- 3 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 3 1/2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/3 cup lukewarm cream or half & half
- 1/3 cup warm lukewarm water
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup fresh Bella Nonnas Blood Orange Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated orange zest
- 16 - 1" chunks of dark chocolate or 5-6 dark chocolate morsels for each bun
- 1 egg beaten for glazing the buns
Sweet Orange Glaze
- 1 cup (4 ounces) confectioners sugar
- 1 tablespoons half and half
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
Cooking Instructions:
- Follow the directions for your bread machine, or place the warm water, half and half, eggs, sugar, olive oil, and yeast in bowl of standing heavy-duty mixer; stir until yeast dissolves.
- Fit mixer with dough hook.
- Add flour, zest, and salt to bowl and mix on low speed just until flour combined, about 10 seconds.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and increase the speed to medium and beat until dough comes together, about 3 minutes.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise at room temperature until almost doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
- Gently deflate the dough and cover bowl with plastic; chill dough overnight.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Divide dough into 4 equal pieces.
- Make a short log from each piece and cut each log into 4 equal pieces.
- Roll each piece into a bun.
- Gently push a 1/2" piece of dark chocolate in the center of each bun and pinch the bottom of each bun to seal securely.
- Arrange the buns about an inch apart, pinched side down on the prepared sheet pan and allow to rise, covered, for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Gently brush top of the buns with the beaten egg glaze.
- Bake until buns are golden brown and fragrant, about 25 minutes.
- Allow the buns to cool for 5 minutes.
- For Sweet Orange Glaze, mix together the orange juice, half and half, and confectioners sugar. Brush each bun with glaze.
- Serve warm while the chocolate is still molten in the center.
Cooking Time: 25 min
Servings: 16