Iron Chef Chocolate: Sweet Rolls filled w/ Chocolate

For Iron Chef Chocolate; I tried three different recipes. First, I tried this Savory Chocolate Truffle. And, while it was really easy to make; it did not taste good. I thought it was too bitter, and it was difficult to scoop out the "dough" to make into little truffle balls. Next, I made these sweet rolls filled with chocolate. Boy, was I proud of these rolls when they came out of the oven. They looked so pretty and yummy. That I raced over to see my sister (prior to going to a party) just so she could try them. Plus, I wanted her to take the rolls to her friends so that I wouldn't eat them all. Because, if these stayed in my kitchen they would be gone by the next day. The third recipe that I tried were these Chocolate Gougere with Gorgonzola and Walnuts. Ugh. They were awful. I had to spit it out, and threw them all away. So, the consensus was that I should make the sweet rolls, but fill them with more chocolate. I ended up using nutella and semi-sweet chocolate to fill each roll.

The dough was quite easy to make, and doesn't take long at all. Just a couple hours. And, it's so much fun to fill the dough with chocolate. Plus, your house smells yummy while the dough is baking. And, your mouth will water once you get ready to bite into these delicious rolls. I ended up in 3rd with these rolls, which isn't too bad if I do say so myself. Enjoy. You won't regret it.

Ingredients:
5 cups of all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. dry yeast (I used fast-rise yeast and 1 1/2 packages which makes 1 tbsp)
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs yolks
3 Tbs. sugar
1 1/2 cups of warm milk (I used 1% milk)
lemon zest from 1 lemon, 2-3 drops of lemon (I omitted this step)
3 Tbs. Butter (unsalted), melted
1/2 cup of powdered (confectioners’) sugar
Chocolate but varieties are endless-jam, nutella, cheese (I used nutella and semi-sweet chocolate chips)

First, take your instant yeast, sugar, 3 cups of flour and pour into a mixer. Next, take your measuring glass and pour in your milk. I microwaved my milk for about 1.5 minutes so that the milk has a temperature of about 100-105 degrees. Yes, I use a thermometer to make sure the milk is the right temperature. If it's too hot you could kill the yeast. If it's too cold then the yeast may not do anything thus the dough won't rise. Once the milk is the right temperature; attach your mixer (with a dough hook) to the stand and turn it to about medium-low speed; pour in the milk and add your 3 egg yolks. Let the mixture mix and gradually add in another 1-2 cups of flour. Also, at this stage add in your salt. I recently read somewhere that if you add in your salt directly to the yeast it could inhibit the yeast. So, I've started to wait to add the salt until after I've mixed it with the liquid. You need the dough to be sticky, but not too sticky that you can't roll it out onto your counter. I think I really did use the 5 cups of flour that the recipe calls for. Once the dough has been mixed to the right consistently (it starts pulling away from the bowl) turn it out onto a floured surface. I knead the dough for about 5 minutes. Place the dough into a large bowl that has been lightly oiled. Place plastic wrap on it and put it in a warm oven (around 80 degrees). Wait about an hour. Then, remove the bowl from the oven. And, turn out your dough. Knead for another 5 minutes. Roll the dough into a ball and place back into your bowl. Place into the oven and let it rise for an additional 20-30 minutes.

Once the dough has risen, remove from the oven. Next, roll out your dough. Use about a 2 inch cookie cutter; and cut into the dough. Take about a tablespoon of your choice of chocolate and place it in the middle of the dough. Roll up your dough and form it into a ball. This part can get kind of messy.

Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (or a silpat). Continue this until you are out of dough. It makes around 15-20 rolls. Place the cookie sheet into your warm oven (80 degrees) and let rise an additional 20 minutes. Remove the rolls from the oven. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Melt a couple tablespoons of butter into a bowl. Brush the melted butter onto your rolls. Once the oven is ready; put in your rolls. Let bake for about 15-30 minutes. I think mine baked for about 15-20 minutes. Or bake until the rolls have a nice golden color. Remove from oven, and brush again with your melted butter. You don't have to do that, but I did. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if you so desire.
It's best to eat these rolls the same day; but they were okay the next. Enjoy!

(click here for printable version)