Hazelnut Scrolls

Cook Time 2 hours

Servings 11-12

Ingredients

Tangzhong

30g bread flour

130g full cream milk

Dough

All of the tangzhong paste

200g milk

20g caster sugar

8g instant dried yeast

1 tsp salt

1 egg, at room temperature

370g bread flour

60g unsalted butter, softened

Hazelnut Brown Sugar Filling

100g hazelnut meal

60g brown sugar

10g cinnamon

65g unsalted butter, softened

Coffee Cream Cheese Icing

5g vanilla bean paste

2 tsp instant coffee

30g boiling water

100g cream cheese, at room temperature

80g unsalted butter, softened

90g icing sugar mixture

100g roasted hazelnuts, lightly crushed

Method

Tangzhong is a cooked roux which allows your bread to retain a lot more water while baking, resulting in a super soft bread. Don’t be intimidated by the name, it’s a simple step that is well worth the minimal effort.

For the tangzhong, combine the flour and milk in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until it becomes a thick paste. Don’t worry about lumps - it will be kneaded into the bread anyway.

For the dough, in a bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine the tangzhong, milk, caster sugar and yeast and mix briefly to cool down the tangzhong. Next, add the salt, egg and bread flour and increase the speed of your mixer to medium to begin kneading. This is a really wet dough so will need to be kneaded for a good 10 - 15 minutes. Don’t be tempted to add any extra flour, as the dough is kneaded, it will eventually gather together and come away from the sides of the bowl.

Once it has come away from the sides of the bowl, add in the butter and mix until incorporated. It will look like the butter isn't going to absorb into the dough, but again, just keep kneading with the mixer. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured bench, flour your hands and bring it together into a ball.

Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, place the dough in and cover with cling film to create a nice humid environment and place the dough in a warm area for its first rise.

Many ovens now have a dough proofer function, if yours doesn't, you can set it to 40°C and then turn the oven off. This will create the ideal warm environment for the yeast to activate.

Leave the dough to rise for 1 to 1.5 hours or until it has doubled in size.

Once doubled, knock it back (the best bit!) - press down on the dough to knock out all of that beautiful air trapped inside. Turn the dough out onto your surface and gently push the excess air out of the dough. At this point, it is ready to shape into whatever recipe you are making (to be continued below!) 

For the filling, mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon and butter to form a paste and set aside. 

Once the master dough has had its first proof, knock it back and lightly dust your kitchen bench with flour. Roll the dough into a large rectangle, approximately 30 x 40cm in size. I like to try to roll this out really evenly so you get mesmerizing spirals. Spread over the butter mixture and sprinkle with the hazelnut meal before rolling up into a tight log. Cut the log into 2 - 3 cm scrolls. 

Line a baking sheet with baking paper and arrange the scrolls so that they are 1 - 2 cm apart. Set aside for 45 minutes - 1 hour or until the scrolls have doubled in size. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 190°C. Bake the scrolls for 35 - 40 minutes or until they are golden brown and allow to cool. 

For the icing, combine the coffee granules with the boiling water to dissolve. Combine the remaining ingredients into the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix until smooth and creamy, being sure to scrape down the bowl and paddle a few times. Add in the coffee and give a final mix to combine.