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Home » Desserts & Cakes

Published: Aug 7, 2024 by chhavi

Nutella Babka- Chocolate Brioche Bread

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Nutella Babka—This Nutella Babka is for everyone who loves chocolate and bread. It's a melt-in-your-mouth, rich, soft, sweet bread made with brioche dough filled with Nutella. Homemade babkas are the best thing in the world!

close up of a cut up nutella babka on a marble chopping board

Why this recipe works

1. Tried and tested, extremely reliable recipe that I have been using for more than a decade!
2. Better than any store-bought babka. The bread is soft with swirls of Nutella inside.
3. It's easy to make!

It cures EVERYTHING! from a hangover to a broken heart! Really!

I like it served slightly warm, with gooey Nutella. It's perfect for a tea party and picnics.

This is one bread recipe that even beginners can make. The recipe is inspired by my viral dark chocolate babka recipe. It is one of the oldest and most loved recipes on the site.

Ingredients

Here is what you will need to make this Delicious Nutella Babka.

Ingredients needed to make nutella babka- nutella, butter, flour, eggs , yeast and sugar

Butter- You can use both salted and unsalted butter. I like little salt in my babka.

One thing to note is that your butter should be cold. Cut it into small ¼—or ½-inch cubes. Using cold cubed butter has a specific purpose. It will make the babka bread crispy on the top.

Milk- Use room temperature or cold milk. Please use whole or high fat milk. Add the milk slowly. Do not just dump the whole thing in.

Yeast-Use fresh, dry, active yeast. I have used fast-acting active yeast and regular active dry yeast with equal success. Don't use that old sachet of yeast lying behind your pantry. Old yeast is notorious for ruining bread!

How to make Nutella Babka

Let me take you through the steps to make a Nutella Babka.

Step 1: Prep

Gather all the ingredients and measure them. Cut the cold butter into cubes. Cold butter is essential to this recipe. Don't skip on this!

Either clean up some space on the counter to knead the dough or get your stand mixer ready to go or use a huge bowl like I do. Line the baking pan with parchment paper or brush it with butter.

Flour, Yeast & Butter in a large bowl
Mix and Rub the butter into the flour to make chocolate babka dough

Step 2 : Make the Dough

You can do this the easy way—in a stand mixer or by hand.

Stand Mixer Method: Add the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar to the stand mixer bowl. Using the hook attachment, give it a whizz to mix it up. Add cold butter and mix it for another 30 seconds. Add the eggs, one at a time. Add ¾ cup of milk milk.

Let the hook attachment work for 5-6 minutes. It would be best if you did this to develop gluten.

2 eggs broken in the flour mixture.

By hand: Add flour, yeast, salt, and sugar to a large bowl and mix well.

Add cold butter cubes, pinch, and rub the flour and butter to get a clumpy consistency. This should take 1-2 minutes. Mix the eggs and ¾ cup of the milk to make the dough. If the dough is dry, add more milk little by little.

If the dough is too sticky, add flour; if it's too tough, add more milk. The dough might feel sticky at first. It will become smoother the more you knead it.

Knead the dough for about 10-15 minutes, stretching and folding it repeatedly to develop Gluten.

When kneading by hand, you need to do it for longer because kneading by hand is a slower process.

Step 2: Proofing the Dough or the first rise

Cover the dough with a damp cloth or cling film and keep it on the counter for 1-2 hours. Let the yeast do it's business until it rises and doubles in size.

On a hot day, this could take 1 hour or less. On a cold day, it could take up to 4 hours. Make sure the dough is well covered, otherwise you will end up dry dough.

Step 3: Shaping the Chocolate Brioche Bread

Divide the dough into two equal portions. You can make two babka breads with this amount.

Roll the dough on a floured surface into a large rectangle(or something resembling a rectangle).

For the filling

This is a simple, right-out-of-the-jar filling. Scoop some Nutella onto the rolled dough and spread it with a butter knife.

You should leave about an inch of space on the outside. This is done so that the seams can be sealed well.

Shaping the Chocolate Brioche

Pick a side and gently roll the dough into a log. Press the seam and put the seam side down. Slice the dough along the length using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter.

Pinch the ends together and braid it. Just go one side over the other alternatively.

Place it in the loaf pan or the cake pan you plan to use. Tuck the ends under.

Repeat for loaf 2. Cover with cling film. And it will look even more impressive once you bake it. Trust me..this is a very forgiving recipe! As long as your yeast is good, you are good to go!

Step 4: Second Rise

After shaping, let the babka rise for the second time. This time, it will fill the loaf pan you used. Again, the time it takes depends on how hot your kitchen is. At 25 degrees Celsius, it takes about 1-3 hours.
Preheat the oven at the end of one hour to 350 F or 180 Degree C.

Step 5:Baking the Nutella Babka

Tent the babka with aluminum foil. Place it on the middle rack and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Remove the aluminum foil at the 20-minute mark.

Nutella babka, ready to bake

Step 6: Brushing with syrup

Meanwhile, add the sugar and water in a pan and heat it till the sugar dissolves and the syrup starts bubbling. This will take 10-12 minutes.

Once the babka comes out, brush it with the syrup immediately. Let it cool on a wire rack before cutting. This syrup will make the babka shiny and keep it moist.

Nutella babka on a marble chopping board

How to Store & Freeze Babka

The babka will stay in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. To serve it, microwave the babka for 30 seconds to 1 minute. You can also freeze the babka at various stages. You can freeze the dough if you like and use it another time.

You can also freeze the raw, shaped, or fully baked babka in a tightly wrapped pan. To bake it, just let it come to room temperature and then bake it as per the recipe instructions.

Looking to bake more this ? Here are some more dessert recipes that you are going to love!
Chocolate Babka Recipe - using dark chopped chocolate. A reader fav!
Apple Cinnamon Babka- Perfect cozy cold weather bread.
The best Chocolate Cake - perfect for birthday cakes
Japanese Cheesecake - My husband's fav! A recipe as old as our marriage!

If you make this delicious Nutella babka recipe, do leave me a comment. I would love to hear from you!

Tried it? I’d love to know! Tag me or drop a comment below — your feedback totally makes my day.

Mention #yellowthyme or tag @yellowthyme on Instagram or follow me on Pinterest.


Nutella Babka- Chocolate Brioche Bread

Chocolate Brioche Bread -Sweet, Rich Yeasty bread filled with Nutella
4.34 from 3 votes
Pin Recipe Rate Recipe Print Recipe
Prep Time: 1 hour hour
Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes
Proofing Time: 2 hours hours
Total Time: 1 hour hour 40 minutes minutes
Servings: 2 Loaves
Calories: 1805kcal
Author: Chhavi

Equipment

  • Oven

Ingredients 

  • 3 ½ Cups (440 g) All Purpose Flour Refined White Flour (read notes)
  • 2 Teaspoon (2 teaspoon) Instant Active Yeast
  • 2 Teaspoon (2 teaspoon) Salt Reduce if using Salted Butter
  • 1 Tablespoon (1 tablespoon) Granulated Sugar
  • 2 Tablespoon (2 tablespoon) Butter Unsalted, Cold
  • 2 (2) Eggs
  • 12 Ounces (340 ml) Milk 1.5 cups; add little at a time.

Filling( for 2 babka loaves )

  • 24 Ounces (700 g) Nutella 700 gms; 2 Full jars; one for each loaf.

Syrup

  • 2 Ounces (60 ml) Water ¼ cup
  • 2 Ounces (50 g) of Sugar ¼ Cup

Instructions

Kneading Using a Stand Mixer(Option 1)

  • Add the flour, yeast, salt, sugar and cubed cold butter in the stand mixer.
  • Pulse till the butter disintegrates and mixes with the flour.(but you should see the specks)
  • Add the eggs one by one.
  • Slowly add in the ¾ cup of milk . The dough should start to come together now. Process for 1 minute. If it seems too dry add 1 tablespoon of milk in increments till you get a soft dough.
  • Take the dough out.

Kneading with Hand(Option 2)

  • Mix in the flour, yeast,sugar and salt in a large sturdy bowl.Add the cold cubed butter.
  • Now pinch the butter with your index finger and thumb and mix it with the flour. Rub the butter in the flour till you don't have any big cubes of butter left but small clumps of it.
  • Add the eggs and ¾ cup milk. Start by mixing and wetting all the ingredients. Once the dough starts to come together , add more milk in 1 tablespoon increments if the dough is dry or if it's too wet add more flour.
  • Knead the dough well for about 10 minute. Stretch and fold..and Repeat.This is done to develop Gluten.If this step is omitted the bread will be chewy instead of pillowy.

Proofing the Bread

  • Use a large bowl for this step. It should be big enough to fit a triple amount of the dough.
  • Keep the kneaded bread in a bowl, covered with wet kitchen towel for 2-4 hours.
  • The slower way is to keep the dough in a covered bowl(use cling film) in the refridgerator for 8-10 hours.

Rolling the Dough and last proof

  • If in the refrigerator, take the dough out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature.
  • Knead the dough for 2 minutes to make it pliable.Divide it into two halves.
  • Make a ball(rectangularish) of the one half and roll it into a rectangle. About ¼ inch thick.
  • Spread the Nutella in the rectangle by leaving 1 inch space. Be generous.
  • Optional step : Keep it in the fridge for 10 minutes to make it easier to cut.
  • Cut the log along it's length and then braid it. Take one over the other alternatively.
    Tuck the ends under. Lift this into a prepared loaf pan lined with parchment paper. Cover again with cling film or damp kitchen towel. It's okay if it doesnt look spectacular yet. It will,once it rises.
  • Let it rise for another 30 min-1 hour.

Baking

  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius or 356 F.
  • Place the babka on a baking tray.Tent it with aluminium foil.
  • Bake the babka in the oven for about 35-40 minutes.Remove the aluminimu foil at the 20 minute mark.
  • Bread is done if the skewer inserted comes in clean.Also when you knock on the back of the bread and it feels hollow.

Syrup

  • Make this ahead of time so that it can be brushed over the bread as soon as it's out of the oven.
  • Heat the sugar and water in a sauce pan together till the sugar crystals dissolve and the syrup thickens.
  • Brush it generously over the babka for the beautiful glossy look.

Notes

Milk - Start by adding ¾ cup of milk.If needed, add more 1 tablespoon at a time.You might not need to use up 1 ½ cup of milk fully.
All Purpose Flour-  Don't use whole wheat flour or any other substitution. The texture will not be the same.
Nutella - Feel free to use any other chocolate spread to make this babka too.

Tips and Tricks

Use the Slap-and-Fold Method: Flap the dough down on the counter and fold. Do this a couple of times until the dough turns from sticky to smooth.
Sticky Dough - A sticky dough will become smoother when you knead it. Also, it will get better once you let it rise the first time.
Slow Ferment—Overnight Refrigerator Ferment will make your babka super soft. If you use this method for the first rise, let the dough come to room temperature before rolling.
Cold dough will be super difficult to roll.
Switch up the filling—Add Cinnamon and nutmeg for special holiday cheer. You can also add sea salt and orange or lemon zest.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Loaf | Calories: 1805kcal | Carbohydrates: 280g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 57g | Saturated Fat: 44g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 214mg | Sodium: 2595mg | Potassium: 1016mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 104g | Vitamin A: 866IU | Calcium: 395mg | Iron: 16mg

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Hi, I'm Chhavi! Thank you for visiting Yellowthyme!Here you will find a collection of easy & delicious recipes made with fresh, simple ingredients.

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