Recipes

Chocolate and Hazelnut Brioche

On December 25th I baked a delicious brioche for a festive breakfast. ‘Let them eat brioche!’ I proclaimed, after 3 hours baking this elaborate French bread! It was divine and that’s why I’m sharing the recipe (originally from ‘Butter and Brioche’, where sadly, the recipe can no longer be found).

Chocolate and Hazelnut Pull-Apart Brioche
Print Recipe
Serves: 4 Cooking Time: 2.5 hours

Ingredients

240g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

25g caster sugar

5g salt

7g instant yeast

70ml milk

2 eggs, plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature

125g butter, cubed at room temperature

160g (1/2 cup) Nutella

75g chopped hazelnuts, skinless and lightly roasted

1 egg yolk, whisked with 2 tbsp milk (for wash)

90g dark chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions

1

Place the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a standalone mixer with a dough hook

2

Combine the ingredients on a slow speed

3

Add the milk and eggs and mix on slow for 2 minutes

4

Increase the speed to medium and mix for 6-8 minutes until the dough is soft and smooth and elastic

5

Add the cubed butter piece by piece and mix until it's all fully incorporated in the dough which should take around 5 minutes

6

Make sure that the butter is properly distributed throughout the dough, scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure it's all mixed together well

7

On a lightly floured surface, place the dough and roll into a rectangle, roughly 30cm by 40cm (you need to be able to move the dough around so ensure it's not sticking to the surface by dusting the surface with more flour if necessary)

8

Spread the Nutella across the dough and then sprinkle the hazelnuts across the surface - this is where you would add the optional chocolate chips from the Ingredients list

9

Cut the dough into 6 long strips (lengthwise) and then place them on top of each other so you have a long, tall stack

10

Cut the stack into 6 even squares

11

Place the squares side by side in the baking tin

12

Brush the surface of the loaf with the egg yolk mixed with milk

13

Leave it to rise in a warm area for 1½ hours until the dough has puffed up and risen above the top of the tin and there should be a "skin" when touched lightly

14

Once risen, pre-heat the oven to 180C degrees and bake for 20 to 30 minutes (mine took ~28 mins). Check that a skewer inserted in the middle to come out clean (if during baking, it looks like it's browning too quickly, you can cover the top with foil)

15

When it's cooked and out of the oven, leave for 10 mins in the tin and then turn it out onto a rack to cool

Notes

Scroll down for illustrations of some of the more complicated steps

This recipe takes time, so dedicate time to it. Get up early(ish), have some tea/coffee and get stuck in. Remember to have your butter and eggs left out at room temperature!