Chocolate Sweet Buns: Pangoccioli

My new favorite treat-homemade sweet buns with chocolate (yes, chocolate!) + all the fun news from us at OIT! 🍋

For the past few months, the aroma of freshly baked bread has been wafting from my kitchen window. Anyone peeking through my window would find loaves of fresh bread; trays of puffy foccacia; and piles of yeasty sweet buns; my aprons, floors, and marble countertops covered in flour. I don’t quite recognize myself - have I started to *enjoy* baking!?!? Well, yes, yes, I have!

This all started because of two things: Sicilian bread and pizza dough.

Let’s talk pizza dough first. As many of you know, Jay has painstakingly been building a pizza oven over the summer-something he has wanted to do for years. It has been a fascinating, rewarding, and at times, frustrating process for him as he, step-by-step, worked his way through moving old historic stones into place for the base; then figuring out how to build the pizza dome, and now insulating and mortaring the outside of the dome….and soon, she will be ready for firing! It's time to really up my pizza dough game!

The pizza oven in progress. (The wooden supports and top are for rain protection until finished)

In my quest for all-things-pizza-dough, I have been exploring some fun questions - 00 or regular flour: does it *really* matter? Is an overnight rise in the fridge necessary and worth the effort? What is the perfect hydration rate for pizza made in wood-fired ovens? So much to learn! I have to wait until this baby is up and running to answer most of my questions and I will report back once we start churning out the pizzas! (For my wood-fired oven friends, keep sending those tips!)

As for the Sicilian bread - back in March when I visited Sicily, I spent a day with three amazing women in their kitchen in western Sicily. Enza, Erina, and Teresa *effortlessly* mixed dough and let it rise alongside their wood-fired oven. Only hours later, I held in my hands a tremendously delicious-crispy on the outside, soft on the inside-bread that made me drool with excitement. (and THEN they cut one open and topped it with chopped anchovies, olive oil, and pistachio-studded pecorino ….we devoured it on the spot. OMG - the super crispy crust with that soft interior - crazy delicious!)

Making bread in Sicily

Since my return, I have been on a mission to reproduce their incredible loaf here at home. Historically, my yeast-rising abilities have been less than stellar. I have tried every tip that I could find but the rise on any dough has been ho-hum, to say the least. And then I did one simple thing - I stopped buying those little yellow packets of yeast in my local market. I ordered the yeast that bakers always recommend - SAF Instant Yeast - and my dough-rising world has never been the same. Suddenly, I was churning out beautifully risen bowls of dough! (You may ask why - I honestly can’t answer that question. My yeast packets were always well within the expiration date. Anyone else have the same issue?)

In another post, I promise to share much more on my Sicilian bread journey where we can talk all things Sicilian bread! (The recipe IS in our next magazine - hint.) For now, I really want to talk about these delicious sweet buns!

I discovered these heavenly treats not in Italy, as one might expect, but while studying Italian. Between our online lessons, Lucia, my teacher in Parma sends me videos in Italian to help sharpen my listening skills. She sent me a video of someone making pangoccioli a few months back. The moment I saw these fluffy buns emerge from the oven, warm and oozing with chocolate bits, I completely forgot about the Italian lesson. What were these delicious wonders? Turns out, they’re called pangoccioli. The name comes from "pane," meaning bread, and "gocciole," which refers to little chocolate drops. So, essentially, pangoccioli translates to "bread with chocolate drops"—and they are every bit as magical as they sound!

At my next lesson, I asked Lucia, my teacher, if she makes them often. She chuckled and shook her head—no, she never makes them. She buys them pre-packaged at the market for her children, as so many Italian families do. As it turns out, big brands like Mulino Bianco churn out these processed little delights, a staple in many households. (I made a mental note to hunt for them when I’m in Montalcino next week!) But I wasn’t about to let that stop me. With my newfound confidence in working with yeast, I decided to dive headfirst down the pangoccioli rabbit hole, determined to find a homemade version that could rival the store-bought ones.

Pangoccioli (Chocolate Sweet Buns)

I scoured countless Italian recipes, translating, tweaking, and testing. After about six batches, I finally created a version of the recipe that felt just right. It is a happy medium between simplicity and authenticity, capturing the soft, pillowy texture and those irresistible chocolate drops yet not requiring any fancy bread-rising techniques.

From start to finish, these buns take about half a day to make, but most of that is just waiting for them to rise. The actual hands-on kitchen time is minimal, though it's important to plan ahead. There are two rises: the initial one, and a second after the buns are shaped. Trust me, they are so worth the wait!

In my version, I reduced the sugar slightly, so they’re sweet but not overly so. I added a touch of vanilla extract for extra flavor and swapped in a chopped chocolate bar for the goccioli. Chocolate chips work just as well, though. The best part? These buns are absolutely divine straight out of the oven when the chocolate is still warm and melty. 🫣

These buns have quickly become a favorite. I have made batch after batch, sending them off to neighbors and friends to enjoy. If you’re looking for a comforting treat that isn’t overly sweet, give this recipe a try. After one bite, you’ll understand why they’ve become a permanent addition to my baking repertoire.

For the recipe, click the button below or head to OurItalianTable.com.

And a huge grazie di cuore ❤️ for all the well-wishes for Joey and the *amazingly positive* feedback for our new podcast!!

Joey is now doing fantastic after his surgery (a hip replacement). Though he hit a bit of a speed bump, he is healing beautifully and is now back on track! Soon he will be back sharing his recipes and joining me for our podcast episodes! I can’t wait to have him back by my side at the table 🍋 Miss him here. (Thank heavens we named this ‘Our Italian Table’ - it has been lonely as just ‘My Italian Table’ over the past month. 😊)

The podcast feedback has been so wonderfully encouraging! Love you guys for your support, your feedback, and all your encouragement. In the months ahead, we have a fun mix of episodes featuring Joey and me on topics near and dear to our hearts along with a lineup of very cool guests. These are so much fun to create!

Watch this space for news about our next magazine: Issue 3: ‘From Sicily, With Love’ - an issue so incredibly near and dear to our hearts; it is over 100 pages of our recipes, my photos from our trips, and stories from the land of our maternal grandparents. I am beyond excited for this next issue! 💃🏻 Stay tuned!

Ooh, and I can’t forget the tour dates for 2025! They are now set! Info to follow. 💃🏻

I am off to Montalcino next week where I get to spend a few glorious weeks amidst harvest season! And interview our exciting podcast guest for our next episode 😊. More news from the other side soon,

Grazie di cuore,