Foodiva's Kitchen: Pull-Apart Chocolate Matcha Swirl Bread with Kit Kat Filling

Friday, June 3, 2011

Pull-Apart Chocolate Matcha Swirl Bread with Kit Kat Filling

This seems to be the law of progress in everything we do; it moves along a spiral rather than a perpendicular; we seem to be actually going out of the way, and yet it turns out that we were really moving upward all the time.
~Frances E. Willard

Yes, I know it's Friday. And I know this is not the scheduled French Friday with Dorie's recipe post. I'm sorry, but I'm slightly distracted. Due to my recent fascination with various forms of pull-apart bread, I've embarked on yet another breadmaking adventure this week, this time involving pull-apart buns. Filled buns...spiral-patterned buns filled with Kit Kat bits.



So there's nothing new about pull-apart buns. Even this particular flavor combination is old, but so what, I like chocolate and matcha and they look really pretty together. Especially in this spiral pattern, the striking green matcha snaking against the dark chocolate background. I used the same rolling technique as my tomato pull-apart bread, just shaping the spiral discs into a round ball instead of a half-moon shape. 


Here was how I did it, for your visual pleasure. I really should do a video of this someday...except that I'm still trying to figure out how not to burst into giggles and break into hives in front of the camera, particularly if there is somebody else behind it trying hard to sabotage my composure. Until that day arrives, however, just enjoy this series of shots.


There's really nothing much else I can say about these buns except that:
1. the recipe here is deliberately "small batch", and the 12 buns will fit nicely inside an 8-inch baking pan.
2. I hadn't reckoned on the Kit Kat wafers turning slightly soggy inside the bun during baking. It was a good idea at the time but for the next round, I'll stick to good, old Nutella as a filling.
3. I'm sending this bread post off to Susan of Yeastspotting. For your weekly yeast fix, click here!


Oh, it also started raining heavily while this bread was baking in the oven. Big, fat raindrops against a dark grey sky...and honestly, all I could think about was, how was I going to photograph these buns in such bad lighting? Thank goodness the day cleared up a little afterwards, or maybe it was the miracle of Photoshop that these pictures even look presentable. 

Giant tropical raindrops

They fit nicely in my palms.

The lonely little slice of Kit Kat

At least I now have that out of my system. Next Friday will be business as usual.

PS. I have a cute giveaway that I think you'll love. If you missed it, click here to enter!


Pull-Apart Chocolate Matcha Swirl Bread with Kit Kat Filling
Ingredients:
Matcha Dough
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dried instant yeast
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons matcha powder
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1/8 cup warm milk
1 tablespoon extra flour, for kneading

Chocolate Dough
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon dried instant yeast
1 tablespoon caster sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 small egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup warm milk
2 to 3 tablespoons extra flour, for kneading

Filling
3 regular Kit Kat bars, sliced into 24 (1cm or ½-inch) pieces

1. Matcha dough: Mix the flour, sugar, dried yeast and matcha in a mixing bowl. Add the butter and gradually add the warm milk. Knead for about 10 minutes until dough becomes pliable and is non-sticky. Add the extra flour as necessary to achieve this texture. Shape into a ball and place in a lightly-oiled bowl, leave to proof in a warm place for 30 minutes.
2. Chocolate dough: Mix the flour, sugar, dried yeast and cocoa powder in a mixing bowl. Add the butter, egg and gradually add the warm milk. Knead for about 10 minutes until dough becomes pliable and is non-sticky. Add the extra flour as necessary to achieve this texture. Shape into a ball and place in a lightly-oiled bowl, leave to proof in a warm place for 30 minutes.
3. Roll out the chocolate dough into a rough rectangle about 10x8-in. Wrap the matcha dough ball inside the chocolate dough. Turn dough over so the sealed side is at the bottom. Flatten out the dough again with a rolling pin and roll carefully out into a 12x10-in rectangle. Take the long-side and roll into a thin cylinder. Slice the cylinder into 12 fairly even pieces.
4. Take a piece of cut dough and with the cut-side down, roll out into a disc. Take 2 pieces of cut Kit Kat bars, stack one piece over the other and pull the edges of the dough together towards the middle. Press firmly to seal the egdes, then roll dough in your palm to form a ball shape. Repeat with the other dough pieces.
5. Arrange filled dough balls in a well-buttered 8-inch round baking pan. Leave it to rise in a warm place for another 20 minutes. 10 minutes before baking time, preheat your oven to 180C/350F.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Once it comes out of the oven, brush the tops with some melted butter. Leave it to cool for 10 minutes before turning out and serving.


52 comments:

Alina---Explora Cuisine said...

Every time I visit your blog I get amazed of how creative you are!!! This recipe is very impressive, the presentation is gorgeous as always! Love, love, love it! I want to make it too, but first I have to buy matcha powder :)

Lynn @ Les Cuilleres said...

Kit Kat filling sounds like genius to me! Love the pictures too.

Isabelle said...

Love this! I was already totally excited about it just based on the gorgeous brown-and-green swirl pattern, and then I kept reading and realised that each little bun had a chunk of kit kat inside... omigod. Pure awesome.

Unknown said...

Alina, thanks for coming by here many, many times! I really enjoy your visits :-). Hope you get that matcha powder soon and get busy with it...I know how creative you are too!

Unknown said...

Thank you, Lynn. The idea of the Kit Kat filling was good, just be prepared that the wafer won't be as crisp as it should be because of the heat and steam, etc while baking. Still tasted pretty good though and next time, I'm going to put the Extra Chunky Kit Kat in there! As much as the bun can fit...LOL.

Unknown said...

Isabelle, I'd say you already had your yeast fix for today :-). Thanks for your kind comments!

art is in the kitchen said...

This is brilliant! My long time favorite kit kat is in a colorful pull apart bun. How original Maya! I am already imagining something similar to make. You really inspire with your creativity! Bravissima!!!

Unknown said...

Arthur@michelangelo, that's good. We're finally inspiring each other. I was afraid that it was a one-way street, from yours going to mine! No way could I match your amazing creativity, my friend!

Jayanthy Kumaran said...

super fab...sounds awesome..
first time here...love your space...amazed at your gorgeous clicks..
Am your happy follower now..:)
do stop by mine sometime..
Tasty Appetite
Event: Letz Relishh Ice Creams

the [sugar] apothecary said...

Oh my. I love love love that color combination! The little man-shaped matcha/chocolate pair is too cute. I definitely want to try this out!

Adriana said...

Oh yum! I don't mind one bit that you skipped FFwD this week. Your bread is gorgeous!

spcookiequeen said...

Kit Kats, now were cooking with spam here! lol You never cease to surprise me.
-Gina-

Manu said...

How elegant does this look??? Great idea! And I am sure it tastes delicious too!!!

Unknown said...

Adriana, what a compassionate soul you are...haha! Will hop back onto the FFWD wagon next week. Thanks for dropping by ;-).

Unknown said...

Gina, cooking with spam! LOL, you crack me up with your endearing phrases..you really do. Umm...what exactly does cooking with spam mean?? :-€

Kate@Diethood said...

Oh my deliciousnessss! Have I told you how much I love your creativity?!? I'm sure I have. :)

Jenny (VintageSugarcube) said...

Those are a hoot! Watching the rain, and eating a roll filled with a Kit Kat sounds like pure pleasure to me. XOXO

Anonymous said...

You do know matcha is a weakness of mine,right? Yai yai yai!!! I can not believe that you went in full force and put in a kit kat.... OM my word... I'm intimidated with bread making.. p.s. thank you for the link to the molds..

Anonymous said...

Honestly, you had me at Kit Kat. This looks like a fun and tasty bread. I bet it was gone in seconds!

Unknown said...

Kate, yes, many times! But you can keep 'em coming, I don't mind... LOL.

Unknown said...

Jenny, are you ready to experience our tropical rainstorm? This is just to give you an idea of what to expect for our Dec hols, not that it'll affect our plans whatsoever. Thanks for swinging by, girlie!

Three-Cookies said...

First time I am seeing kit kat used in cooking. Kit kats are awesome, I was wondering why its not used more often!

Thank you for pointing out that Aries was missing from my list. I have updated it now. It was a mistake/oversight.

Lora said...

What a fantastic idea. The bread is to pretty. Love this!

Unknown said...

Not too pretty to EAT though, Lora... ;-).

Biren @ Roti n Rice said...

These look stunnig, Maya! I like the hidden treasure within. Big fat raindrops are falling over here as I type.

adorasbox said...

Those are so pretty and elegant with an unexpectedly naughty surprise. They look so fluffy. I love your tropical rain photos. Brings back memories.

Tiffany said...

This is so creative!

Tasty Trix said...

Please girl - Dorie wishes she had a recipe like THIS! I feel you on being in front of the camera. I get crazy weird ... but what if you start with a cookbook, mmm? Your creativity must be unleashed upon the world! (And then ... the takeover, mwah hahahahah)

Unknown said...

Biren, thanks. It's nice to know that we all live under the same sky ;-). And those big, fat raindrops...they're a real blessing!

Unknown said...

Adora, Kit Kat IS naughty...but Nutella is naughtier! LOL. I like our rain out here in the tropics. In London, it just drizzles most of the time and the raindrops are small and piddly!

Unknown said...

Trix, haha...don't say that out loud! Both of us will be disowned by the French Fridays group for trying to oust Dorie from her pedestal ;-). As for the cookbook, I'm still working on the 204th recipe, then once it's completed and published, you can start the Crazy Cahoots with the Foodiva online cooking club! Haha..all in jest, hope no one takes this seriously. Seriously.

Nourhan @ Miss Anthropist's Kitchen said...

Those look SO gorgeous! Amazing job...as usual :)

Joyti said...

This bread sounds delicious. Love the combination of matcha and chocolate - and the Kit-Kat surprise is such a nice touch.

Nami | Just One Cookbook said...

SUPER unique bread! I love it. You are always so creative. How can you get such an idea? Do you know in Japan we have kit-kat with Matcha flavor? It's my favorite flavor out of all the other kinds. I think US only have one flavor? We get crazy with different flavors... Your bread is amazing Maya!

Unknown said...

Nourhan, I've missed you! And thank you for your kind words.

Unknown said...

Joyti@Indie.Tea, the hidden Kit Kat was the best part of this bread!

Patty Price said...

I'm so glad I stopped by to check out what you've been up to in the kitchen...I know our veggie bowls are healthy and wonderful but a kit kat buried in a soft sweet flavorful roll may just have a leg up on the veggie bowls;-) I think I'm taking FFWD off next week, maybe I'll jump on the pull apart bread bandwagon;-)

Roxana GreenGirl said...

Hi Maya,

every time I visit your blog I'm blown away by your creativity. These pull apart buns sound so good. Love the Match addition. Brilliant idea.
Thanks so much for sharing.

happy weekend :)

The Chocolate Priestess said...

Wow! Those are very detailed instructions. Did you take the photos yourself as you made them or have an assistant take your photos?

Unknown said...

Hi Patty, you are hilarious! I just wasn't too inspired with this week's French Fridays' recipe. A warm weather pot-au-feu just seemed, well, too 'warm' for the type of weather over here :-). So I went off and made this funky bread instead!

Unknown said...

Roxana! You were the original inspiration for this post. I learnt of your fantastic pull-apart bread through my friend, Nancy, who was prompted to make it after reading your post!

Unknown said...

Chocolate Priestess, firstly, you have the best blog name ever! Secondly, no I don't have an assistant. My left hand makes while my right hand pushes the camera button and whenever you see both my hands in the picture, it's probably one of my kids (usually the 7-year old) helping out after being bribed with an outing, sweet treat, etc! So no, no assistant...not even a remote button for my camera ;-).

Nancy said...

Maya you are fast becoming the queen of pull-apart breads :) I love the technique you use it gives the breads a very pretty pattern. I need to try it soon. Hehe, would love to see your video tutorial with the giggles :) And BTW your photos look great.

Victoria said...

These pull-apart buns look fantastic, even if they got slightly soggy from the kit kats (who would have thought?). Definitely don't mind this alternative to FFWD!

Evelyne CulturEatz said...

OK now you are just evil! You got me all curious with your first savory version and promised a sweet one. But pulling out the chocolate and matcha car on me is mean...I love that combo. Now I HAVE to make this recipe.

Renee said...

All I can say is Wow! This recipe is beyond inspiring! I've made one pull apart bread. It was my grandma's recipe and quite fun. This is certainly taking pull apart bread up a notch!

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

Sorry the texture of the kitkats didn't work out but it still sounds and looks so so good!

Unknown said...

Nancy@Spicie Foodie, somehow queen of pull-apart bread doesn't sound so glamorous as macaron queen, now does it? LOL, I don't really bake breads that often to be able to claim that title. Now, queen of giggles I can definitely uphold! ;-)

Unknown said...

Thank you Victoria! Despite the wafer problem, I'm surprised the chocolate itself didn't melt that much!

Unknown said...

Evelyne@CEE, I take that kind of evilness as a total compliment! I want to see YOUR version of this bread ;-).

Erin said...

I saw the words Kit Kat and had to look at this! I LOVE Kit Kat, so if you put them in bread, I am interested! This looks amazing!

Unknown said...

LOL, I understand your sentiment completely. If someone were to put Kit Kat in cat food, I'D be interested!

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