We Should Cocoa: Chocolate & Almond Swirl Rolls

This month's We Should Cocoa is being guest hosted by Laura from How to Cook Good Food and she has set the ingredient of almonds. You can see the cheese round up here.

I posted a recipe after Christmas for a Brown Butter Banana Bread. I had just taken down my Christmas decorations and the cottage felt really empty. I tried to fill it with warming, comforting smells.

The cottage didnt feel empty at the weekend but filled with tension. Tension to get things sorted in time for Saturday. Who not to sit next to who. Who is going to be where and at what time. What (or who...) potentially is going to be a problem. Who hasn't returned my emails and who did I forget to email.

I ended up beating the crap out of some dough. It felt good.

Ingredients
500g strong bread flour
50gr unsalted butter, chopped into little chunks
1 x 7gr sachet of easy blend (fast action yeast)
2tbsp caster sugar
1tsp salt
1 egg (medium/large)
200ml milk mixed with 100ml boiling water - you might not need all of this
50gr flaked almonds
20gr very dark chocolate, grated

Method
1, Sift the flour into a large bowl and add in the butter, yeast, sugar and salt. Rub the butter between your finger tips until it is fully incorporated and there are no large lumps.
2, Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and add in the egg with around a third warm milk and water. Start to bring this together with a fork, adding more water if necessary, until you are left with a lump of dough that isn’t sticky to the touch.
3, Turn the dough out onto a work surface that has been lightly dredged in flour and knead for between 5-10minutes until the dough is soft and elastic. Pop in an oiled bowl and cover with oiled clingfilm. Leave this somewhere warm for an hour or until it has doubled in size.
4, Punch the dough down and give it another quick knead. Roll out into a large rectangle that measures about 17inches by 8inches (ish!)
5, Sprinkle with the almonds and the grated chocolate. Roll up and cut into ten equal rolls and lay into a greased baking pan leaving a little gap around each one.
6, Cover again with oiled cling film and leave the rolls for 20-30minutes To rise again.
7, Preheat your oven to 220o/c, brush the rolls with a little melted clarified butter or olive oil and bake for 20 minutes until rich golden brown and the rolls sound hollow when tapped underneath.
Notes
When I make these again, I'd probably add a bit more sugar to the dough (and probably the filling), cocoa to the filling and toast the flaked almonds.