Cocoa Cocoon Bun (Yudane)

Milk buns wrapped with cocoa interior and melted semi-sweet chocolate chips lightly baked to resemble cocoons. Pleasing to my eyes, and pleasing to my taste 😍😋

Yield: 10 small buns

Raw dough weight: 524g

Pan size: 30.5x19x3.5cm

Baking temperature: Preheat oven to 190℃ for about 10 minutes.  After closing the oven door, reduce the temperature to 180℃, and bake for about 5 minutes, reduce to 160℃ for 13 minutes, turn off the oven and let the buns bake for another 2 minutes, or till the tops are lightly brown.

Ingredients

200g bread flour

20g superfine wholegrain/top/cake flour

40g raw sugar

1g instant dry yeast

50g natural yeast/sourdough, 100% hydration*

30g yudane dough^

110g lactose-free milk, cold 

15g beaten egg 

15g whipping cream

23g cold water, to be added depending on dough condition

3g low sodium salt

20g unsalted butter, softened

8g dark cocoa powder

12g low-fat milk (to mix with cocoa powder)

* 50g natural yeast can be replaced by 25g each of bread flour and water + 1/8 tsp instant dry yeast. Let the mixture stand for about 1 hour or more till it doubles in volume, before use. You can also keep the mixture in the fridge overnight and thaw it for 1 hour before use.

^ 30g yudane dough is prepared by combining 16g of bread flour with 16g of very hot or boiling water into a sticky dough. Wrap the yudane dough in cling wrap, and cool down before use. Use a silicone spatula to scrape out the sticky yudane dough from the cling wrap.

Filling

55~60g mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Knead the dough following your preferred method. 

For my method, you can refer to my recipe Yudane Milk Bread.  Kneading the dough to window pane stage.

Mix cocoa powder and low-fat milk together into a cocoa paste.

Keep about 293g of milk dough in a small plastic bag and keep in the fridge.

Mix the balance milk dough, about 231g together with the cocoa paste.

2. Keep the cocoa dough in a separate plastic bag and refrigerate overnight together with the milk dough.

3. In the next day, invert the doughs, and let them thaw at room temperature for about 70 to 80 minutes.

4. Deflate both doughs, and divide the doughs into 10 portions each, shape them into balls and let them rest for about 15 minutes.

5. Roll both the cocoa and milk dough into two flat doughs. Add about 5g mini chocolate chips to the cocoa dough, 

and roll up into a cigar shape.

Place the cocoa dough onto the milk dough,

and wrap the milk dough into a cigar shape.

6. Arrange the shaped dough in a baking tray (30.5x19x3.5cm) lined with parchment paper. Let the shaped dough prove in a cold oven for about 40 minutes.

7. Preheat the oven to 190℃. While waiting, dust a thin coat of bread flour over the shaped dough.

8. After closing the oven door, reduce the temperature to 180℃, and bake for about 5 minutes, reduce to 160℃ for 13 minutes, turn off the oven and let the buns bake for another 2 minutes, or till the tops are lightly brown.

9. Remove the bread from the oven, 

and let the hot buns cool over the rack for a while before serving them warm 😋