By Maxime Guérin & Kevin Zwygart

Recipe Swiss Buns

To make this dish

Ingredient list

  • CROISSANT DOUGH
    835 g plain flour (T55, approximately 11% protein)
    835 g strong flour (T45, approximately 14% protein)
    30 g salt
    200 g sugar
    65 g fresh yeast
    165 g Lescure Unsalted 250g butter Roll 82% fat
    860 g milk
    1000 g Unsalted 1kg butter Sheet 84% fat
  • COCOA CROISSANT DOUGH
    175 g plain flour (T55, approximately 11% protein)
    175 g strong flour (T45, approximately 14% protein)
    54 g cacao powder
    7 g salt
    48 g sugar
    14 g fresh yeast
    36 g Lescure Unsalted 250g butter Roll 82% fat
    241 g milk
    SQ water-soluble red colouring
  • CREAM CHEESE PASTRY CREAM
    1753 g milk
    438 g egg yolks
    351 g sugar
    105 g plain flour (T55, approximately 11% protein)
    105 g cream powder
    228 g Cream Cheese Elle & Vire Professionnel®
  • SWISS BUN DECORATIONS
    600 g pépites de chocolat noir
    SQ maple syrup

The recipe, step by step

  1. 01

    CROISSANT DOUGH

    Dissolve the yeast in the cold milk.

    Combine the flours, salt, sugar, butter cut into pieces (1) and the milk/yeast mixture on low speed of the stand mixer for 5 minutes.

    Increase speed to 2 and knead for 8 minutes.

    Form into a ball and let rise for 1 hour.

    Punch down, roll out into a rectangle and refrigerate overnight.

  2. 02

    COCOA CROISSANT DOUGH

    Dissolve the yeast in the cold milk.

    Combine the flours, cocoa powder, red colouring, salt, sugar, butter cut into pieces and the milk/yeast mixture on low speed of the stand mixer for 5 minutes.

    Increase speed to 2 and knead for 8 minutes.

    Form into a ball and let rise for 1 hour.

    Punch down, roll out into a rectangle and refrigerate overnight. 

  3. 03

    CREAM CHEESE PASTRY CREAM

    Make a traditional pastry cream. At the end of the cooking process, add the cream cheese.

  4. 04

    SWISS BUN DECORATIONS

  5. 05

    SHAPING & BAKING

    Enclose the butter sheet in the dough and give it 1 single turn.

    Lay 700 g of cocoa dough on top of the dough parcel.

    Perform 2 single turns letting the dough rest in the refrigerator in between turns.

    Roll out to a width of 39 cm and a thickness of 2 cm.

    Cut 14 5-mm-wide strips (be careful to cut in the same direction as the dough was rolled out).

    Place the strips on top of the dough in the same direction in which the dough was rolled out (horizontally).

    The dough should be 32 cm wide (before being rolled out).

    Roll out to a thickness of 3.5 mm (170 cm x 42 cm) and cut vertically into 34 cm strips, then horizontally cut out rectangles measuring 4 cm wide (70 g).

    Stir the pastry cream until smooth and, using a 12 mm tip, pipe out two 16-cm strips of cream cheese pastry cream (40 g) in the centre of the rectangle.

    Sprinkle with chocolate chips (10 g).

    Lightly moisten one of the ends and close up the Swiss bun.

    Turn over onto a sheet of parchment paper.

    Let rise for 2 hours at 26°C (70% humidity).

    Let rest for 10 minutes at room temperature (20°C).

    Preheat convection oven to 190°C and bake at 170°C for approximately 18 minutes.

    Remove from the oven and brush immediately with maple syrup.

    Let cool. 

    Chef's Tip

    You can enhance the pastry cream with pistachio extract or another flavouring.


Another recipes you might enjoy