Nutella Swirl Bread
I finally did it!!! A Nutella swirl bread that’s ultra soft and tender and still cooks perfectly through the whole loaf. I used bread flour for a chewier and spongier bread. And spattered some cinnamon butter through the top before baking. With this recipe you’ll learn how to make a Nutella swirl bread in just a few hours and after you see how easy it is to make this bread you won’t be able to stop thinking of how soon can you make it again!
I’ve been testing this recipe for quite a while and it has been a bumpy ride. Why, you might be asking, especially when there are many recipes for swirled or braided Nutella bread out there. And the reason is that to get a crumb as soft and tender as the one in this bread, I knew I’ll would need more liquid and fat than other traditional recipes call for. This caused multiple times of ending with a bread that was golden on the outside but still a bit raw on the inside. And I learned through my research that this issue is pretty common with food lovers like me trying to make a soft and tender Nutella swirl bread. But the areas that were well done were in fact so perfectly soft and tender that I knew I had to find my way around without decreasing liquids and fats.
Another thing is that I wanted to make this recipe with bread flour instead of all-purpose. If this is a bread you have to respect the bread part, amirite?! The bread flour is what gives a nice bite to this bread thanks to its higher protein content. It’s what makes the crumb chewier and tender. And I wanted to let bread flour shine since there are not many recipes that are easy and accesible that call for bread flour. The more traditional quick yeasted breads call for all-purpose flour most of the times, such as cinnamon rolls or brioche.
The cool thing after all the work is that you will end up with two loaves of this swirly bread. Or one loaf and various Nutella rolls if you don’t have a second loaf pan or if you just want to make this two ways, totally your call! You just have to cut one of the logs in 1 ½” rolls instead of slitting it transversally. Place them in a baking dish for proofing and baking and you are good to go!
I think this is a pretty easy recipe, especially when you think that most of the work is made by your mixer and most of the time you are just waiting for it to rise. It’s a process that will take a few hours so you need a bit of planning. But again, most of the time is downtime for you! Let me share all the steps I took while making this beauty.
How to Make a Nutella Swirl Bread
I started by melting the butter to give it time to cool down. It needs to be cooled down before adding to the mix.
Then I created a “sponge”, that even if the term sounds fancy it’s just a step where you mix some of the flour with the coconut milk, the water, the sugar and the yeast. This will get the yeast going and deeply hydrate the flour, which not only is key in that soft and tender result we are looking for but will make your bread soft and tender for dayzzzz! I used pure canned organic coconut milk and the coconut fat does wonders for the texture of this bread, but you can use full fat regular milk as well.
After 20 to 25 minutes I returned the bowl to the mixer and added the rest of the ingredients and left the mixer kneading for about 25 minutes.
I let my dough rise in the warmest corner of my home with no air draft around, which for me is a spot near a window in the floor of my bedroom and I actually close the door to have no air draft. I cover the bowl with plastic paper and I like to wrap it with a thin cardigan and my throw blanket from my family room to keep it nice and warm because yeast loves a warm environment. What can I say? I like to treat dough like part of my family!
After one hour, when the dough doubled in size, I slightly punched it with the tip of my fingers to redistribute the yeast. I then stretched it and spreaded the Nutella, rolled it and tightened the seam at the end. What I do is to cut this long log in half to have two logs of about 9”. I placed one roll vertically in front of me and slit it transversally, twisted the two slices up like making a braid and transferred to a loaf pan with a parchment paper. I did the same with the other log and let them rise for 40 minutes in the same warm environment. This time I used kitchen towels to cover them.
Right before baking preheat oven at 375°. I slathered some melted butter with cinnamon through the surface of each loaf, that’s why it looks so golden even before baking.
Now, you know I don’t like the idea of changing the oven temperature in between baking time, but this time it was necessary to make sure the dough would cook through the center. I started baking the loaves at 375° and dropped the temperature after 15 minutes to 350° and baked for 12 more minutes. I covered the loaves with aluminum foil during the last 5 minutes because the tops were too deep golden brown already, but you don’t need to do this if the tops are not getting burnt.
After taking out of the oven I brushed more of the cinnamon butter and let the loaves cool down completely in their loaf tin, another key step for making sure the bread is done through the center.
I can’t tell you how happy I’m with this Nutella swirl bread recipe! I know I’ll start building up from it but I needed to share it with you now! I’m sure you’ll love it and will have lots of fun making it! And please don’t forget to share with me how your Nutella swirl bread adventure goes!
Nutella Swirl Bread with Cinnamon Butter
Ingredients
◯ Butter, melted – 1 stick (4 ounces, 8 TBSP) + 5 TBSP
◯ Pure canned coconut milk, preferably organic (see how-to notes) – 1 cup
◯ Water – 4 TBSP
◯ Raw sugar – ½ cup
◯ Instant dry yeast – 2 ¼ Tsp (1 envelop)
◯ Unbleached bread flour – ½ cup + 3 ½ cups
◯ Fine sea salt – 1 Tsp
◯ Egg, at room temperature – 1 large
◯ Nutella - about ¾ cup
◯ Cinnamon -1 Tsp
◯ Vegetable oil to grease the bottom of a large bowl
Details
Yield:
2 - 8” loaves
Total Time:
3.5 hours, including proofing times
Active time:
30 minutes in intervals
Baking time:
25 minutes
Equipment:
stand mixer with the hook attachment, large bowl, two loaf pans or one loaf pan and a baking dish, parchment paper, pastry brush
Steps
To make the dough:
Melt the stick of butter and set aside to let it cool down.
Grease the bottom of a large bowl with vegetable oil.
In the bowl of the stand mixer mix the cup of milk, the 4 tablespoons of water, the ½ cup of sugar and the 2 ¼ teaspoons of the instant dry yeast until the granules are soaked in the liquid. Add the ½ cup of flour and mix until it is soaked in the flour as well. Cover with a plastic paper and wrap the bowl in a thick kitchen towel or blanket. Place in a warm corner of your home without any air draft if possible for about 20 to 25 minutes, until foamy and spongy.
In the meantime grease the bottom of a large bowl with vegetable oil. In another bowl mix the 3 ½ cups of flour with the teaspoon of salt. Cut 2 pieces of parchment paper 8” long (or just one if doing one loaf) and place them in the middle of each loaf pan.
Attach the mixer bowl to the mixer with the hook attached. Add the egg and the cooled down melted butter and mix just to incorporate everything. Add the remaining flour mixture. Knead in slow speed (#2 in the Kitchen Aid) for 25 minutes, until dough is smooth and uniform.
Sprinkle a bit of flour over your counter and transfer the dough to it and with a kneading motion fold the edges to the center, until the dough has a nice round form. Turn it over and place it in the greased bowl. Cover it with plastic paper and wrap the bowl with double kitchen towels or a throw blanket to keep it warm. Let it rise in the previous warm spot for about 1 hour, until doubled in size.
Rolling and making the bread:
Dust some flour in a flat, clean and dry surface. Slightly punch the dough with your fingers. Transfer to the floured surface and with a rolling pin stretch it from the inside out, until you have something of a rectangular shape about 18” x 15”. If needed use a pairing knife or pizza cutter to cut the dough and shape it like a rectangle. Spread the Nutella with the back of a spoon or an offset spatula. Starting with the longest side, roll the dough until the end, stretching, pinching and gently pressing the seam into the log. Using a very sharp knife or dental floss, cut the log in half. Place one vertically in front of you and cut it transversally in half. Take the top of the right side and cross it over the side of the left, tucking it below in a pressing and sealing motion. Take the left side and cross it over the right side as far as you can. From there just cross over the sides like making a braid, also tucking the bottom of the dough. Transfer the log to the loaf pan with the parchment paper. Repeat with the other log. (If making rolls, just cut it in 1 ½” rolls with the dental floss and place in a baking dish.) Loosely cover the loaves with plastic paper and wrap again in the kitchen towels and blanket.
Preheat oven to 375°.
Melt the remaining 5 tablespoons of butter and mix with the teaspoon of cinnamon.
Uncover the loaves and brush all the surface with most of the cinnamon butter, reserving a bit for when you take the bread out. Bake for 15 minutes, then decrease oven temperature to 350° and bake for 10 minutes, until deep golden brown and the top feels firm to the touch (rolls should be done by this point). If you feel the top is burning too fast or that it can use some extra minutes in the oven, cover the loaves with aluminum foil and bake for about 5 more minutes.
Retire from oven and brush more of the cinnamon butter. Let them cool down completely in their loaf pan before taking out.
Have a piece with some butter and enjoy every bite, you deserve it! This bread will be good for a few days, especially if stored in an airtight container or sealed plastic bag. You can reheat it in a counter top oven at 350° for less than 5 minutes and let it cool down a bit (my favorite method!) or reheat in the microwave for 10-seconds intervals.
