Nutella Pain Brioche Braid. Soft and tender brioche bread made with spelt flour, filled with Nutella, and baked as a braid. Enjoy it in the morning with tea or coffee, or as an afternoon snack. Indulgent like a dessert, simple and cozy like a slice of bread with chocolate. The spelt flour gives this brioche a warm golden color and a delightful nutty flavor.
Song of the day: Such A Simple Thing - Ray LaMontagne
What is your favorite meal of the day? Mine is by far breakfast, and since it plays a huge part in the meal planning, we take good care in making it the most delicious possible. Pan brioché is a favorite in our house. Soft, tender brioche bread filled with Nutella and braided, then baked till nice and golden and served with just a dusting of icing sugar on top.
[This post was first published on March 8, 2015. It has been updated for write up, pictures, and recipe.]
Pain Brioché
Brioche bread is probably my most favorite bake. I like making yeast dough, the patience and care it requires. And I love the end result, that pillowy soft dough, rich and fragrant. In order to make this pain brioché I used spelt flour which gives a warm golden color and a delightful flavor. Similarly, I've made a brioche wreath, with spelt flour and honey, filled with chocolate hazelnut spread.
By hand or in a stand mixer
Of course, you can either make the dough by hand or in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. The important part is that, in any case, you need to work the dough for about 10 minutes, or until it is shiny and smooth, and not sticky anymore.
- Then, form the dough into a ball, place it into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a towel, and set it to rise for 2 hours in a warm place away from air draughts. I always use the oven, turned off and with the light on.
- After two hours it will have doubled in size.
Roll and spread
- When the dough has risen, punch it down and quickly knead it a few more seconds, then roll it with a rolling pin trying to get a rectangle of dough about 3 mm thick. I roll it on parchment paper so I don’t have to transfer it after.
- Spread the Nutella on the surface with an offset spatula, leaving about 2 centimeters of empty border all around.
Roll, cut, and braid
- At this point, roll the dough on itself lengthwise to form a roll (log).
- After, place it in front of you and with a sharp knife cut the center lengthwise, leaving intact the edge farthest from you, so that the two halves of pasta are not completely separated but remain attached to one of the two borders.
- Then, braid the two edges without tightening and try to keep the dough with the Nutella facing up.
- Next, if you don’t have it already on parchment paper, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, gently place the pain brioche braid on it and let rise for 1 more hour at room temperature, protected from air draughts. Preheat the oven to 190° C (375° F).
- Lastly, bake the pain brioche braid for 20-25 minutes, watching that it doesn’t brown too much. I usually check it after 15 minutes.
- Allow the brioche to cool down on a rack. Finally, dust with icing sugar and enjoy.
The fragrance
Even though you should wait for the pain brioché to cool off before cutting it, I like it when the chocolate is warm and oozing and the brioche is tender and fragrant. It smells sweet and nutty, but it's really not sweet at all. In the end, it's like having a piece of bread with chocolate, but with a more elevated taste. The Nutella on the surface caramelizes, there is a nice crust on the outside while the crumb is soft and delicate.
If I'd have to pick my favorite breakfasts, this Nutella Pain Brioche Braid is definitely at the top of the list. Nonetheless, I also like it in the afternoon with tea or coffee, or as a light dessert at the end of a meal.
Enjoy your day and this Pain Brioche Braid!
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Nutella Pain Brioche Braid
Soft and tender brioche bread made with spelt flour, filled with Nutella, and baked as a braid. Enjoy it in the morning with tea or coffee, or as an afternoon snack. The spelt flour gives this brioche a warm golden color and a delightful nutty flavor.
- Total Time: 3 hours 55 minutes
Ingredients
- 300 g spelt flour (or type 0, or all-purpose)
- 120 g warm milk
- 12 g fresh yeast or 4 g dry yeast
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons cane sugar
- 40 g unsalted butter at room temperature
- ½ tsp salt
- 4 tablespoons Nutella, melt in the microwave or bain-marie
Instructions
- Put the flour in a bowl. Make a hole in the middle.
- Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk, then pour it into the hole in the center of the flour.
- Add sugar, salt, egg, butter and mix everything with your hands.
- Transfer the dough to a work surface and mix vigorously for at least 10 minutes, until it is very smooth and not sticky anymore. If you don't want to knead by hand, you can put all the ingredients in the stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
- With the dough form a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the dough with a clean cloth and let it rise for 2 hours at room temperature, protected from air draughts. I place it in the oven, turned off, and the oven light on.
- When the dough has risen, punch it down and quickly knead it a few more seconds, then roll it with a rolling pin trying to get a rectangle of dough about 3 mm thick. I roll it on parchment paper so I don't have to transfer it after.
- Once the dough is stretched, spread the Nutella with an offset spatula, leaving about 2 centimeters of empty border all around.
- Roll the dough on itself lengthwise to form a roll or log, then place it in front of you and with a sharp knife cut the center lengthwise, but leaving intact the edge farthest from you, so that the two halves of dough are not completely separated but remain attached to one of the two borders.
- Braid the two edges without tightening and try to keep the dough with the Nutella facing up.
- If you don't have it already on parchment paper, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, gently place the pain brioche braid on it, and let rise for 1 more hour at room temperature, protected from air draughts.
- Preheat the oven to 190° C (375° F).
- Bake the pain brioche braid for 20-25 minutes, watching that it doesn’t brown too much. I usually check it after 15 minutes.
- Allow the brioche to cool down on a rack. Dust with icing sugar and enjoy.
Notes
Before baking it, you can brush the surface of the brioche with an egg wash (egg yolk with a teaspoon of milk) and sprinkle sugar before putting it in the oven. I like it simple, so I just add a little dusting of icing sugar after.
The pain brioche lasts a few days at room temperature. I keep it in a paper bread bag. You can warm it up in the oven, but it’s also good cold.
- Prep Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Breakfast, brunch
- Method: Baking
Keywords: brioche, bread, breakfast, brunch, nutella, delicious, pain brioche
I love baking and kneading dough because it takes me to a happy place in my soul.
June @ How to Philosophize with Cake says
Wow that looks just divine! 🙂
Thank you so much, June! I must say it tastes divine as well 🙂
Silvia says
After the dough has doubled, do I need to punch it down and kneed more? أيضا, do I need to let the dough rest after I dviide it into smaller pieces before I roll it out? I've tried a similar recipe and had very few actually puff up. It seems to work better the longer I let the rolled uncooked bread rest but my bread wanted to stick to the counter no matter how well I floured the surface. The parchment looks like a good idea.
No, you don't need to punch it down and kneed more after the second rise. After the second rise it's time to bake it in the oven. If you're doing little pain brioche buns, I would divide the dough right away, let it rise once, then punch it down and kneed more, then spread the nutella, shape them the way you want, let them rise again and finally bake them in the oven. Hope I was clear enough 🙂 .
Susan Dubose says
What a beautiful brioche loaf! You can never go wrong with Nutella. Definitely adding this one to try. Thanks for the step by step photos. It’s so helpful.
★★★★★
You are very welcome! Hope you try it, with Nutella or any chocolate hazelnut spread. I have made it countless times during the years, and always a favorite.
Amy says
I love Nutella. Nutella was a staple in my house growing up and I continued the tradition with my children. My kids also love Nutella and this a great idea for Nutella. Who can resist warm bread and the taste of Nutella. Definitely adding this to my recipe bucket list of items to make next!
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It's really amazing, even with a different chocolate spread, it doesn't have to be Nutella. We love it!
Vanessa says
Who would not want this on their breakfast table! So gorgeous as well. The only struggle will be getting some before my boys devour it!
★★★★★
Thanks! It's pretty and tastes even better. For me, one of the best breakfasts! 🙂
Kristen says
This bread is absolutely gorgeous, delicious and made easy with your step by step recipe and photos. Thank you so much for sharing. Pinned to make later this weekend.
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Thanks! People already showed me that they made it and looked great, so I guess the step by step is helpful 😉 . Hope you try it!
Vijitha says
What a beautiful loaf! I love anything with hazelnut flavor! Nutella and similar chocolate hazelnut spreads are our fam favs, I'm pinning this to try it for breakfast soon. I think I may dream of this tonight 🙂
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NANCY says
oh this braided bread looks beautiful. Thanks for the step by step instructions!!