I have been making these for awhile. I played around quite a bit with the formula and have found that it is very forgiving. The biggest part about getting these right is giving the dough enough time to fully proof before baking them. I have written this recipe as a "same day" bake; however, there are also multiple points in the process to put the dough the fridge in order to stall out the fermentation for another day...sometimes life gets busy and you can't bake all the time! As a parent with two young children I know how important this can be.
These swirl buns are incredible! Of course they are, just take a look at the filling! It's pretty hard to go wrong with that much chocolate and Nutella packed in a brioche dough. You can take the same recipe and swap out any other fillings you would like...if for some reason you don't like chocolate!
Ingredients
300g Anita's All Purpose flour
60g Levain
145g Milk (I use 2%)
1 large egg
50g Liquid honey *see notes
56g (1/2 a stick) softened or melted unsalted butter
3g Salt
Nutella Spread (~100g)
White chocolate chips (~50g)
Semi-sweet chocolate chips (~50g)
Process
Overnight levain Build.
7:00am- Mix all the wet ingredients in a bowl (I microwave briefly until warm). Add everything else and mix well. I like to add in the butter last. With a stand mixer and a dough hook, mix on low for approximately 4 minutes. You want it to be getting pretty smooth and elastic by the end. Don't worry about full gluten development at this stage.
8:00am- "Coil fold" or "stretch and fold".
9:00am- "Coil fold" or "stretch and fold".
10:00am- "Coil fold" or "stretch and fold".
1:00pm- Gently stretch out dough into a somewhat flat square and place the dough in the freezer. The cold dough will be way easier to roll out in the next step. Most of the time that I make these I will actually place these in the fridge overnight. The freezer is just nice if you are in a rush.
2:00pm- Lightly flour your work surface and roll the dough out into a rectangle roughly 16"x 12" and 3/16" thin. Use as much flour as necessary but try not to overdo it. Once you have your sheet of dough quickly spread out a coating of Nutella over the whole surface. Then, liberally sprinkle the semi sweet and white chocolate on top. With lightly floured hands roll up the rectangle as tightly as possible. You may need to use a dough scraper to help release the dough from the work surface. Once you have your long cylinder of dough/chocolate cut into 12 even pieces and place in muffin tins (I use silicone muffin liners and they make it very easy to release after baking). Place in some place warm to proof before baking. See notes for a time-lapse video for this step.
5:00pm- Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes
Once out of the oven brush with a "simple syrup". For the syrup mix 3Tbs of water and 2Tbs of sugar. Bring to a boil on the stove top. Brush on top of the rolls while still hot.
Notes:
This is a recipe where my Brod & Taylor proofer really comes in handy. If you're thinking of purchasing one please click HERE for my affiliate link. It helps the keep the website running!
When I had originally published this recipe I was using 50g of granulated white sugar. I have since moved on and now use 50g of honey instead. The result is a slightly sweeter dough and the dough is now naturally sweetened to make them slightly healthier.
Often instead of putting the dough in freezer for an hour I will place the dough in an airtight container in the fridge overnight or for a couple days before rolling out the dough.
Once the dough is rolled out, cut, and in muffin cups you can also cover and put into the fridge for a day or so. I've done this right after rolling out or even after they have fully proofed. Just make sure you bring them up to room temperature before baking.
Play around with fillings, let me know what you like to use! You can go sweet or savoury with these!