Chocolate cross buns by Mykola Nevrev
Cuisine: English
Author: Мария Каленская
Prep time: 1 hr 5 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Total time: 1 hr 35 mins


Ingredients
For the dough:
  • 150 g stiff wheat sourdough starter
  • 500 g strong bread flour
  • 270 g milk
  • 75 g sugar
  • 60 g chocolate
  • 50 g butter
  • 20 g cocoa
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 vanilla stick seeds
  • zest of 1 lemon / orange
For filling:
  • 75 g raisins
For decoration:
  • 3 tbsp milk
  • 3 tbsp flour
For glaze:
  • 1 egg
For syrup:
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp water
Cooking method
  1. Pour milk into a large bowl. Add egg, sourdough, flour, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla stick seeds, zest and cocoa. Knead the dough for about 7 minutes with a mixer or with your hands until smooth. Cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rest for 45 minutes. The consistency of the dough should be stiff. If the dough is too thick, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of milk during kneading.
  2. Add salt and butter to the dough. Knead the dough until it "takes" all the butter and becomes smooth and shiny, for about 7 minutes. Dice chocolate, wash and dry raisins. Add chocolate, raisins and knead for a few minutes more. The final dough will be soft and smooth. Grease the container for the dough with vegetable oil, lay out the dough, cover with foil and leave in a warm place for 5-6 hours or in the refrigerator for 10-12 hours. During the proofing period, the dough should double in size.
  3. Cover the baking sheet with parchment paper. Sprinkle the work surface with flour. Transfer the dough to the surface. Divide into 12 pieces, form into balls and transfer to a baking sheet, leaving enough space between each one. Cover the baking sheet with foil and leave for proofing for 3-4 hours at room temperature. The buns should be visually growing and soft to the touch.
  4. Preheat the oven to 180С. In a small bowl, beat 1 egg and brush each bun. Mix milk and flour until smooth. Transfer the paste to a pastry bag and draw a cross on each bun. Bake buns for 25-30 minutes.
  5. Prepare syrup: pour water into a saucepan and add sugar. Boil the mixture over low heat, stirring the syrup until the sugar is completely dissolved. When the syrup begins to thicken a little, remove from the heat and leave to cool. Pour syrup over the baked buns, transfer them to a wire rack and leave to cool.
My tips and tricks
Do you know the most common way to eat cross buns? Cut them in half, dry in a toaster and serve with tea with butter. For children you can make a delicious dessert: an ice cream sandwich. After you dry the bun, cut it in half, let it cool well and place a ball of ice cream or ice cream with raisins and rum on the bottom. Cover with the other half of the bun. Serve quickly before the ice cream has melted.

Maria Kalenska Gastronomy Blog | https://www.myodesacuisine.com/recipes/chocolate-cross-buns-by-mykola-nevrev/