Chocolate and Hazelnut Buns

Don't be afraid of dough, as I used to be. These are really easy and so delicious, especially warm from the oven. Great any time, & a lovely treat for a weekend breakfast / brunch.

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   Melt the butter in a small saucepan, adding the milk towards the end, just to warm through.
   Sift the flour into a large bowl or the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook.
   Stir in the yeast, sugar and salt.
   Lightly beat the egg.
   When the milk is luke-warm (if you have a thermometer you can check that it is about 40 degrees C - if it is too hot it may kill the yeast), pour into the bowl, along with the egg.
   Either mix together, bring into a dough and knead by hand for about 10 minutes until smooth and stretchy, or mix with the dough hook for 10 minutes.
   Lightly grease the bowl with a little butter, put the ball of dough back in the bowl, cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for about 1 ½ - 1 ¾ hours, until roughly doubled in size.
   To make the filling, blitz the hazelnuts, sugar and cocoa in a food processor (this quantity just fits in the mini chopper that came with my stick blender).
   Knock back the dough (punch or prod with your fingers!) and knead, by hand or with the dough hook, for a couple of minutes until smooth again.
   Lightly flour the work-surface, or put the dough on a sheet of baking paper, and roll out until you have a roughly rectangular shape approximately 30 X 40 cm (it is quite a springy dough so will take a few times to get to it keep flat).
   Spread the soft butter evenly over the dough, leaving a 1 cm gap around each edge.
   Scatter the filling evenly over the butter. From the longest edge, roll up the dough and trim the ends so that the roll is 36 cm and can be cut into 9 X 4cm pieces.
   Grease a 20cm square tin with butter and line with baking paper (to help lift them out easily use one piece that covers the bottom and 2 sides, with a little overhang over the edge).
   Put the 9 slices into the tin in 3 rows, spaced equally apart. Some of the filling may fall out when you lift them into the tin - if you lose a lot, just sprinkle it over the tops of the rolls in the tin. The ends can be used to make mini rolls with any filling that spills out of the rolls when you lift them into the tin – cook’s perks! – simply place on a greased / lined baking tray.
   Cover loosely with lightly buttered cling film and leave to rise again in a warm place, for 45 minutes to an hour, until they have risen again and the ones in the square tin are nestled snugly together, without any gaps.
   Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C. Remove the cling film. Brush the tops with a little milk and, if you like, sprinkle with a little demerera sugar for a crunchy top. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown and skewer comes out clean. Leave in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Eat warm or cool, breaking apart only when ready to eat, to keep the edges soft.
   Best eaten on the day they are baked, but will keep for one day in an airtight tin, once cooled completely. (If you are eating one on the second day, I think it is best warmed slightly in the oven - e.g. 180 degrees C for 5 to 10 minutes).