Chocolate Orange Brioche Buns

• servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

50 g Strong White Bread Flour

50 g Boiling Water

75 g Whole Eggs

50 g Whole Milk

210 g Strong White Bread Flour

6 g Fine Sea Salt

20 g White Sugar

3 g Instant Dry Yeast

70 g Unsalted Butter, Cubed

350 g Whole Milk

Zest 1 Medium Orange

50 g Caster/White Sugar

85 g Egg Yolks

28 g Cornstarch/Cornflour

Pinch of Fine Sea Salt

30 g Unsalted Butter, Cubed

105 g Dark Chocolate

200 g Dark Chocolate

20 g Water

20 g Honey

60 g Unsalted Butter, Cubed

Directions

Step 1

Into a bowl, add the flour and boiling water. Whisk together to form a paste, then cover it with clingfilm and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Step 2

Add the cooled yudane into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. On top, add the milk, eggs, flour, salt, sugar and instant yeast. If you want to flavour the dough, you can also add the zest of 1/2 orange.

Step 3

Place it onto the stand mixer and knead on a medium speed for 10 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed.

Step 4

After 10 minutes, slowly add the butter a few small pieces at a time.

Step 5

Keep kneading the dough (and scraping down the sides) once all the butter has been incorporated, for a further 10-15 minutes. It is really important that the dough passes the windowpane test and has developed enough gluten. If not the buns will burst when baking in the oven. It can seem like it is taking a while, so after 10 minutes, you can stop the mixer, let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then carry on.

Step 6

To check the dough is ready, grab the edge of the dough and stretch it between your fingers, you should be able to see through it like a windowpane, without the dough tearing. Place it into a bowl, covering the surface with clingfilm and refrigerate overnight.

Step 7

Place the cubed butter and chopped chocolate into a bowl with a sieve placed over the top. Set this to one side.

Step 8

Into a medium bowl, add the sugar and orange zest. Massage the zest into the sugar for a minute to release all the citrus oils.

Step 9

Add in the cornflour, salt and egg yolks, and whisk for 30 seconds to form a thick paste. Set this to one side.

Step 10

Meanwhile, in a saucepan add the milk. Place this on a medium heat until it is steaming.

Step 11

Slowly pour the hot milk over the egg yolk mixture and whisk to combine. Pour the entire mixture back into the pan and whisk constantly over a medium heat until it reaches a boil, then cook for a further minute.

Step 12

Remove it from the heat, and pour it through the sieve, pressing it through with a spatula to get rid of any potential lumps.

Step 13

Let it sit for 2 minutes, to melt the chocolate and butter then whisk by hand until smooth. Cover the surface with clingfilm and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours.

Step 14

When the dough has chilled, remove it from the fridge and cut it into 75g pieces. You will get 6 dough balls.

Step 15

Place the dough ball under your hand, using your hand to cup the dough in a "C" shape. Rotate it quickly around the dough to form a nice tight ball. Place these, evenly spaced, onto a tray lined with parchment/baking paper.

Step 16

Allow the dough balls to proof for 2-3 hours. I prefer to place them into the oven (switched off) and uncovered. Then I place a very small cup of boiling water in the corner of the oven which I change every 30 minutes. This creates a nice warm, steamy condition which helps the dough proof. If not, just gently cover them with a tea towel and leave them at room temperature.

Step 17

Pre-heat the oven to 200C/390F Non-Fan Assisted.

Step 18

Lightly egg wash the proofed buns (just a whole egg whisked together), then place them into the pre-heated oven on the middle shelf and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a nice golden colour.

Step 19

Remove them from the oven to cool for 30 minutes.

Step 20

Remove the creme patissiere from the fridge and use a hand whisk to whisk it until smooth. Add it into a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip nozzle.

Step 21

Pierce a hole in the bottom of the buns, and fill them with the creme patissiere, until they feel heavy. Place them back down onto the tray.

Step 22

For the chocolate glaze, add all the ingredients into a bowl and place this over a pan of very gently simmering water.

Step 23

Stir it together until completely melted.

Step 24

Take the filled buns and dip them in the glaze. Then quickly flip them upright. Allow them to set slightly on the tray for 15 minutes.

Step 25

Finish them with a grating of milk chocolate. These are best eaten the same day so the bun stays soft, but can also be refrigerated and eaten later. The buns will just be slightly firmer in texture.