Usually I have a lot to say about a recipe post, to the point that most times, I have to stop myself or I’d never get to the recipe. But for these Chocolate Nutella Rolls, I am at a loss. What more can you say about a Chocolate Milk Bread/Nutella combination, other than GIVE ME SOME NOW.
Based on a Versatile Bread Recipe
For everyone who has tried my Milk Bread recipe, you know how versatile this dough can be—it’s the touchstone of our many Chinese bakery bun recipes.
Today, I want to step out of the Chinese bakery and add just a little drama to our classic milk bread. With the help of cocoa powder and Nutella, we can effortlessly turn this soft, fluffy bread into a gooey, molten, chocolate-y sweet treat. Sprinkle some shaved almonds on top to finish these chocolate Nutella rolls and you’ll be in heaven.
This recipe makes a double batch, and I know that 16 gooey chocolate-y buns, however good they are, can be a bit much to take down at a time. In my case, I did make 16 of them, and Kaitlin had the good sense to take them to work. I was told that they were gone as soon as she put them out.
What a great way to test a recipe (and share the calories, hehehehe…). But if 16 sounds like a bit much, you can just cut the recipe in half.
As far as the milk bread itself is concerned, I truly believe that we have just scratched the surface of its potential. For all you milk-bread-making kitchen warriors out there, I’m sure you’ve created a bun or two of your own using this Milk Bread recipe. We’d love to hear about your variations and results in the comments!
Chocolate Nutella Rolls: Recipe Instructions
In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the ingredients in the following order: heavy cream, milk, egg, sugar, cake flour, bread flour, yeast, salt and cocoa powder.
Using the dough hook attachment, turn the mixer on at the lowest setting. Let the dough come together for 15 minutes, occasionally pausing the mixer to push the dough together with a rubber spatula. If you’re in a humid climate, and the dough is too sticky, feel free to add a little more flour 1 tablespoon at a time until it comes together. If you don’t have a mixer and would like to knead by hand, extend the kneading time by at least 5-10 minutes.
After 15 minutes of mixing, the dough is ready for proofing. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and place in a warm spot for 1 hour. I proofed the dough in my oven (I had the oven on rapid proof for 5 minutes, turned the oven off, and then closed the oven door). The dough will grow to 1½ times its original size. (Just so you know, in some cases, readers have reported that their proofing takes slightly longer than 1 hour.)
In the meantime, prepare 16 4” x 4” pieces of parchment paper and a large baking sheet.
After the dough finishes proofing, put the dough back in the mixer, and stir for another 5 minutes to get rid of any air bubbles.
Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and cut into 16 equal pieces. To assemble the buns, follow the photos. Roll each piece of dough out into a rough rectangle, and spread each piece with a tablespoon of nutella.
Partially slice the rectangle into ½ inch strips, keeping them all connected at one end.
Then roll them over diagonally…
And curl the resulting cigar-shape into a snail-shape.
Once shaped, lay each bun on a prepared piece of parchment paper and arrange them on the baking sheet with at least 2 inches of space between them. Let the buns proof for another hour.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush the risen buns with egg wash…
And sprinkle with sliced almonds.
Bake for 14-16 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush the chocolate Nutella rolls with simple syrup to give them a really great shine, sweetness, and color.
For the best results, serve your chocolate Nutella rolls warm
Chocolate Nutella Rolls - An Asian Milk Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup heavy cream (160 ml, at room temperature)
- 1 cup milk (235 ml, at room temperature)
- 1 large egg (at room temperature)
- ½ cup sugar (100g)
- ½ cup cake flour (70g)
- 3½ cups bread flour (500g)
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast (11g)
- 1½ teaspoons salt (7g)
- ½ cup cocoa powder (75g)
- Nutella (about 1 tablespoon for each bun)
- Egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 teaspoon water)
- 2 tablespoons sliced almonds
- 2 teaspoons sugar (8g, dissolved in 2 teaspoons of hot water to make a simple syrup)
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the ingredients in the following order: heavy cream, milk, egg, sugar, cake flour, bread flour, yeast, salt and cocoa powder. Using the dough hook attachment, turn the mixer on at the lowest setting. Let the dough come together for 15 minutes, occasionally pausing the mixer to push the dough together with a rubber spatula. If you're in a humid climate, and the dough is too sticky, feel free to add a little more flour 1 tablespoon at a time until it comes together. If you don't have a mixer and would like to knead by hand, extend the kneading time by at least 5-10 minutes.
- After 15 minutes of mixing, the dough is ready for proofing. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and place in a warm spot for 1 hour. I proofed the dough in my oven (I had the oven on rapid proof for 5 minutes, turned the oven off, and then closed the oven door). The dough will grow to 1½ times its original size. (Just so you know, in some cases, readers have reported that their proofing takes slightly longer than 1 hour.)
- In the meantime, prepare 16 4” x 4” pieces of parchment paper and a large baking sheet.
- After the dough finishes proofing, put the dough back in the mixer, and stir for another 5 minutes to get rid of any air bubbles.
- Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and cut into 16 equal pieces. To assemble the buns, follow the photos. Roll each piece of dough out into a rough rectangle, and spread each piece with a tablespoon of nutella. Partially slice the rectangle into ½ inch strips, keeping them all connected at one end. Then roll them over diagonally, and curl the resulting cigar-shape into a snail-shape.
- Once shaped, lay each bun on a prepared piece of parchment paper and arrange them on the baking sheet with at least 2 inches of space between them. Let the buns proof for another hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush the risen buns with egg wash and sprinkle with sliced almonds. Bake for 14-16 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush the buns with simple syrup to give them a really great shine, sweetness, and color.
nutrition facts
Another winner! Baked it today and it’s a new favorite. My search is over for chocolate rolls! Dough is soft and chewy, and easy enough to make. The rolls came out pretty thanks to the photo instructions. Tip to self next time: Don’t scrimp on the Nutella filling; more is better! :) Thanks for another delicious recipe!
Great! So glad you enjoyed it, Debbie.
Aw, you’re so welcome Debbie! So glad we could end your search for the perfect chocolate roll. :)
Hi,
I am more than excited to try out your recipe. I am based in gulf where it’s very difficult to find cake flour and bread flour. Is it ok if I completely use all purpose flour instead?
Please recommend
Yes, you can :-)
Hi Zara, you can substitute AP flour for bread flour. For the cake flour, just take 1/2 cup all purpose flour, remove 1 tablespoon, and replace it with 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Then sift it all together. That’s a good substitute!
Hi, love your recipes! I always use metric as I’m not in the US and I find it more accurate (our cups are a different size), but the metric measurements on this recipe differ from your milk bread recipe (even though the US cup measurements are the same) so there was way too much flour / not enough liquid in the dough. Could you please confirm the metric measurements are correct on the milk bread recipe, rather than this one?
Thank you!
Hi Sue, you’re right that there were definitely some typos in the metric measurements for this recipe! I apologize for that––I’ve updated it so it should be correct now. Thank you so much for the heads up!
My bread doughs didn’t really rise… I put it in a warm place and the yeast was definitely not dead. Is this normal?
Not normal, Jan. Were all the ingredients at room temperature when you added them?
Just a note on case anyone else has this issue. To avoid the nutella sticking to the knife when you are cutting strips, wet the knife in the sink and shake once before cutting. You will need to check your surface for water after cutting, however it does mean your rolls don’t decide to flip nutella side down while cutting.
Hi Andrew, thanks for sharing your tips!
Looks AMAZING! Excited to try this :D. Would it be possible to use some combination of AP flour and vital wheat gluten instead of 1 part cake flour and 7 parts bread flour? Not sure if you are trying to achieve a certain protein content or if there is something special about using cake and bread flour.
BTW. First time commenting on your blog, but I’m second gen Taiwanese-American and I always turn to your blog when looking for some comfort food. ^_^ Appreciate that it’s not all asian food too, just like me!
Hi B, although I have not tried it, it’s worth a go.
Another winner! I’ve tried all your recipes that use the milk bun as the base recipe and if you can’t finish eating the whole batch in one day (I wouldn’t recommend it :)), but if you put it in the fridge and when you feel like a bun, just put it in the microwave for 15-20 seconds and it tastes like it’s fresh out of the oven.
Anticipating more great recipes in the new year.
Happy New Year and the best to you all for 2017!
Thank you, Liane! Got your “Anticipating more great recipes in the new year” message. The pressure is on! :-)
If I make these a day ahead will they still be fresh the next day? Or are they better to make and eat within the same day? Thinking of making them over the holidays!
Hi Andrea, definitely make and eat them on the same day :-)