Almost a Nutella babka but in star or snowflake shape, this star bread could be the centre of your holiday breakfast, brunch or dessert table. An absolute showstopper, this pull apart bread is fun too and totally irresistible.
Using my cinnamon roll dough as the base, this Nutella star bread is easy, fluffy and delicious.
The bread is soft and fluffy and a little sweet. It tastes a little like brioche dough though a little lighter on the butter. Nutella between the layers keeps it simple but such a delicious treat.
It might look intricate and difficult but I promise it’s anything but. The dough is easy to throw together, and the design is actually very simple when you know how. The hardest part is waiting for the bread to rise.
Often called snowflake bread, the aroma of this fresh from the oven will fill your home and the second hardest part is serving it up before you grab your own piece. Dust it with icing sugar (powdered sugar) and watch it disappear in front of your eyes.
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Ingredients for Nutella star bread
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
You’ll find obvious baking ingredients like flour, eggs, butter and sugar but I’ll elaborate on a couple of ingredients below.
- Yeast: You’ll need instant or active dry yeast here. Both work fine and it’s very simple to use.
- Salt: Only a touch and it balances out the sweetness while intensifying the flavours.
- Nutella: I used Nutella just because that’s what I keep in my pantry but most chocolate hazelnut spreads will work.
- Milk: Using full fat dairy milk will give the best flavour but other types of milk will work.
How to make it
There is just a few steps and one main rise with this star bread recipe. I’ve made this as simple as I can so you can get it made and be devouring it as soon as possible.
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
- Make the dough: Melt some butter with just a little milk then combine all the dough ingredients in a bowl (image 1). Use the dough hook on the stand mixer (if you have one) to knead it to a smooth, elastic dough (image 2) – you can definitely do this by hand too – and then let it rise (image 3).
- Layer the dough: Cut the dough into 4 pieces (image 4) and roll them out to roughly 12 inch disks. Spread Nutella on 3 of them (image 5), then layer them up with the top one having no Nutella. Place a 12 inch round dish or tray on top and cut around to get a smooth circle (image 6).
- Shape the star: place a ramekin in the centre, then make 4 cuts from the ramekin to the edge (image 7), equal distance apart so the dough is quartered. Now cut each of those quarters in half (image 8) (now you have 8 slices). Cut each of the 8 pieces in half (image 9) and now you have 16 strands. Grab the ends of two of the strands and twist them twice (image 10), away from each other. Twist them a third time just enough to bring the ends together (image 11) and press together into a point (image 12).
- Rest then bake: Rest the bread for about 30 minutes (images 13 & 14 – before and after resting), then brush with beaten egg and bake for 22 minutes.
You can enjoy this bread fresh from the oven. I like to let it cool just slightly and dust it with icing sugar first but you can eat it without.
This would also be lovely served up as a dessert with some créme anglaise poured over.
Making the dough ahead
You can make the dough ahead of time, giving you less to worry about closer to serving.
Once the dough has been kneaded, place it in an oiled bowl, covered with plastic wrap and into the fridge for 1-2 days. It will slow rise in the fridge which actually develops the dough flavour even more.
On the day you want to serve it, take it out the fridge and let it come to room temperature (about 1 hour) before proceeding with the recipe.
You can also freeze the dough at the same point. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight before proceeding as above.
Tips and tricks
- Don’t overheat the milk: You want it to be warm to the touch but not hot. If you have a thermometer you want the temp to be 43C / 110F. If you don’t, a low tech way is to melt the butter and 1/3 of the milk together in a small saucepan over very low heat. Swirl it constantly until melted, then add the rest of the cold milk.
- Pinch the tips tightly: Make sure the points of the star are pinched together nice and tight so they don’t break apart during baking.
- Heat the Nutella: It’s tricky to spread on the soft dough straight from the jar as it pulls at it and ruins the shape so heat it for 15-20 seconds first to make it more spreadable.
- Twist 2 at a time: In the images I twisted all of the strands first but it’s actually easier to see what you’re doing if you just do two at a time, one in each hand, twisting away from each other.
How to customise this recipe
Maybe you aren’t a fan of Nutella or you just want to try something different. Other star bread fillings ideas are;
- Cinnamon Roll: Try the filling from my pecan cinnamon rolls (with or without the nuts).
- Chocolate: Make it more like a babka with the filling from my chocolate cinnamon rolls.
- Caramel Apple: try the filling from these caramel apple cinnamon rolls.
- Peanut butter and jelly: Add a mix of peanut butter and jam between the layers.
- Jam: Use some strawberry or raspberry jam for stunning twist
- Orange: rub the zest of a large orange through 1/2 cup of sugar. Mix in 3 tablespoons of softened butter and spread that over.
What to do with leftovers
I’ll be surprised if you have any but you can store this in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. Give the pieces a 12 second burst in the microwave to fluff the bread again before eating.
Did you try this Nutella star bread recipe? Show it some love in the comments below.
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Video
Ingredients
- 57 g unsalted butter (¼ cup / 2oz)
- 1 cup cold milk (250ml)
- 455 g plain flour (all purpose flour) (3 ½ cups / 1lb)
- 2 ¼ teaspoons instant or active dry yeast (1 sachet / 7g) (notes)
- ⅓ cup white granulated sugar (66g / 2.3oz)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large egg
- ¾ cup Nutella
- Icing sugar (powdered sugar) for dusting
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- Stand mixer with dough hook is helpful bu t not necessary
- Small ramekin
- 12 inch round pizza tray or serving dish
- large baking sheet
Instructions
STEP 1: Watch the video to see it in the making!
MAKING THE DOUGH
- In a small saucepan over low heat, melt together the butter and roughly one third of the milk. Stir or swirl constantly to melt without overheating. Add the remaining cold milk and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or see notes), add the flour, yeast, sugar and salt then give it a mix up.
- Pour in the warm milk mixture and one whole egg, then stir with a spoon to a shaggy dough.
- Attach the dough hook to the stand mixer and mix the dough for 6-7 minutes until smooth and elastic looking. See notes for kneading by hand.
- Brush a clean bowl with a little oil then place the dough into it. flip it over so that has a coating of oil all over. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
ASSEMBLING THE STAR BREAD
- Lay a sheet of baking paper on a 12 inch pizza tray so that it overhangs a little.
- Cut the dough into 4 even pieces. Roll one out to about 30cm / 12in. Place the rolling pin in the centre of the rolled out dough and fold the far side over the top. Transfer it to the prepared tray.
- Warm the Nutella for about 15 seconds in the microwave to make it easier to spread, then spread ¼ cup over the first sheet of dough, leaving nearly an inch bare around the edge.
- Roll out the second piece, place it on top of the first and spread another ¼ cup of Nutella. Repeat with the third.
- Roll out the last piece and place it on top without adding any Nutella.
- Use the corner of the paper to drag it off the baking tray and give it a light roll to make it slightly wider than than the tray. Sit the tray on top and trim off the overhanging dough. Use the corner of the paper again, to drag it back onto the tray.
- Place a small ramekin (3-4 inches wide) in the centre of the dough.
- Make 4 evenly spaced cuts from the ramekin to the edge of the dough (so it looks like 4 quarter slices connected in the middle. Cut each of the four slices in half, then repeat 1 more time, so you have 16 strands in total.
- Take the ends of two of the strands, one in each hand, and twist them away from each other twice. Twist a third time only until the flat sides meet, then press the ends into a point. Make sure to press the ends together well so they don't break apart when they bake.
- Repeat with the rest of the strands, then remove the ramekin and cover lightly with a sheet of plastic wrap and let it sit for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan forced) / 350F.
- Brush the top of the dough with a beaten egg, then bake for 22 minutes, turning after 11, or until golden all over.
- Let it cool a few minutes before dusting with icing sugar. Best served warm.
Notes
- I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons worldwide)
- All ovens vary – always test for doneness 3-5 minutes before the recipe suggests
- For best results, you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
- Yeast: You can use instant or active dry yeast. If you use rapid rise, your dough may double in size quicker.
- By hand: You can make the dough without a stand mixer, just make sure to knead until it is smooth and elastic – about 10-12 minutes.
- Star bread is best eaten fresh but will keep in an airtight container 2-3 days. Warm the individual pieces for 10-15 seconds in the microwave to fluff the bread up again.
- Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
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34 Comments on “Nutella Star Bread”
Not a review on the recipe, but the site itself. It is basically unusable. Every time I scroll, it shoots me to the bottom of the page or some random place I don’t want to be. I keep trying to watch the video and just when I get to it by scrolling, the site whips me somewhere else on the page. I am on mobile. I am unfortunately going to have to try someone else’s recipe because I can’t get this page to stay still long enough to see the ingredients or instructions. I hope this helps the page owner get the issue corrected.
Sorry, it wasn’t a great experience TLS. It sounds like the page is still trying to load everything while you’re trying to go straight to what you want to see. Sometimes this can happen if the internet connection is going a bit slower than normal. Either way, I understand that’s not a great experience. I’ll see if there’s anything I can do about the page loading quicker but in the meantime will make some small adjustments to the post that should help.
I don’t have AP flour , can organic bread flour be used instead
Yes, you can.
My 12 year old grandson and I rolled up our sleeves, donned our aprons and made this today. We had so much fun. For two novice bakers it was a little daunting but we’re looking forward to making two more for Christmas. My grandson’s proclamation! We followed the recipe except I had to substitute half&half for milk. We could have probably left it in the oven a few more minutes. Also, I got carried away on the last layer of Nutella and it was sort of oozing in some places so I’ll know not to do that next time. This was a huge hit and will definitely be make it into my dessert lineup.
I’m so happy to hear this, Teresa. Happy baking with your grandson 🙂
I made this in the winter and loved it! Do you think there are any other shapes it could be made into??
So happy you love it, Isabella. Yes you can make different shapes. I don’t have others you could try here on the blog but you can try a sunburst which is still round but instead of joining two “petals” together, you keep them separate and just twist each one a couple of times. You could also make it into a Christmas tree shape for Christmas. You can roll the dough into balls, filling each one with a little nutella then drop them all into a round quiche dish and bake so they become small balls of Nutella filled bread. You could cut the layered up dough and nutella into 8 triangles, then roll the triangles up a little croissant style then line them up in a long loaf tin and bake. The world is your oyster – just get creative and have some fun.
I would like to make nuttela star for my little girl school food day, but I work in the morning. Is it possible to make the whole star one day in advance and then keep it in a fridge till tomorrow?
It’s definitely best made fresh.
If I make the dough ahead of time it says to leave it out for one hour. Is that one hour the proofing hour or do I proof it for an hour after that additionally?
Hi Vivian. You can put it straight in the fridge, then take it out at least 1/2 hour before you start assembling it.
Can I make the dough the night before and cook it in the morning?
Yes, you can Taylor. Happy baking 🙂
Too much flour? My dough was so dense and did not rise at all..
Hi Rachel, I’ve made this many times and should turn out nice and fluffy. Did you weigh the flour or just scoop? Aside from that, if it’s not rising at all, it sounds like a yeast issue – either you’ve made it too hot with the milk or it was not alive to start with. Yeast needs a warm environment to work. Too hot and it can be killed or too cold and it will just take longer to do it’s thing. You may just need to wait longer. The dough should double in size.
Followed the instructions exactly and created the most delicious nutella star bread. It’s an excellent recipe!
So happy you loved it Chelsea 🙂
Have made this now a couple of times and always get great feedback. Love the step by step as well as hints and tips. Love it
So happy you love this Jackie 🙂 Thank you.
Great recipe! Thank you!! Easy to follow and pretty fast from beginning to end. Best babka I’ve made so far. I added 15gr of sugar and a tsp of vanilla ⭐️
I’m so happy you love it, Susana. Thanks so much for trying my recipe.
It’s perfect! Thank you!😊
So happy you love it Marija. Thanks for trying my recipe.
So amazing recipe
Thanks so much Jessica
Heyy I tried this recipe and it’s so amazing! Fool proof and totally yum. Just one things, I couldn’t actually get the tips of flake to glue properly despite pinching them hard. Some tips ripped open while baking. Any additional tip for that?
It may be that the corners had flour on them so they aren’t sticky. You can just dab on a tiny bit of water and it should help to glue those edges.
This looks so delicious, I want to make it for Christmas dessert! If I was wanting to substitute Nutella for a cinnamon roll filling, what quantities would you suggest? The same as your pecan cinnamon rolls filling? I was hoping to do a nut-free filling though.
Hello Abigail, yes, use the filling recipe from the pecan cinnamon rolls leaving out the pecans. The bread dough quantity is the same in both recipes – so that will work nicely. Happy baking and happy holidays
Thank you so much for your helpful reply! Especially so close to Christmas when you must be very busy. Really appreciate it. Happy holidays to you too!
No problem Abigail, I’ve added some more ideas to the post itself as well. I’d so love to hear how yours turns out with the different filling 🙂
This is absolutely gorgeous! I made star bread before but my points are not perfect like yours, thanks for the step by step photos, I’m going to try it again and hopefully will be successful!
Thanks so much Trang. So glad I can help.