I'm not quite sure what the purpose of the baking soda is. I've never made a yeast recipe with that in it before. What do you think?

Godive Chocolate Buns and Chocolate Butter

Buns:

1 1/2 cups milk, warmed

1 ounce fresh yeast, crumbled

1 bar (1.5 ounces each) Godiva Dark Chocolate, chopped

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

7 tablespoons superfine granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 3/4 to 4 1/4 cups bread flour

1 1/4 cups walnuts, finely chopped

Butter:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

1 bar (1.5 ounces each) Godiva Dark Chocolate, chopped

1 1/4 cups Confectioners sugar

Pinch of salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Make Buns:

1. Position oven rack in center of oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Line bottom of 2 jellyroll pans with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. Pour milk into bowl of electric mixer. Add yeast and let stand for about 5 minutes.

3. Place chocolate in microwavable bowl. Heat on high power for 30 seconds. Let stand for 30 seconds. Stir until smooth. If necessary, heat an additional 15 seconds on medium power (50%) until chocolate is melted.

4. Add vanilla extract, salt, sugar, baking soda and about 2 cups of flour to milk mixture. Using dough hook, mix at medium-high speed until well blended. Add melted chocolate and beat for an additional 2 minutes. Gradually stir in enough additional flour to form a workable dough.


5. Turn dough out onto lightly floured board. Cover with tea towel and let rest for about 10 minutes.

6. Knead dough until smooth and elastic, adding additional flour as needed if dough becomes too sticky (about 10 minutes). Cover dough again and let rest for 5 minutes.

7. Knead walnuts into dough. Place dough in a large lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Allow dough to rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1 hour).

Make Butter:

1. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter and chocolate. Add sugar, salt and vanilla extract, stirring constantly with wooden spoon until smooth and well blended.

2. Transfer to a serving dish and store in refrigerator until ready to serve. Remove from refrigerator about 15 minutes before serving.

Bake Buns:

1. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface. Gently punch down dough with your fist to remove air. Knead dough for about 2 minutes. Shape into 24 individual round buns and arrange seam-side down on prepared baking sheets. Cover lightly with tea towels, and let stand about 30 minutes.

2. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes (buns will sound hollow when tapped). Transfer to a wire rack and cool slightly. Serve warm with chocolate butter.