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Nutella Star Bread

This beautiful Nutella Star Bread is the perfect Christmas breakfast or brunch that will surely impress everyone. It’s surprisingly easy to make and only takes roughly 1 hour to make. Soft, pillowy bread pairs with the roasted hazelnut and chocolate flavors of Nutella.

Nutella Star Bread

Special mornings call for a special breakfast or brunch. This Nutella Star Bread is just that and is perfect for your Christmas morning. I guarantee you will impress your family with this one! It is visually beautiful.

I do believe that holidays should be enjoyed and you shouldn’t have to spend the whole day cooking. As much as I love cooking, I enjoy having a break from it especially on holidays, so that I can enjoy time with family. I made sure that this bread does not take your entire day, and it can be made in the morning before everyone else gets up for the day, or you can make it the night before. The bread stays soft!

Whenever I make bread, I feel like I’m always on a time limit. Well, that’s because in some ways I am. My 17-month old is a climber. He likes to climb on top of chairs, on top of the couch, and really anywhere that he can give me a heart attack, haha! His most recent daring move was to climb to the top of the cushioned rocking chair and sit at the very top of the chair. Then he would swing his legs and rock the chair from the top. Me, as the mom, only saw one thing happening – him falling off of the chair. Fortunately he did not, but he keeps me on my toes!

Whenever I make bread, in this stage of my life, I try to come up with ways to get the bread to rise a little faster, while still providing the same soft, pillowy, high quality dough. Well, turns out just a hint of heat from the oven does the trick and the result is perfect. I was able to make this bread in roughly one hour while my son napped. Okay, enough about that. It’s time to get to the details about this Nutella Star Bread!

The details

Mixing the Nutella star bread dough

Since this Nutella Star Bread recipe uses instant yeast, you can add the yeast directly in with all the ingredients. Instant yeast does not need an activation time like active yeast. I recommend adding in the yeast, warm milk, sugar, flour, salt, egg and softened butter. Mix the dough on medium-low speed for 5 minutes. If mixing by hand, you’ll need to mix the dough a bit longer, for roughly 10 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a greased bowl. Spray the top of the dough with nonstick cooking spray then cover with plastic wrap. I prefer covering dough with plastic wrap when the dough is rising, because it provides a solid barrier to prevent air from getting into the dough. This keeps the surface of the dough soft and prevents a crust from forming on the dough.

First rise

An easy trick to speed up the rise time is to preheat the oven to 100F. This allows the dough to rise in roughly half the time. Once the oven is preheated to 100F, turn the oven off, then place the covered dough in the warm oven and allow it to rise for 30 minutes. Alternatively, if you do have a touch more time to make this, you can let the dough rise at room temperature for 60 minutes.

Divide the dough and roll it out

After rising, punch the Nutella Star Bread dough down, then divide the dough into 4 roughly equal pieces. Roll the 4 pieces of dough on a floured surface into a 10-inch circle.

Transfer one of the 10-inch circles to a piece of parchment paper. This will make it easier to transfer to the sheet pan once assembled.

Next, you’ll spread Nutella on three of the dough circles. Nutella at room temperature is a bit tough to spread on the soft dough, so I recommend warming the Nutella up for 30-45 seconds in the microwave. Spread the softened Nutella on the dough circle that you placed on the parchment paper. Place a dough circle on top of the Nutella, then spread Nutella on this piece of dough. Repeat with remaining dough circles. Do NOT spread Nutella on the top dough circle.

Shaping

Shaping the Nutella Star Bread dough seems like it would be complicated, but it’s actually quite easy. Place a 3 inch circle cookie cutter in the center of the dough. Using a knife, cut the dough into 16 strips, cutting from the edge of the cookie cutter to the edge of the dough.

Take two pieces adjacent to each other and twist them away from each other, two times. Press the edges of the dough together to seal the two pieces together. Once finished, you should have 8 points, for the star. Slide parchment paper onto sheet pan.

second rise

For the second rise, I again recommend covering the Nutella Star Bread with plastic wrap so the dough does not form a crust on it. Preheat your oven to 100F. Turn the oven off, then place the shaped star bread in the warm oven. Allow it to rise for 15 minutes, then remove from oven.

preheat oven and bake

Preheat the oven to 400F. While the oven preheats, brush the dough with a beaten egg. This will help the surface of the dough turn a nice shiny, golden brown color. Place the dough in the preheated oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

serving

Before serving, sprinkle powdered sugar over star bread. This step is optional, but it adds a beautiful appearance to the bread.

Here are a few of my favorite sweet bread recipes

Here are a few of my favorite Christmas recipes

Nutella Star Bread

Let me know what you thought!

If you make these Nutella Star Bread, let me know what you thought in the ratings and comments below. I absolutely love reading all of your comments! Also, make sure to snap a picture and tag me @simplebakingwithpep on instagram. It truly makes my day to see all of your wonderful creations.

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Nutella Star Bread


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 4 reviews

  • Author: Jolene
  • Total Time: 1 hour 2 minutes
  • Yield: 8 1x

Description

This beautiful Nutella Star Bread is the perfect Christmas breakfast or brunch that will surely impress everyone. It’s surprisingly easy to make and only takes roughly 1 hour to make. Soft, pillowy bread pairs with the roasted hazelnut and chocolate flavors of Nutella.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast (1 packet)
  • 3/4 cups milk, warmed to 110F
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Filling

  • 4 1/2 tablespoons Nutella

Egg Wash

  • 1 egg, beaten

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook attachment, or a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients to the bowl.

2. Knead the dough on medium speed for 5 minutes. Transfer dough to a greased bowl. Spray top of dough with nonstick spray, then cover with plastic wrap.

3. Preheat oven to 100F, then turn oven off. Place dough in warm oven and allow to rise for 30 minutes.

4. Punch down dough, then divide into 4 roughly equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 10 inch circle. Place one circle on a piece of parchment paper.

5. Place Nutella in a microwave safe bowl (you will need about 4 ½ tablespoons) and microwave in 20 second increments to soften Nutella, so that it is spreadable on dough. Spread 1 – 1 ½ tablespoons softened Nutella on the dough circle that is on the parchment paper. Place a rolled out piece of dough on top of the Nutella. Spread softened Nutella  (about 1 – 1 ½  tablespoons) on this piece of dough. Place another rolled out piece of dough on top of Nutella. Spread softened Nutella (1 – 1 ½ tablespoons) on this piece of dough. You should now have 3 pieces of dough that have Nutella on them. Place the last piece of rolled out dough on top. Do not spread Nutella on this piece of dough.

6. To shape the dough, place a 3” round circle cookie cutter in the center of the dough. Cut 16 strips from the edge of the cookie cutter to the edge of the dough. Grab two adjacent pieces of dough and twist them away from each other, twice, so that the top side is facing up again. Pinch the edges of the dough together. You should have 8 points. Cover the dough with plastic wrap. Transfer the dough and parchment paper to a baking sheet.

7. Preheat the oven to 100F, then turn oven off. Place baking sheet in warm oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, then brush beaten egg over dough.

8. Preheat oven to 400F.

9. Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown in color. Dust with confectioners’ sugar.

  • Prep Time: 50
  • Cook Time: 12
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

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22 Comments

  1. Thank you for sharing. I’m so planning to try this recipe this weekend. Looks delicious!

    Now, have you tried doing this recipe with sourdough starter? I’m thinking of trying it out.
    Aline

    1. Aline, I have not tried the recipe with sourdough starter, so unfortunately I’m not sure of an exact recipe for that. I’m hoping to share some sourdough recipes in the new year, though, so stay tuned for those :). Hope you enjoy the star bread!
      -Jolene

    2. It looks so festive! Will be trying it out definitely! A quick question… can I substitute an egg with flax seed “egg”, or this would not work in bread recipes? Thank you.

  2. This looks amazing. I want to make it for my niece – a bread and Nutella freak! But how does it do made ahead of time? Can I make it the day before or is this one for same day? Thanks!

    1. Nana,

      Thanks so much for asking! You can certainly make this the day before. It tastes just as good the next day. I hope your niece enjoys it and you have fun making it :).

      -Jolene

  3. I love how this star bread turned out! I added a bit of orange zest to the dough and applied thin layers of Nutella to the layers. It was so tasty!






  4. I just made it for new years evening dessert and I must say it was amazing following your recipe, you made it super simple to follow and it smells and looks delicious, can’t wait to taste it






    1. Gabby,

      Thank you so much for the kind comment! To be honest, I have not tried freezing this after making it and thawing it out. However, I believe it should work well! Just thaw in the refrigerator the night before. This dough is similar to my cinnamon roll doughs and they always thaw out well after being baked. Hope that helps and hope you enjoy!

      -Jolene

    1. Joann,

      That’s a good question! Each layer takes about 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons Nutella. I just updated it in the recipe. I hope you enjoy this Nutella Star Bread!

      -Jolene

    1. Deb,

      I personally have not tried freezing the dough right before baking (it may work, I’ve just not tried it so can’t properly tell you if it will work out well or not). You can freeze the baked Nutella Star Bread after baking and allowing to cool to room temperature for up to 3 months. It freezes great! Just thaw in the refrigerator the night before and warm in the oven. Dust with powdered sugar right before serving.

      Hope this helps and hope you enjoy!

      -Jolene

    1. Catherine,

      If you mix by hand, add all ingredients to a large bowl, then use a bowl scraper, wooden spoon or your hand to mix the dough until it forms together. Once it forms together, place the dough on a floured surface. Use the heel of your palm to press and push the dough away from you. Turn the dough and repeat. Continue kneading the dough like this for 10 minutes. It’s a bit of a workout, but it can be done! I hope you enjoy! 🙂

      -Jolene

  5. This looks so delicious! I’m hoping to make it for Christmas breakfast. Could I make the dough into the star shape and then refrigerate it overnight and bake in the morning? Thank you!

    1. Liz,

      Thank you so much! That will make for a fun and tasty Christmas breakfast :).

      In terms of make ahead instructions I do not recommend shaping it then letting it sit overnight in the fridge. The reason is because the dough will most likely lose it’s beautiful shape as it rises in the fridge. After making the dough, you can place it in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow it to sit overnight in the fridge. The next day, take it out and let it sit 20 minutes on the counter to warm up. Then, you can proceed with dividing the dough into sections, rolling out and spreading on the filling.

      The other alternative is to just make it the night before. It will still be good the next morning. Just reheat it in the oven for a few minutes to warm it up.

      I hope all of this helps and Merry Christmas!

      -Jolene

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