SRC: Brioche Buns with Chocolate Centres

I was assigned to Leigh's blog Chit Chat Chomp for the November postings of the Secret Recipe Club. Leigh lives in Melbourne, has a weekend catering business, takes pretty pictures and looking through her blog made me want to go on an international vacation.

Since that isn't quite in the budget right now, I opted to follow directions and choose a recipe from her blog to make for the Secret Recipe Club.

When I laid my eyes on these brioche buns I knew I needed to click no further. I'd never had brioche before although I'd heard wonderful, wonderful things about it and I figured anything with a chocolate center could not be bad news.

I set off to make these immediately.

Brioche Buns with Chocolate Centres
Source: Chit Chat Chomp from Marie Claire Dining by Donna Hay
Servings: 12
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Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp. dry active yeast
• ½ cup warm milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract 
• 3 tbsp. sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened and chopped
• 12 large chunks of chocolate (Hershey kiss size)

Directions:
1. Affix your stand mixer with the dough hook. Add the flour and yeast to the bowl of the stand mixer.
2. Add the milk, vanilla extract and sugar to a measuring cup and stir until combined. Slowly pour the milk mixture over the flour and mix on low speed. Add in the egg yolks and increase to medium speed until continue until the dough forms a smooth ball.
3. Then add in the butter, a little at a time, until fully incorporated. Mixture will be very wet and buttery.
4. Transfer the dough to a bowl, cover and set aside for 1 ½ - 2 hours or until it has doubled it size.
5. Lightly flour a surface and turn out the dough. Knead until the dough is soft and elastic, then divide the dough in half. Keep dividing each half of dough until you have 12 round balls of dough. Flatten the dough slightly, place a piece of chocolate into each and then roll the dough up and around the chocolate, pinching the seams and rolling back into a ball.
6. Grease a brioche tin, muffin pan or baking sheet and place the dough balls on it. Cover and set aside for 1 hour or until dough has risen again.
7. Preheat the oven to 350 and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

I made mine in a muffin pan so instead of perfectly round balls of dough, mine took on a muffin shape. I think you just as easily cook these on a baking sheet and just end up with one flattened end of the brioche.

Buttery, chocolatey and delicious are really the only ways to describe something like this. They were incredible to eat and I had a hard time just limiting myself to one! As far as bread goes, these are fairly easy to make so I think you should whip some up ASAP. You really don't know what you're missing by not having these in your life. Or stomach.