When I found this recipe I couldn't be more excited. It reminded me of my heritage, my childhood, the incredible smells of Polish bakeries. Smell and taste are such strong reminders of who we are and where we come from. I still remember the smell coming from our kitchen every Saturday night. It was my parents preparing food for Sunday dinner.

I still remember the taste of some treats we got as kids at street markets in Opole, where I was born.

When I baked these buns the aroma in the house took me right back to my wonderful memories of my childhood in Poland.

Hazelnut swirl buns are made out of delicious dough and chocolate, hazelnut spread and toasted hazelnuts on top. The dough is rolled into swirls creating the most beautiful design when baked.

Tips for making the perfect buns:

* Flour- make sure to use strong white bread flour. It contains more gluten than other types of flour which gives it its elasticity and enables the dough to rise with good structure.

*Yeast- it’s really important to determine what type of yeast you are using. If it is fast-action dried yeast, you will use 15g of it in this recipe. This type of yeast doesn’t require activation, and can be used directly in the recipe, without dissolving it first in liquid.

If you are using active dried yeast (I did in this recipe), then remember that you will need to double the amount of it. It will also require to be activated before you can use it. Place the yeast first in a jug with some lukewarm milk and 1 tsp of sugar (sugar encourages the yeast growth)
Freestanding mixer- will be ideal for making the dough. However, you can also knead it by hand, it will just take longer and more effort.

Ingredients

· 250 ml milk (any type)

· 60 g unsalted butter cubed

· 15 g fast-action dried yeast or 30g dried active yeast

· 500 g strong white flour

· 100 g caster sugar

· 1 medium egg

· 1 tsp salt

· 5 Tbsp hazelnut spread

· 30 g chopped hazelnuts

Instructions:

1. Place the milk in a small saucepan and heat it up until lukewarm. If you are using dried active yeast, transfer about 150ml of lukewarm milk into separate jug and add 1 tsp of sugar. Stir to dissolve sugar, then add active yeast. Give it a stir and set aside for 15 minutes to activate it. If you are using fast-action dried yeast, then simply skip this part and just warm up your milk.

2. Add cubed butter to your lukewarm milk, swirling the saucepan every now and then to encourage the butter to melt. Set aside.

3. In a bowl of a freestanding mixer fitted with hook attachment, mix the flour, sugar and salt. Mix briefly, then add yeast, an egg and milk and butter mixture. With the mixer running on low speed, mix together for 2 minutes. Increase the speed to high and mix for further 6-8 minutes until you have smooth and elastic dough that no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough onto lightly floured surface, roll into a ball and place in a clean, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with clingfilm or clean kitchen towel and let it rise somewhere warm for 2 hours or until doubled in size.

4. Remove the dough from the bowl into a lightly floured surface. Gently knock out the air from it and stretch it into rough rectangle shape. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into large rectangle. Roughly about 40 x 50 cm.

5. With the longer edge of the rectangle facing you, spread the hazelnut spread over 2/3 of the rectangle, leaving 1/3 clean. Fold the clean part of the rectangle towards the middle, then fold the other end of the dough on top of that. Using a rolling pin, roll it over the rectangle to flatten it out and to stretch it a bit.

6. Using a very sharp knife or a pizza cutter, trim the edges of your rectangle. Slice the rectangle in half, then each half in half again, and again until you have 8 long strips of the dough. Starting at one end of the strip, start rolling it, tucking the end underneath. Place the rolled bun into baking tray lined with some baking parchment. Repeat with all of the remaining strips.

7. Cover the buns loosely with some cling film or kitchen towel and set them aside for at least an hour (you can also place them in the fridge to prove overnight).

8. Preheat the oven to 175C (fan). Brush the buns with egg wash and sprinkle chopped hazelnuts on top of them. Bake in the middle shelf of the oven for about 18 minutes or until golden brown and risen. If the buns start browning too quickly, cover them with some kitchen foil. Enjoy!