So, I was recipe testing and this came up. Imagine the joy! It’s a fluffy, orange scented brioche, very similar to a Greek “tsoureki” (Easter bread), filled with luscious Nutella. Once baked you can actually pull it into big pieces, to reveal all that sweet, melting chocolate spread.

Its not complicated at all to make, especially if you make the dough in a stand mixer or a food processor. It’s quite a wet dough but that’s how it should be, if you want to ensure that your brioche is a fluffy pillow of sweetness. You can improvise and add nuts or chocolate chips in the filling but please don’t omit the Nutella. You NEED the Nutella! You WANT the Nutella!

Ok, I guess I am having a chocolate overload crisis. Whatever the case, I know you must try this recipe. It’s so good.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup (75 grams) milk, lukewarm
• 3 tsp (11 grams) dried active yeast
• 100 grams granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 Tbs orange zest
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 440 grams unbleached bread flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 125 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
  250 grams Nutella

Method

Make the dough. In a medium bowl, mix the lukewarm milk with the yeast and one teaspoon of the sugar. Mix until yeast dissolves. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to stand for about 30 minutes. During this time, the mixture will puff up. If it doesn’t, it means the yeast is not active so discard and start over.

Lightly whisk the eggs and mix with the puffed up yeast-milk mixture (mixture will deflate and that’s ok). Add the orange zest and vanilla and mix again.

In a bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook, add the 2 ½ cups flour, sugar and salt. Mix briefly and make a well in the centre. Add the egg mixture and soft butter and beat at medium speed for 10-15 minutes. The dough is ready when it leaves the sides of the bowl. If mixture is too sticky add some more flour until you have a soft and slightly wet dough.

Lightly oil a large bowl. Put in the dough and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for 2 hours, until double in size.

Shape the Brioche: Preheat oven to 175 C. Take a loaf pan measuring about 13 x 30cm. Line the base and sides with a piece of greaseproof paper. Leave some paper hanging from the sides.

 

Tip the puffed up dough on your work surface. Roll to a rectangle measuring about 45 x 45 cm. Spread the surface of the dough with the Nutella.

Take a pizza cutter and cut the rectangle into six ribbons. Fold each ribbon in half starting from the bottom side. Then fold again in half starting from the topside. Then fold again in half. Place the folded piece, on its side, in the prepared tin. Repeat with the remaining pieces.

Cover pan loosely with a kitchen towel. Leave to rest for 20 minutes. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes until puffed up and looking gorgeous. If brioche becomes too dark, cover loosely with foil after 25 minutes of baking.

Let brioche cool in the baking pan for 30 minutes. Use the over hanging greaseproof paper to lift it out of the pan. Remove the paper, pull-apart without mercy and eat.