What’s better than bread rolls? CHOCOLATE BREAD ROLLS! Looking for a Sunday baking treat, look no further than these pitchou chocolats. It’s like bread, but better because they’re chocolate flavoured and have pieces of chocolate in them. WINNING! Like how can you not love them? Am I right?
Trust me hunni, you’re gonna love these! Make them for your weekend baking escaped and then bring them to work on Monday, you’ll be forever a legend.
My mate took some into his work and, his buddies frothed them. Demolished them in seconds even landed him brownie points with the boss.
Why are my trying to convenience you? once you’ve made them, you’ll know what the fuss is about.
I adapted this recipe from my living bread cookbook. If you love baking bread I highly recommend this book it’s amazing and so many great recipes. The original recipe is slightly different to mine I adapted it to make it a bit simpler and more friendly for the everyday cook.
Step by Step – How to make chocolate buns.
These buns will take a few hours to make. I know sounds tedious, but it only really requires 30 minutes of actual work.
I recommend starting in the morning, so you have freshly baked chocolate bread rolls ready to enjoy with a late morning cuppa. Or if your super keen, make the dough the night before, let it proof overnight in the fridge and have freshly baked chocolate bread rolls for breakfast.
To make the dough it’s basically the same process as making any other dough. If you have a stand mixer, great for you hunni that makes this process so much easier. I, unfortunately, don’t so it’s old school for me.
- Heat your milk and water slightly, it should be warm, not hot! you should be able to dip your finger in it without burning yourself. In a bowl add the warm milk, water, butter, sugar and egg whisk together and then add in your yeast. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes for the yeast to bloom it should start to bubble.
2. Combine your flour, chocolate powder and salt in another bowl. then slowly start to add in your wet mixture stirring as you go. the dough will start to come together you will need to use your hands at some point.
3. Fold in your chocolate pieces to the dough and the tip onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. Or you can also knead the dough in the bowl if you find that easier.
4. Knead for about 10 minutes. Work does arms! Trust me you don’t need the gym when your kneading dough a lot. ARMS OF STEEL. The dough should be a smooth ball. Place into an oiled bowl, cover and let sit in a warm place like your microwave or oven for 1.5/2 hours or until doubled in size.
5. Once your dough has doubled in size punch it down (I love doing this) and tip out onto a floured surface divide the dough into quarters and then each quarter into 4. Shape each dough section into a ball and place on a floured tray seam side down. Once each ball is done cover with a damp cloth or cling wrap (try and use a damp cloth it’s better than using plastic). Let rise for a further 1 hour.
6. While you’re waiting for the bread rolls to rise preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius.
7. After one hour your individual buns should have raised. Place them in the oven on the middle shelf and turn the heat down to 180 degrees. Place a tray of cold water or a couple of ice cubes at the bottom of the oven to produce steam for the bake. Bake until well risen about 16 minutes tap the base and they should sound hollow.
8. I like to eat them almost straight out of da oven, but you may get steam burn so it’s best to let them sit for 15-30 minutes. I’m impatient though.
My yeast is bubbling, what went wrong?
Your liquid may have been too hot, your milk should be warm, not hot you should be able to dip your finger in it without any dramas.
Another issue is old yeast, if you’ve had your yeast in the cupboard for a long time it may be too old and no longer active. Check the dates you may need to get some newer yeats hunni.
What type of flour should I use?
It’s best to use bread flour as it’s higher in protein which is better for developing gluten. For this recipe, a bread flour with 111 to 11.5% protein is ideal. If you can only find All-Purpose flour if possible try and get one with a higher protein %.
My Bread didn’t rise, whats the go?
If your bread hasn’t risen it’s likely your yeast is not active. To make sure this doesn’t happen proof the yeats as in the recipe steps.
Can I substitute the milk for non-dairy milk?
I haven’t tried this and I’m not sure how it would affect the bake. I however do imagine it would affect the taste and texture. I will try to adopt a vegan recipe for all my vegan hunnis out there but it’s a work in progress at the moment. If you do try let me know how it goes.
Can I omit the egg from the recipe?
I have omitted the egg before and it does have a substantial effect on the texture. These are supposed to be s chewy texture.
Can this dough be made the day before?
Yes, this dough can be made the day before and left to proof in the fridge overnight. Just make sure to allow the dough to heat up to room temperature before handling it.
Tips and Tricks and to make the best chocolate rolls
I Love making dough it’s one of my favourite things. It amazes me that by using simple ingredients you can make something so freaking tasty. Like wow! Here are some tips I picked up while making these.
- If the dough feels too dry add a tbs of water at a time. Add it in slowly as you can change the dough quickly with not a lot of adjustments. The dough will be slightly sticky when you’re kneading it. After you’ve kneaded the dough you should be able to place the back of your hand on the dough and pull it away easier.
- If the dough is sticking to your hands when your kneading, rub olive oil on your hands this will help.
- The oven needs to by a high temperature in order to get the crusty outside but chewy inside.
- Putting ice or water at the bottom of the oven is important don’t miss this step it creates that amazing bake on the outside.
- Take them out of the oven after 16 -18 minutes the inside will continue to cook as they cool.
What to do with leftovers if any (unlikely they that good)
These taste the best freshly made and trust me they get eaten pretty quickly in the babe street kitchen. However, if you do have some leftover do not fret.
The dough will keep in the fridge for up to 48 hours so if you wanted to make half and half another day you can easily do that. Just let the dough sit and rise up to room temperature before handling it.
You can also freeze this dough for up to a month, let it fully defrost before using.
If you bake them all and then end up not eating them all (not likely) but just in case, keep them in an airtight container and eat within 24 hours.
They taste AMAZING sliced and toasted with some butter on them. My mate has brought some into work the next day and they are still fabulous.
Hope you enjoy these as much as we do. They are so tasty. I mean CHOCOLATE BREAD!
Feeling the chocolate buzz why not try these chocolate coconut balls and raw brownies.
Keep on cooking and grooving, good looking.
Much Love
Char x
Chocolate bread rolls (Pitchou Chocolat)
Chocolate bread rolls similar to hot cross buns but better in my eyes. Simple to make the best chocolate dough. Super chocloatey, chewy and oh so deliious.
- 3 cups Flour
- 1 cup cacao powder
- 1 cup warm milk
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp salt
- 7 g yeast (One sachet )
- 2 cups dark cooking chocolate (70 %)
Heat your milk and water slightly, it should be warm, not hot! you should be able to dip your finger in it without burning yourself. Add in your butter,egg ,sugar and yeast into the milk and water and let the yeast bloom for a few minutes.
In a separate bowl combine your flour and cacao powder. Then slowly add in your liquid to the dry stirring as you go until you start to get a shaggy dough.
Fold your chocolate pieces into the dough. Tip the dough out on to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until the dough becomes a smooth dough ball.
Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover and let sit in a warm place like your microwave or oven for 1.5/2 hours or until doubled in size.
Once your dough has doubled in size punch it down and tip onto a floured surface divide the dough into quarters and then each quarter into 4. Shape each dough section into a ball and place on a tray lined with baking paper seam side down. Once each ball is done cover with a damp cloth. Let rise for a further 1 hour.
While you’re waiting for the bread rolls to rise preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celcius.
After one hour your individual buns should have raised. Place them in the oven on the middle shelf and turn the heat down to 180 degrees. Place a tray of cold water or a couple of ice cubes at the bottom of the oven to produce steam for the bake. Bake until well risen about 16 minutes tap the base and they should sound hollow.
Let them cool on a cooling rack for about 30 minutes and then they're ready to go. Best enjoyed freshly baked, sliced in half with a little bit of butter.
- This dough will feel slightly sticky when you’re kneading it. if it feels too dry add water 1 tbsp at a time. If it feels too wet add flour 1 tbsp at a time or if your kneading it just sprinkle some flour over it as you go.
- To stop the dough from sticking to your hands rub some olive oil over them before kneading.
- I have found dark cooking chocolate to work the best however you could use milk chocolate if you prefer. Or go crazy and use both.
- Don’t substitute the cocoa powder for chocolate powder or hot chocolate powder as it will make it too sweet. Unless you like super sweet bread.
- For tips and tricks check out the body for detailed steps.
