richard Well I suppose that’s the surprise spoilt already.
Preparation time: 20 minutes plus 2 hours for rising
Cooking time: 12 – 15 minutes
Skill level: Easy
Makes: 8 rolls
Ingredients
- strong white flour – 250g
- butter – 2tbsp
- sugar – 2tbsp
- fast action dried yeast – ¾tsp
- 2 eggs beaten
- good quality plain dark chocolate – 50g
- milk – warmed – 3tbsp
- salt – ½tsp
Place the flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a large bowl and mix together.
Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.
Add the beaten egg and enough of the warm milk to form a soft dough.
Knead the dough on a floured surface for 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and springy.
Return to the bowl, cover with oiled cling film and set aside somewhere warm for an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
Tip the dough onto a floured surface and knead for a short while.
Divide into 8 pieces and roll each piece into a ball.
Cut the chocolate into 8 chunks and push each piece into the centre of the rolls. Roll again to seal in the chocolate.
Place on an oiled baking sheet, loosely cover with oiled cling film and place somewhere warm for 40 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200c (gas mark 6)
Remove the cling film (stupid) and bake for 12-15 minutes until the rolls are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.
Place on a rack to cool.
Verdict: A light bread with a hidden chocolate treat which would make a great Easter alternative to the hot cross bun. I particularly liked these because they are not too sweet.
Drink: Goes well with a nice cup of tea.
Entertainment: The utterly pointless and unwatchable ‘Cecil B Demented’ on DVD. We endured this ‘darkly comic satire’ for a generous 20 minutes before lunging for the ‘stop’ button. If our remote had been equipped with an ‘erase’ button we would have pressed that too.
