Chocolate Hazelnut Star Bread
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Chocolate hazelnut star bread is a breakfast dream! Sweet yeast dough layered with creamy chocolate hazelnut spread makes the most delicious star bread that’s perfect for holiday brunch!
Baked until golden and dusted with powdered sugar, this beautifully festive bread is quite simple to make. If you can make cinnamon rolls, you can also make this easy star bread!
How to Make Chocolate Hazelnut Star Bread
The dough – I use my basic sweet yeast dough recipe for this star bread. It’s simple to make and is ready to use after a 40 minute rise.
Rolling star bread – Once the dough rises, turn out onto a lightly floured board and divide into 4 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and let rest for 5 minutes, then roll each piece out into a 10 inch circle.
Filling star bread – Spread softened butter and chocolate hazelnut spread over one of the circles, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Stack the second circle on top of the first, and repeat with the filling. Repeat process with remaining circles, leaving the top circle bare (the stack will have 4 layers of dough, and 3 layers of chocolate hazelnut filling).
Shaping star bread – Place a 2-inch round cutter or bowl in the center of the dough and press gently to make an indent for the center of the star. Use a sharp knife to cut the circle into 4 equal sections, from the imprint in the center to the edge, cutting through all the layers. Wipe knife clean and cut each section into 4 equal strips, for a total of 16 strips.
Using both hands, pick up 2 adjacent dough strips and twist them away from each other twice, then press the ends together firmly. Repeat with remaining strips of dough, for a total of 8 points.
Baking star bread – Let the shaped bread rest until puffy, about 25 minutes. Brush gently with melted butter, sprinkle with sugar, and bake until golden.
Make Ahead Nutella Star Bread
Prepare the bread up to Step 8 below. After shaping the star, cover tightly and refrigerate overnight. On baking day, remove the star bread from the refrigerator and let rise until puffy while preheating the oven. Proceed with Step 9.
More holiday bread recipes to try:
- Cranberry Brioche Cinnamon Rolls
- Raspberry Vanilla Wreath Bread
- Cinnamon Sugar Star Bread
- Overnight Brioche Cinnamon Rolls
Did you try this Nutella Star Bread Recipe? Let me know by leaving a comment and rating below!
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Chocolate Hazelnut Star Bread
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes (includes rise time)
- Yield: 1 star loaf, 8 to 10 servings
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Chocolate hazelnut star bread is a breakfast dream! Sweet yeast dough layered with creamy chocolate hazelnut spread makes the most delicious star bread!
Ingredients
Dough
- 3 1/2 cups (490 g) flour, divided
- 1 packet (7 g) instant yeast
- 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup (240 g) low-fat milk
- 1/4 cup (56 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
Filling
- 3 Tbsp (42 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 2/3 cup (228 g) chocolate hazelnut spread
Topping
- 1 Tbsp (14 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 Tbsp (12.5 g) sugar
Instructions
- Combine 2 cups (280 g) flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a large mixer bowl; mix on low speed until incorporated. Heat milk in a microwave-safe measuring cup for 45 seconds to 1 minute, until very warm (120-130°F).
- Add warm milk, butter, and egg to flour mixture and mix until combined; mix in remaining 1 1/2 cups (210 g) flour. Switch out the flat beater for a dough hook, and knead dough for 4 minutes until smooth and elastic. The dough is ready when it feels tacky but doesn’t stick to your fingers (if necessary, add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time while kneading).
- Place dough in a large bowl coated with nonstick spray and cover with plastic. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 40 minutes. To check if dough has doubled, lightly flour two fingers and press them down into center of dough. If indentations remain, gently press down dough; cover and let rest 5 minutes.
- Turn dough out on a lightly floured board and divide into four equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball, and let rest for 5 minutes. While the dough rests, transfer chocolate hazelnut spread to a bowl and warm in the microwave for 15 seconds or until easy to spread.
- Roll one piece of dough out into a 10-inch circle and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spread with softened butter, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Spread approximately 3 tablespoons chocolate hazelnut spread over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border.
- Roll out the second piece of dough into a 10-inch circle, and stack on top of the first piece of dough. Spread with softened butter and chocolate hazelnut spread, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Repeat process with remaining dough, leaving the top circle bare.
- Place a 2-inch round cutter in the center of the dough; press gently to leave an imprint. Use a sharp knife to cut the circle into 4 equal sections, from the imprint in the center to the edge, cutting through all the layers. Wipe knife clean and cut each section into 4 equal strips, for a total of 16 strips.
- Using both hands, pick up 2 adjacent dough strips and twist them away from each other twice. Pinch the ends of the strips together firmly. Repeat with remaining strips of dough, for a total of 8 points. Cover the star loosely with plastic and let rise in a warm place until puffy, about 25 minutes. While the star rises, preheat oven to 375°F.
- Brush dough gently with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for about 25 minutes, until golden. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes before dusting with powdered sugar and serving.
Keywords: Chocolate, Hazelnut, Star Bread, Holiday Bread
I’ve made this recipe with so much success – twice with a Nutella filling, and once with raspberry. Making again this week, 10/10 recommend!
★★★★★
That’s amazing, so glad this recipe has been such a success for you! 🙂
Is there a video version of this, or maybe one with more images of every step? I’d really like to try but I am afraid that with text description only I wouldn’t be able to achieve such a beautiful shape.
Hi Geege, there’s a recipe video included in the post with shaping instructions. Happy baking!
This was absolutely delicious and beautiful! Mine is not as photogenic as yours, but it was still so fun to make :-). Thank you for the recipe, Laura!
★★★★★
Amazing, Ana! So glad you tried this bread! 🙂
Hi! This bread is like a heaven. I’ve baked it for brunch and everyone loved it. With such a small effort the result is like a piece of art with all its look and taste. Thank you for the recipe and the tutorial. I wonder if it can be freezed before baking?
Hi Zeynep, so happy to hear that! I haven’t tried freezing the bread before baking and freeing may affect the yeast/rise time. You can bake the bread completely in advance, wrap well, and freeze it for 4-6 weeks. Rewarm in a low oven (300 degrees) before serving.
I made this for Christmas breakfast (for2) using 1/3 of the recipe, and about half whole wheat flour, plus 1/2 cup of sourdough starter. So pretty and fun to make! not to mention REALLY delicious! It looks impossibly fancy, but actually pretty easy.
So happy to hear that, have a wonderful Christmas! 🙂
Hi! Does this call for all purpose flour, bread flour or self rising flour? I would love to make this for our Christmas Eve breakfast. Oh and I love all of your recipes.
Thank you so much, Jenn! 🙂 I use all-purpose flour!
Are you supposed to use active dry yeast or instant?
Hi Mel! I used 1 packet (7 grams) of instant yeast. Happy baking! 🙂
Beautiful! Do you think this will work with the cinnamon/sugar filling instead of the chocolate?
Hi Cj, yes! Here’s my cinnamon sugar star bread recipe: https://tutti-dolci.com/cinnamon-sugar-star-bread/
I made this and it was to die for! I’m not huge into chocolate but my kids and husband are. It was devoured within 2 hrs. Very good
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Bridget! So glad you tried this recipe! 🙂
This star bread is DELICIOUS! I served it yesterday as a breakfast treat, and it was a huge hit! I absolutely would recommend this recipe and will make again!
As with all yeast dough, it takes a little bit of time to complete all of the steps, but it was SO worth the effort. And despite the time commitment, the recipe was easy to follow and the star bread design is surprisingly easy to replicate following Laura’s instructions.
Also, because we were traveling for the holidays and I wasn’t able to make the bread fresh, I froze the bread (after shaping and baking), and it still tasted fresh and delicious after about a week and a half in the freezer. Once the bread cooled completely, I wrapped it in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil before freezing, and I defrosted the bread at room temperature about 18 hours before serving.
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Allison! So glad you tried this recipe for the holidays and that the freezing worked out well for you too. Happy New Year! 🙂
Beautiful! Do you think this would stand up to a 2-3 day ship, if packed properly? Any advice? I’d love to ship some to my family for Christmas.
Thank you! I have no experience shipping anything other than cookies or bars, so I personally am unsure. If you do decide to ship, I would wrap and pack it well, and ship it overnight.
Wow, this is stunning, Laura! I haven’t made a yeast bread in eons and this is just the enticement I needed. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving week! xo
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Liz! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!