Soft, tasty bread filled with hazelnut spread and cocoa powder, these Nutella Buns use a dough recipe that needs only one rise, and easy enough for bread beginners to do.
This recipe is so close to my heart because it reminds me of my early days of attempting to make bread and encountering so many fails. Now, as I look back, I am just thrilled to see how my confidence has improved and that is because of my conscious will to never stop trying. I had fails one after another but what can I do? I cannot stop. The idea of smelling the aroma of fresh bread from the oven served as my motivation to learn.
The original recipe is actually made into cinnamon rolls, but today, I bring these to you in a slightly different variation- Nutella Buns. These are soft and fluffy bread filled with the irresistible Nutella, cocoa powder and brown sugar.
Unlike most bread recipes here on the blog, these rolls require only one rise. That is why this recipe is a friendly one especially if you are trying to make yeasted dough for the first time.
Chocolate Hazelnut Rolls: The Process
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, together with the milk and water. This mixture should be within 105-115 F. Re-heat in the microwave briefly or cool as necessary to attain that temperature range.
- Add the butter mixture to the dry ingredients in the bowl. Mix together using a wooden spoon. Add the egg, then add the remaining flour little by little, mixing after each addition. Only add sparingly-you may not need the entire 1/2 cup.
- You only need to see the dough gather in the center and cleaning the sides of the bowl. After this consistency is achieved, stop adding the flour.
- Turn the dough over in a floured board. Knead for about ten minutes, adding a little flour just to avoid the dough from sticking to the board or to your hands.
- Let the dough rest for ten minutes. Roll it into a 14 x 8 inches rectangle. Spread Nutella over the surface. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon and cocoa and sprinkle this mixture over the hazelnut spread.
- With the long edge close to you, roll the dough into a tight log. Use a sharp knife to cut the log into 10-11 portions. Arrange them on a lightly greased 9 inch round cake pan with about half an inch of space in between. Press the rolls down so that they are about the same height.
To Let the Rolls Rise
- Pre-heat oven to 200 F. Once reached, turn off oven and place rolls inside, uncovered. Let rise until double in size, 60-90 minutes.
Baking the Rolls
Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Bake rolls for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden. These Nutella rolls are delightful and soft, and every bite brings you warm and flavorful chocolate cream that will make you want more.
Kneading the Dough
Here are some indicators that will tell you that you have kneaded enough:
- From being shaggy and sticky, the dough will start to take shape, be more smooth and more elastic as you knead.
- If you poke the dough using a finger, the indention you create will quickly be filled up again by the dough rising or fighting back to your touch.
- If you pull out a small portion of dough and spread it with your fingers, the dough can stretch so thinly until it is translucent before finally breaking. This is called the window pane test.
- New to kneading? Check out my How To Knead Bread Dough Video Post.
Enjoy!
Looking for more chocolate treats? Also try Chocolate Walnut Bread, Chocolate Brioche or Chocolate Croissants.
Nutella Buns
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour plus 1/2 cup reserved.
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 and 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup milk
For the Filling
- 1/2 cup Nutella
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Nutella glaze
- 1/2 cup Nutella
- 2 and 1/2 tbsp milk
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts of your choice
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine yeast, flour, sugar and salt. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter in the microwave together with the milk and water. This mixture should be within 105-115 F. Reheat briefly in the microwave or cool as needed to attain the required temperature.
- Add the butter mixture to the dry ingredients in the bowl. Mix together using a wooden spoon. Add the egg, then add the remaining flour little by little, mixing after each addition. Only add sparingly-you may not need the entire 1/2 cup. You only need to see the dough gather in the center and cleaning the sides of the bowl. After this consistency is achieved, stop adding the flour.
- Turn the dough over on a floured board. Knead the dough, adding a little flour from time to time just to avoid the dough from sticking to the board or to your hands. From sticky and shaggy, the dough will be smooth, elastic and can stretch thinly.
- Let the dough rest for ten minutes. Roll it into a 14 x 8 inches rectangle. Spread the Nutella over the surface. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon and cocoa and sprinkle this mixture over the hazelnut spread.
- With the long side nearest you, roll the dough into a tight log. Use a sharp knife to cut the log into 10-11 portions. Arrange them on a lightly greased 9 inch round cake pan with about half an inch of space in between. Press the rolls down so that they are about the same height.
- Let the dough rise: Cover the rolls with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for 12 hours OR pre-heat oven to 200 F. Once the oven reaches the temperature, turn off heat and place the rolls inside with the door closed. Let rise for 60-90 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Bake the rolls for 15-20 minutes or until the lightly golden. Pour Nutella glaze over the rolls. Store leftovers at room temperature in a tightly covered container.
To Make the Nutella Glaze
- Stir the ingredients together in a medium saucepan over low heat until smooth. Stir in the nuts. Use while still warm.
Oh. My. Gosh. I donāt know if I can handle these! They look so amazingly ridiculous, I canāt stand it! Making ASAP!
I hope you love it, Brendon!
Made these this morning while on vacation. They were del.icio.us and the whole family loved them. Thanks for a yummy quick chocolate fix!
I am so glad you loved it,Brendon!