they’re all puffed up and pressing against each other. Mix the egg with a splash of milk and brush generously over the rolls.

As you can see, I’m rubbish at rectangles

Arrange the slices in a springform tin - I’m terrible at making them all the same size but hey… they’re homemade

The buns will squish together as they rise

For sweet bread rolls Just split the mixture into 12 equal parts and roll them under your palm until they’re smooth. Separate them, six each, onto two lined baking sheets. Bake for around 20 minutes or until golden and hollow sounding if you tap their base.

Bake for about 15- 20 minutes at 180/gas 6 until they’re all golden and sticky and squished together and scoff while they’re still warm.

Homemade chocolate swirl buns - just tear and share