29.Feb.2008 Betcha you want that Matcha

Matcha Spelt Roll with Bittersweet Chocolate Filling

Apparently, these delicious rolls are a huge hit at a teahouse in New Zealand, where they are being sold. How’s that for an awesome endorsement?

Matcha Spelt Rolls with Bittersweet Chocolate Filling and Almond Icing

For the rolls:
3/4 cup (180 ml) plain soy or other nondairy milk, heated to 100°F (38°C)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup (48 g) Sucanat
2 1/2 cups (300 g) light spelt flour
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 teaspoons matcha green tea powder
2 tablespoons (28 g) nondairy butter
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/2 teaspoon canola oil, to coat the bowl
1/3 cup (58 g) chopped nondairy bittersweet chocolate


For the icing:

1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/2 cup (60 g) powdered sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons plain soy or other nondairy milk, more if needed

To make the rolls: In a medium bowl, combine milk, yeast, and Sucanat. Let stand for about 10 minutes: it should foam and bubble up. If it doesn’t, start all over again since your yeast might not be fresh.
In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and matcha powder.
Add butter on top. Stir extract into yeast mixture.
Stir wet ingredients into dry.
Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 8 to 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and pliable, adding more flour, a little at a time, if the dough is too wet. Shape into a ball.
Lightly coat a large bowl with oil, turn dough around to coat. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled, 60 to 90 minutes.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or silicone baking mat, such as Silpat.
Punch down dough. Divide into six equal portions.
Divide chopped chocolate into six equal portions, placing each in the center of each piece of dough.
Fold dough over chocolate. Shape into rolls. Place on prepared baking sheet, loosely covering with plastic wrap. Let rise for 40 minutes.
Twenty minutes before the rolls are done rising, preheat oven to 375°F (190°C, or gas mark 5).
Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, until the rolls are golden brown and sound hollow when the bottom is tapped. Let cool on a wire rack before adding icing.

To make the icing: Combine extract and sugar in a small bowl, slowly adding milk: the icing needs to be rather thick and stick to the back of a spoon. Stir vigorously to remove lumps.
Drizzle or spread on top of each roll.

Yield: 6 rolls

Comment Pages

There are 27 Comments to "Betcha you want that Matcha"

  • Celine says:

    this is great, Jo! I’m glad these rolls are getting some success all the way in NZ too. :)
    yes, I’ve been vegan for over 3 years so I’m definitely aware of the “perils” of finding adequate sugar and chocolate. and thank you for posting a link to the recipe on your blog, which I find quite awesome if I may say.

    Reply

  • sm says:

    These are fantastic! A friend brought me back from Japan some really good matcha and, although I love to drink it, I’ve been meaning to try it out as a flavouring ingredient. Plus, I’ve been wanted to experiment more with spelt and this gave me the perfect opportunity. They are perfect for breakfast with a soy milk latte! I think these rolls would also work well with a marzipan filling (especially with the almond icing). In short, the recipe is great and I appreciate that it makes only 5.

    Reply

  • ninaki says:

    Cool blog!i love recipes with matcha powder!keep up the gook work,nice pictures too!

    Reply

  • [...] and make it into buns/bread rolls, throwing a little piece of dark chocolate in its center à la matcha spelt rolls. another variation? knead in 1/2 cup of chocolate chunks or chips when starting the process of [...]

  • Kristi says:

    I am a Matcha addict…. Keiko is my top brand. Our local health food store just started carrying Matcha….but I’m spoiled because we have a Tea and Wine Library…where we get a variety of Matcha’s…even had a Matcha day where we made Latte’s and Smoothies! Mmmmm!

    The recipe looks amazing! Looking forward to creating it!

    Reply

  • Misao Kiley says:

    I began making this recipe in the morning, and just finished baking it this evening! It is so delicious! Everything turned out great- perfect recipe!

    Also, I didn’t have any matcha, and didn’t feel like hunting some down at the health store, and so instead I used an oraganic green tea by Numi. I doubled the recipe, so I used two tea bags- just tore and dumped it in. It turned out so well!

    Thank you for posting and sharing! ^^

    Reply

    Celine Reply:

    this is great news, thanks Misao!

    Reply

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