These Babka Buns are filled with chocolatey and hazelnut flavors, along with Nutella goodness. Perfect for a tasty dessert or the next time you are hosting brunch.
1cupunsalted butterat room temperature and cut into small squares of about a tablespoon each.
Egg Wash
1eggbeaten
Filling
½cuphazelnuts
2cupsNutellaor any chocolate spread
Glaze
¼cupgranulated sugar
¼cupwater
Instructions
Fit a stand mixer with the dough hook.
Put the flour, yeast, salt and sugar into a large stand mixer bowl. Use a handheld whisk to combine the mixture then make a well in the centre.
Warm the milk in the microwave for about 30 seconds. It should be warm but not hot. Break the eggs into a jug or small glass bowl, lightly beat then add the warm milk and briefly beat again.
Pour the milk and egg mixture into the well you made in the flour mixture.
Mix on a slow speed for 2 minutes then increase the speed to medium for 7 minutes.
Keeping the speed at medium, add the butter one piece at a time allowing the butter to become fully combined with the dough before adding the next piece.
When all the butter has been added you will have a very light, smooth and elastic dough.
Grease a large clean bowl with a little olive oil and transfer the dough into it. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours but preferably overnight.
To make the filling, add the hazelnuts to an ovenproof dish and roast at 350ºF for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, add 2 cups of Nutella to a small mixing bowl.
Remove the hazelnuts from the oven and use a sharp knife to roughly chop them then add them to the bowl of Nutella and mix thoroughly together.
Generously flour the work surface and your hands. Take the dough out of the refrigerator, turn it out onto the work surface then cut it into 8 sections.
Use your hands to roll each section into a ball then use a floured rolling pin to roll the ball into a rectangle of about 9x5 inches(it doesn’t have to be a perfect rectangle).
Spread a heaped tablespoon of Nutella onto the rolled out dough taking care not to go all the way to the edges.
With the longest edge facing you, roll up the dough into a sausage shape. Seal the free edge together with your fingers.
Use a sharp knife to cut the dough lengthways but leave one attached by a gap of an inch or so.
Twist the two strands of dough together then bring the ends in to make a circular shape. Tuck each free end of dough underneath the loop as if you’re tying a knot.
Transfer the twisted buns to two baking trays lined with baking parchment. Leave to rise somewhere warm for 40 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. When the buns have doubled in size brush them with the beaten egg then bake them in the centre of the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Meanwhile make the glaze by adding the sugar and water to a small saucepan set over a medium heat. Boil for 2 minutes then brush the syrup over the buns as soon as the come out of the oven.
Leave to cool for ten minutes before eating.
Notes
It is much easier to spread the process of making babka out over the course of 2 days. Make the dough on the first day then leave it to slowly rise in the refrigerator overnight. This makes the dough easier to handle and a cold rise will greatly improve the flavor.
The milk should be warm but not too hot otherwise it will kill the yeast. Test it by putting your finger into the milk after it’s been heated to make sure it’s not too hot.
It will take a fairly long time to add all the butter piece by piece but this is the best technique to get a truly enriched dough with a good texture.
After the butter has been added the dough will be very smooth and elastic. If you touch it with a dry finger no dough will stick but it should feel slightly tacky. Don’t be tempted to add extra flour.
When it’s time to divide the dough you can weigh it in its entirety then divide the weight by 8 or just eyeball it!
Don’t be afraid to use plenty of flour when handling the dough at the shaping stage, it will not make any difference to the final texture.
For the second rise the buns will double in size so it’s best to keep 4 to a baking tray leaving some space in-between them. They will also get bigger during baking.
The Babka Buns are pretty huge so you can make up to 12 if you prefer them to be smaller, however, bear in mind that twisting them together will be more difficult since you’ll have less dough to work with.
As with all freshly baked goods, these Babka Buns are best eaten warm on the day they are baked. They will keep for a couple of days but expect them to go stale after 24 hours.