Homemade Nutella Star Bread: Perfect for Christmas Morning Breakfast

Author:

Liza is a baking enthusiast. She loves watching "The Great British Baking Show," which inspires many of her baking projects.

Beautiful twisted star bread with Nutella filling.

Beautiful and Delicious Star Bread

Don't know what to have for breakfast on Christmas morning? Well, I have a perfect recipe for you.

The crust of this bread is soft and light, and the Nutella filling is a lovely holiday treat. Making the beautiful star shape is very easy, and I've provided a photo guide below to help you do it. Just use both hands to twist and create the points of each strip. Trust me, it's easier than it sounds, and you'll be impressed with the results!

Happy Holidays

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season. No matter how you are celebrating, this Nutella star bread will add a special touch to your table.

Ingredients

For the dough:

2 cups bread flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/4 cup non-fat dry milk powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar or honey
2 teaspoons dried active yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For the filling:

Nutella or any chocolate spread

For the topping:

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
Toasted almonds or nuts (optional)
Chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

In a stand mixer bowl fitted with a dough hook, combine the bread flour, all-purpose flour, milk powder, sugar, yeast, and salt.
Knead on low to combine. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
Gently, pour the water into the well and mix with a spatula. Pour in the melted butter and knead on medium-low for 10 minutes until it forms a sticky and elastic dough.
Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured counter or dough mat. Knead the dough until it forms a smooth ball. Use a dough scraper to help and scrape the excess dough on the mat. (A dough scraper will help when you use your hands to knead the dough.)
Transfer the dough into a greased large bowl. Cover with cling wrap and let it sit for 90 minutes or until it doubles in size.
Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured counter or dough mat. Use the dough scraper to divide the dough into four equal pieces.
Use a rolling pin to roll one of the dough balls into a thin,10-inch circle. Place dough circle on a parchment-lined sheet pan.
Use a spatula or a spoon to spread 3 tablespoons of Nutella across the dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border of bare dough.
Roll out a second dough ball into a circle (the same size like the first one) and place it on top of Nutella-covered circle. Spread the top with Nutella like you did with the first dough circle. Repeat layering process with Nutella for the third ball, but leave the final dough circle bare.
Place a 3-inch round cutter or a jam lid in the center of the bare dough circle as a guide. Use a dough scraper or a sharp knife to cut the circle into 16 equal strips. (I made mine 15; I missed one cut!) Make sure to cut through all layers.
Use two hands to pick up two adjacent strips and twist them away from each other 2 times. Repeat with the remaining strips. Pinch the ends of the adjacent strips. At the end, you'll end up with a star shape with eight points (see the photo below).
Cover the bread with a loosely cling wrap or tea towel. Let it sit for 1 hour, or until it doubles in size.
About 30 minutes into a second rise, preheat the oven to 400°F.
Bake the bread for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool the bread on a wire rack while you make the syrup.
In a small pot over medium heat, whisk the sugar and water until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and use a pastry brush to brush the syrup over the bread.
Sprinkle with toasted almonds or nuts and chocolate chips on top as well. Tear the bread and serve with coffee or tea.

Note: For fresh star bread in the morning, make the dough the day before and let it sit overnight in the fridge. The next morning, when you're ready to bake, take it out and start rolling.

Photo Tutorial

In a stand mixer bowl fitted with a dough hook, combine the bread flour, all-purpose flour, milk powder, sugar, yeast, and salt.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.

Knead on medium-low for 10 minutes until it forms a sticky and elastic dough.

Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured counter or dough mat.

Knead the dough until it forms a smooth ball. Use a dough scraper to help and scrape the excess dough on the mat.

Transfer the dough into a greased large bowl. Cover with a cling wrap and let it sit for 90 minutes or until it doubles in size.

Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured counter or dough mat. Use the dough scraper to divide dough into four equal pieces.

Use a rolling pin to roll one of the dough balls into a thin,10-inch circle.

Place dough circle on a parchment-lined sheet pan.

Use a spatula or a spoon to spread 3 tablespoons of Nutella across the dough, leaving 1/4-inch border of bare dough.

Roll out a second dough ball into a circle (the same size like the first one) and place it on top of Nutella-covered circle.

Spread the top with Nutella like you did with the first dough circle.

Repeat layering process with Nutella for the third ball, but leave the final dough circle bare.

Place a 3-inch round cutter or a jam lid in the center of the bare dough circle as a guide. Use a dough scraper or a sharp knife to cut the circle into 16 equal strips.

Use two hands to pick up two adjacent strips and twist them away from each other 2 times. Repeat with the remaining strips. Pinch the ends of the adjacent strips. At the end, you'll end up with a star shape with eight points.

Loosely cover the bread with cling wrap or a tea towel. Let it sit for 1 hour, or until it doubles in size.

Bake the bread for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Brush the syrup all over the star bread while it still warms.

Sprinkle with toasted almonds or nut and chocolate chips on top.

Tear the bread and share with your family!

In a stand mixer bowl fitted with a dough hook, combine the bread flour, all-purpose flour, milk powder, sugar, yeast, and salt.