Chocolate Orange Brioche Babka Rolls

2021 has brought on many different baking trends. Olive oil cakes, vanilla desserts, one bowl bakes and “bougie breads” like buttery brioche and layered and twisted desserts.

These Chocolate Orange Brioche Babka Rolls fit right in with the 2021 baking trends! Soft buttery orange scented brioche dough with a layer of creamy dark chocolate rolled and twisted into a beautiful bun.

A brioche dough is a very rich dough. Regular bread dough is usually made with water, flour, salt and yeast. A brioche dough has eggs, milk and a lot of butter. That makes a bread rich. The high fat and protein contents of these ingredients is what makes the bread so special.

Brioche Dough can be used to make a regular bread loaf, cinnamon rolls, sweet rolls, doughnuts and numerous other breads like a Babka.

You can basically replace brioche dough with any dough. It just makes your recipe that much better.

Start with the warming the milk and buttermilk until warm, but not hot. You don’t want to kill the yeast once it’s added to it. I also like to use a combination of milk a d buttermilk. Standard brioche recipes only use whole milk, but I like the combination. Buttermilk tends to make recipes moister. But, using buttermilk as well is optional.

Pour the warmed milk in a stand mixing bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on top. It should start to bubble. If it doesn’t, the milk was too hot and the yeast was killed. If this happens, you will have to start again. Otherwise, the dough will not rise.

Add sugar, salt, vanilla, orange zest and eggs. Mix until everything is incorporated. Attach the dough hook and start adding the flour one cup at a time. I use both AP flour and Bread Flour. I like the texture of the bread with this combination. The bread flour makes the bread texture a little sturdier.

Add the softened butter one tablespoon at a time. The dough will be extremely soft at this point.

Knead the dough with the bread hook for a few minutes. Butter or oil a large bowl and add the dough to the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place into the refrigerator overnight. Letting the dough rise in the refrigerator will make it cold and it will be easier to work with.

Place the chocolate in a bowl. Microwave for 1 minute. Remove and stir until melted. If everything is still not melted, microwave for 20 seconds at a time and keep stirring until melted. Add cocoa powder and powdered sugar. Mix and set aside.

Evenly divide the dough into 4 sections. Take one section and roll it out thinly into a rectangle. Spread on 1/4 of the chocolate. Roll up the dough lengthwise. Slice the rolled dough in half lengthwise so that you can see all of the chocolate layers. Then cut the 2 parts in half so that there are 4 sections.

Take 2 pieces and twist them together. Then, make it into a circle. Tuck the ends under. Do the same with the other 2 pieces. Place both rolls on the Calphalon Large cookie sheet.

Repeat with the other 3 pieces of dough. After all of the rolls are placed on the cookie sheet, let them rise in a warm area for about an hour. Mix an egg yolk with a tablespoon of water to make an egg wash. Brush the egg wash over each roll and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes. Add ingredients for the glaze in a pot. Cook until sugar is dissolved, then brush on the rolls.

They’re baked on the Large Cookie Sheet of the Calphalon Premier™ Countertop Safe Bakeware 6-Piece Set. This set simplifies baking and protects countertops and table from accidental burns or surface damage with the uniquely designed heat-resistant silicone feet.

This durable nonstick bakeware is dishwasher-safe, oven-safe up to 450 degrees F

The large cookie sheet was the perfect size to fit my brioche Babka rolls. This is one amazing baking set! And it can be purchased on Calphalon.com

So give these Chocolate Orange Brioche Babka Rolls a try!