Sweet Heart Choco-Milk Bun 甜心可可牛奶面包

Soft and sweet milk bun with cocoa-flavoured pattern crafted into a heart shape <3  If double fold the dough, you'll get a double heart shape. The shaping method can be found at the end of this recipe :)

I handkneaded the dough as the quantity is small.  Need to refresh my handkneading skill once in a while ^^ 

Update:
I baked 5 similar sweet heart buns with purple sweet potato, green tea and cocoa flavoured swirl on 3 Oct 2017.  Details can be found at the end of the recipe:)

Yield: 6 mini buns

Raw dough weight: 308g

Ingredients

All ingredients in room temperature 

135g bread flour 高筋面粉

15g top flour 低筋面粉

30g fine sugar 细糖

10g condensed milk 炼乳

15g beaten egg 蛋液

1/2 tsp instant dry yeast 即发酵母粉

1/8 tsp salt 盐

90g fresh milk 鲜奶

20g unsalted butter 无盐奶油

4g cocoa powder可可粉, 2 tsp

Some bread flour for sprinklling  高筋面粉

Directions

1. Combine condensed milk and fresh milk in a bowl. Let the mixture returns to room temperature.

To speed up the warm-up process using a rice cooker. Start the "keep warm" mode for about 1 minute, turn off and let the milk mixture stays in the rice cooker for 10 to 15 minutes. Using this method, you must ensure the mixture temperature is not too hot (lower than 38 degree Celsius) when you add in the yeasts. Hot temperature can impair the yeast!

2. Sprinkle instant dry yeast over the surface of the milk mixture.

Cover and let it stands for about 15 minutes to activate the yeasts.

15 minutes later, the surface becomes frothy.

3. Mix all ingredients, except milk-yeast mixture, butter, and cocoa powder, in a mixing bowl. 

Slowly add in the milk-yeast mixture , and stir to combine into a lump. 

Cover and let it rest for 20 minutes to allow the flour to fully absorb the liquid.

4. As the dough is quite sticky, wearing a CPE disposable gloves would make kneading easier. Knead the dough by slamming, pulling, and folding the dough, until the dough becomes smooth. This process takes about 10 minutes.

Knead until the surface is a bit glossy.

5. Spread out the dough and apply softened butter onto it. Knead to incorporate butter into the dough.

Continue to knead till you can stretch out the dough to reach window pane stage. This takes about 5 to 10 minutes.

6. Divide the dough into 208g and 100g.

7. Shape the 208g milk dough into a ball, and place in a lightly greased mixing bowl. Cover to allow it to undergo first proofing.

8. Take the 100g dough and knead in the cocoa powder. 

Shape into a ball and place in a separate bowl lightly greased.

Allow both doughs to proof for about 60 minutes, or till double in size.

60 minutes later.

9. Flatten the milk dough to remove the trapped air. 

Divide the milk dough into 6 portions, about 34g each

Shape the doughs into 6 balls by pulling down the sides and seal at the base. Lightly coat the individual dough ball with flour and place in a covered plate. Let them rest for about 15 minutes.

10. Repeat the same steps as Step 9 for the cocoa dough.

Divide into 6 portions, about 14g each.

11. After the 15 minutes rest, roll out the milk dough balls from (9) and wrap a cocao ball from (10) in each of them. Shape into balls and coat with a layer of flour. 

Roll out the dough into about 1 cm thick.

Flip over and fold the dough into half.

Cut the dough from the bended end, leaving about 1 cm uncut from the other end.

Open out and shape into a heart shape.

Photo taken from the original post

http://m.sbar.com.cn/caipu/102981

12. Spray a few pumps of water over the dough. Transfer to a closed and warm oven to proof for 40 to 45 minutes.

End of 2nd proofing.

13. After the second proofing, sprinkle some flour over the dough using a sieve.

14. Preheat the oven to 170 degree Celsius. Lower the oven temperature to 160 degree Celsius when starts to bake. Bake at a lower rack of the oven for 10 minutes. 

Further reduce the oven temperature to 150 degree Celsius and bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, or till the top is slightly brown.

15. Transfer to a wire rack to cool down. 

Double heart shape

Continue from Step (11)

a. Roll out the dough

b. Fold the dough into half from the shorter side.

c. Turn the dough 90 degree to the right

d. Roll out the dough again

e. Fold the dough, from the shorter end, into half again.

f. Slit the dough from the bended side leaving about 1 cm uncut from the other end.

g. Open out the cut dough and shape into a heart shape.

Baked on 3 Oct 2017
Method same as above except  sub-divided the dough into more smaller portions as follow:

Raw dough weight: 311g

Divide the dough into
Plain dough: 152g
Cocoa dough : 74g + 1 tsp cocoa powder
Green Tea dough: 55g + 1/4 tsp matcha powder
Purple Sweet Potato dough: 30g + 1/4 tsp purple sweet potato powder

Wrap purple sweet potato dough in green tea dough then in cocoa dough,

finally in plain dough.

Recipe adapted from 

http://m.sbar.com.cn/caipu/102981#

With great appreciation :)