Step 1

Melt the chocolate (Bain-marie style). Break chocolate and place into a heatproof bowl. Sit over a pan of barely simmering water (a bain marie) and allow the chocolate to melt, stirring occasionally.

Step 2

In a different bowl, melt the butter.Using a relatively large non-stick saucepan, mix the milk, sugar and flour. Mix well to ensure no lumps remain. Add the melted chocolate, vegan butter, cocoa, corn starch and aquafaba. Put the saucepan on the stove, on low heat and whisk the mixture until it thickens. The result should be a soft dough.

Step 3

Put the Japanese chocolate dough over a sheet of cling film and wrap it up. Set aside and allow it to cool to room temperature. When it's ready, roll out the chocolate dough to around 18 cm x 18 cm square and place in the fridge.Important tip: Place the chocolate dough over a non-stick baking paper. Place the cling film over it, and start rolling using a rolling pin. The cling film allows the rolling pin to move up and down the chocolate down without it sticking to the rolling pin. The chocolate dough is still pretty sticky, so it will become really messy without it.

Step 4

Whisk together the bread flour and the oat milk in a saucepan, making sure no lumps remain. Add the mixture over low heat and whisk continuously until it thickens. You should have a pudding-like texture. Remove from fire and transfer to a bowl.As a tip, you should cover it with a little cling film to avoid the formation of a crust. The Tangzhong will need around 10-15 minutes to cool down. As you will see, the Tangzhong will become quite thick.

Step 5

Mix together the lukewarm oat milk and one tablespoon of sugar. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the yeast to the bowl. Set aside for around 10 minutes until it becomes frothy.

Step 6

Mix together the bread flour, sugar and tsp salt in the bowl of a stand mixer, with the hook attachment. Add the tangzhong, the yeast mixture and the aquafaba. Mix for around 10-15 minutes. The result should be a soft and sticky dough. The dough should not be wet. If it feels wet, you should add a tad bit of flour and mix again.

Step 7

Add the vegan butter and continue mixing for another 10 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured bowl, cover and set aside to proof for around 1-2 hours. The dough should double in size.

Step 8

Knockback the dough on a lightly floured work surface and knead for around a minute or so. When it's ready, roll the dough to a square of around 36 cm with 36 cm.

Step 9

Prepare a round or oval baking tray. Lightly grease it with a little vegan butter and dust it with flour.Place the chocolate dough in the middle of the Japanese milk dough. You should have the small 18 cm x 18 cm chocolate dough right in the middle of the 36 cm x 36 cm Japanese milk dough. Wrap the chocolate dough in the Japanese milk dough, one fold at the time. You should not be able to see the chocolate dough anymore, it should be fully enveloped in the Japanese milk dough.

Step 10

Using your rolling pin, roll the dough until doubled in size. Fold the dough once, then roll again. Repeat this a couple of times. Finally, roll the dough into a large rectangle (as large as you can manage).Using a sharp knife, carefully cut the dough into 9 vertical long strips. Then, cut them in half evenly, horizontally. You should now have 18 strips of dough.

Step 11

Using your fingers, start rolling up each strip of dough from one end, similar to a swiss roll. Roll as tightly as you can. Place each roll in the baking tray. Please note they will double in size again, so don't pack them too highly together. They should touch but have some space to grow.Allow to proof for around 30 minutes until doubled in size.

Step 12

Preheat the oven to 175 C/ 350 F.Bake in the centre of the oven for around 35 minutes. After 20 minutes, check on the Japanese milky bread. If you see that the top becomes too coloured already, cover with aluminium foil and continue baking until the 35 minutes are up.Let it cool in the tray for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack before eating the rolls. Enjoy!