Coffee pull-apart buns ( melted choc chips)

Aik Cheong White Coffee is very popular here, the aroma is really fantastic.  If you love Coffee, this is definitely the bun for you.



I thought twice whether to add one or, two packets of Aik Cheong coffee powder in the dough.  Well, I wanted it to have a strong aroma, I am glad I added two !

smooth, moist, very soft fluffy buns!

Here's the ingredients for 750g loaf / 10 big buns (I used my bread machine's White bread recipe):

Water  260ml
Grapeseed oil  20g
Sugar  2 teaspoons
Skim milk powder  1 tablespoon
Salt  1 teaspoon
Bread flour  375g
Bread impover  none
Dry yeast  1 and 1/4 teaspoon

2 packets of Aik Cheong 3 in one Coffee powder
Melted choc chips in the amount of your choice

very sticky dough, impossible to handle with my hands, but you should keep it that way, do not add extra flour to it. Try using  oiled hands, scraper and spatula to help get the job done.  Don't bother to roll it into a nice ball properly, just scrape out the portion and transfer one by one onto the baking tray. 

Method ( I used a food processor):

1.  Prepare the sponge.  Whisk yeast, sugar and lukewarm water until well dissolved. Cover it with cling wrap for 5 minutes until foam appears on the surface of the mixture.  Chill in the fridge for 10 minutes for later use.
2.  Salt, skim milk powder and coffee powder goes in the food processor, "pause" 2 to 3 times  to mix them well.
3.  Pour in oil, "pause" 2 to 3 times.
4.  Pour in yeast mixture as you "pause" very briefly just enough to bring everything comes together.
5. Scrape dough out, add in all choc chips and mixed.  Roll dough into a ball shape , let it sit in a bowl to rest. After 10 minutes, use a spatula to gently knead dough for 10 seconds and bring it back to ball shape again.  Repeat another time, rest 10 minutes, gentle knead again for another 10 seconds.  Now, roll it back into ball shape and cover to rest for an hour or, until size doubles. Manipulation helps water to absorb into the flour, each time you will find the dough is easier to manage and more malleable.
6. Deflate air bubbles, roll it into a ball shape again and let gluten rest for 10 minutes.
7. Divide into 10 big buns ( or more, if you prefer smaller), lay them on the baking tray close to each other (pull-apart buns).  Let it have the second rise for another half hour or until doubled the size.
8. Bake in pre-heated oven 175-180C,  20 to 25 minutes ( different oven varies) or, go though a stick right in the middle of the bun, if it comes out clean, it's done.
9. Can you smell the aroma of Aik Cheong Coffee now..?

Sorry...I forgot to show you the inner part of the bun, too bad, we already gobbled up all of it, haha. But you can tell from the left corner part, it was really fluffly!