pull-apart coffee swirl bread with green tea kit kat filling

Pull-apart coffee swirl bread! I've wanted to make this recipe for a while now and it's the first time making bread bread, using yeast and actually kneading the dough! I adapted this recipe from Foodiva but I didn't have matcha at home, so I changed it up a bit. This recipe is somewhat versatile; you can use matcha, cocoa, coffee, and other powders and flavor combinations too! Next time I"ll definitely try the matcha+cocoa combination and come up with other ones too :)

When you make this bread be sure to use a SMALL egg. I used a large egg but my coffee dough came out too sticky because of the disproportion of wet to dry ingredients in the dough, so I had to add extra flour to achieve the workable dough. Also, KUDOS to all the bakers who lived before the KitchenAid century. It was my first time kneading dough and I followed a Youtube demonstration, and it's actually really fun! It got me sweating and tired after 10 minutes (I kneaded longer because 10 minutes wasn't enough. These tips really helped!).

Yeah I don't own a rolling pin, so I used a make-shift rolling pin aka a giant cylindrical thermos. It works pretty well but a bit inconvenient because no handles and all. And it left indents from the cap and the stickers. I really need to invest in a rolling pin...

Yes I used all-purpose flour and butter and sugar but I really wanted to make this pull-apart bread so I AM OKAY WITH IT! And it was only a tiny bit of butter and sugar so it's not so bad. I couldn't bring myself to spread melted butter over the top of the bread after baking (as it says to in the original recipe) so I just didn't. I contemplated long and hard whether or not I should use the Kit Kat too and was seriously listing out the pros and cons. I REALLY wanted some green tea Kit Kat but I WASN'T SURE if it was worth the extra sugar and calories (SUCH a dilemma haha jk sarcasm but yeah random debates in my mind), but in the end I'm glad I added it. The Green Tea Kit Kat has a light sweetness that balances out the darker, bitter flavor of the coffee really well!

My first ever attempt at making bread and I'm happy with the result :) I shall attempt more bread-making in the future and hopefully by then I'll have a legit rolling pin too!

Pull-Apart Coffee Swirl Bread with Green Tea Kit Kat Filling

adapted from Foodiva's Kitchen
yields 12 small rolls

Ingredients:

White Dough:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp dried instant yeast
1 tbs sugar
1 tbs butter, softened
1/8 cup warm milk
1 tbs extra flour for kneading

Coffee Dough:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp dried instant yeast
1 tbs sugar
2 tbs instant coffee powder
2 tbs butter, softened
1 small egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup warm milk
2 to 3 tbs extra flour for kneading

Filling:
3 Green Tea Kit Kat bars, each bar cut into fourths

Directions:

- White Dough: Mix the flour, sugar, and dried yeast in a small mixing bowl. Add the butter and gradually add the warm milk (I melted my butter with the milk in the microwave). Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until dough becomes pliable and is no longer sticky. Add extra flour as necessary. Then shape the dough into a ball and place in a lightly-oiled bowl and leave it to proof in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- Coffee Dough: Mix the flour, sugar, dried yeast and instant coffee powder in a mixing bowl. Add the butter, egg and gradually add the warm milk (I melted the butter with the milk in the microwave and added that to the dough first, then I added the lightly beaten egg). Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until dough becomes pliable and is no longer sticky. Add extra flour as necessary. Then shape the dough into a ball and place in a lightly-oiled bowl and leave it to proof in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- Roll out the coffee dough into a rough rectangle about 10x8-inches (Obviously I failed to roll mine into a rectangle...). Wrap the white dough ball inside the coffee 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 roughly into a 12x10 inch rectangle. Take the long-side and roll the dough in into a thin cylinder. Slice the cylinder into 12 fairly even pieces.

- Take a piece of cut dough and with the cut-side down, roll it out into a disc. Take a piece of the Green Tea Kit Kat and place it onto the flattened dough disk. Roll up the edges of the dough toward s the middle and press firmly to seal the edges. Then roll the dough in your palm to form a ball shape. Repeat with the other dough pieces.

- Spray an 8-inch round baking pan with nonstick cooking spray (I used a 9-inch pan because I didn't have an 8-inch one). Arrange the filled dough balls in the baking pan and leave it to rise in a warm place for another 20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350°F 10 minutes before baking.

- Bake for 20-25 minutes. Once it comes out of the oven, brush the tops with some melted butter (I skipped this step because yeah extra butter no thanks). Leave it to cool, then turn the bread out of the pan, pull apart, serve, and enjoy!