• Stir the yeast and sugar into the lukewarm milk. The milk should not be warmer than 40°C / 104°F. Leave to rest for 10 minutes until you see little bubbles forming at the surface.
  2 teaspoon instant yeast , 60 g sugar, 250 g milk
• In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, butter, egg, salt and yeast-milk mixture. Knead for at least 10 minutes until you have a smooth, thick dough. If the dough is too sticky add a little more flour.
  500 g all-purpose, 80 g butter, 1 egg, 1 pinch salt
• Form the dough into a ball, cover with a tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for at least an hour until roughly doubled in size.
• Flatten the dough and cover with chocolate chips. Gently knead them in. Save about 2 tablespoons of chocolate drops to decorate the top later. Do not knead for too long as warm hands will cause the chocolate to melt.
  150 g chocolate chips
• Shape into 10 equal portions and roll into round bun shapes. Press the remaining chocolate drops onto the top to decorate.
• Place on a lined baking tray, cover and leave to rise for a further 30 minutes
• Mix the egg yolk with the tablespoon of milk. Preheat your oven to 180°C / 356°F.
  1 egg yolk, 1 tablespoon milk
• After 30 minutes brush the buns with the egg-milk mixture. 
• Brush the buns with the egg wash and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden. Prick with a skewer — if it comes out clean they are done.
• Leave to cool before eating.

Recipe Variation: Overnight Chocolate Buns 

• Follow the recipe until step 6, then cover and place the baking tray in the fridge for 10 to 12 hours. Before baking, remove from the fridge and leave to come to room temperature for up to an hour. Then brush with egg wash and bake as normal.