A dessert loved by so many of you. Nutella chocolate chip brioche. It’s a pillowy soft brioche with lots of chocolate chips, and it’s stuffed with Nutella.

We have shared many Nutella brioche recipes in the past, Nutella bombs, Nutella brioche loaf, brioche, rolls…we always get such positive reviews, and we enjoy eating them so much.

We are posting a recipe every day for the rest of the year, and today we bring a very fun recipe to make.

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This recipe doesn’t call for any difficult-to-find ingredients; most of them you will find in your house or in your local grocery store. You can choose to use another chocolate spread instead of Nutella. You can also choose if you want to use milk chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips.

Granulated sugar: It will sweeten the dough and also help feed the yeast. Adding sugar to your dough gives it a beautiful golden brown color.
Active dry yeast: always make sure it’s fresh and not old. We don’t want to use expired or old yeast as it will affect the texture and final result.
Flour: We are using all-purpose flour for this recipe
Milk: we need it warm but not hot, as it can kill the yeast.
Eggs: use room temperature eggs.
Salt: it enhances the flavor of the dough. If you use too much salt, the dough will not rise properly.
Butter: This is the last ingredient we add to the dough. In the last 10 minutes, we add it and continue kneading. This helps the bread to keep its structure.
Nutella: the main ingredient for this dessert (Nutella chocolate chip brioche)
Chocolate chips: you can choose milk or dark chocolate.

Key points for this recipe

Kneading time and technique, make sure the butter is added in the last 10 minutes.
Proofing temperature and time, make sure to proof the dough at the right temperature every time, and don’t rush the process. An under-proofed dough can be dense and tough to eat instead of soft and fluffy.
Baking. Don’t underbake a brioche.

How to make the brioche dough

We start by preparing our sponge or yeast mixture. This step is very important, as if you use a yeast that doesn’t work properly, it will show here. You want the mixture to have a foamy look on top, like a sponge.

We achieve this by mixing sugar, yeast, and warm milk.

The temperature of the milk is very important; if you touch it and it hurts, it burns, it will kill the yeast.

Ideal milk temperature to activate the yeast: 110F-115F (43C-46C). At this temperature, the yeast will be activated. It will feel warm to the touch, but it doesn’t burn.
Too cold: under 100F (38 °C), the yeast won’t be activated; it’s sleeping.
Too hot: at 120F (49 °C) the yeast will be killed. You will need to start from zero as the yeast is not going to be active.

We knead the dough for 15 minutes; it’s ideal to use a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment (speed: medium-low). The dough is sticky.

After 15 minutes, you can add the soft butter and knead for 10 more minutes; the dough will become less sticky and easier to handle.

Proof the dough

If the temperature is too cold, the dough will not proof or will take longer than expected, that’s because it needs to be in a warm environment to work.

If the temperature is too hot, be careful, the dough will grow too fast and have a funny, sour smell/taste.

To have better control over the temperature, I use a dough proofer machine, which is an investment worth making if you love making dough. I set the temperature to about 80F (27C) and let it proof without having to worry about wind or cold weather.

This recipe needs the dough to be proofed twice, once after kneading and then another one after it’s been shaped and filled with Nutella.

*We are not adding chocolate chips until the second proof.

Best tips to make chocolate chip dough

Add the butter at the right time, don’t rush it.
We are adding chocolate chips after it has proofed. I don’t want to risk the temperature and humidity to melt the chocolate chips around the dough and leave streaks.
Egg wash is ideal to help the dough have a nice golden brown color.
After a brioche is baked, ideally, you would brush butter so it has a shiny look.
Don’t rush the proofing times. This dough needs to be proofed twice, once after we knead the dough, which is the longest time, it takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes, and another time after we shape it, which takes about 30 minutes. When we proof the dough, we want to see the dough growing in size; it will become soft to the touch and airy.
Proofing temperature matters. I proof my doughs always from 26° C (78.8F) to 30 °C (86F), depending on what I am making. The dough grows beautifully every time.

Grab the right tools!

This recipe requires basic tools you probably have lying around your house. It also calls for a stand mixer, if you have one. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can still do the recipe; you’ll just have to knead by hand.

Mixing bowl or the stand mixer bowl: this is where you will prepare the dough and the yeast mixture. You can use the same stand mixer bowl to avoid washing more dishes.
Rolling pin: we will need it to roll out the dough.
Scale: I like to measure the total of the dough and then divide it by 8 in this case. You will have same sized brioches.
Offset spatula or piping bag: two completely different things. If you use a piping bag, you can pipe the Nutella, and there’s no need to spread it. If you use a spoon to scoop the Nutella, I recommend you spread it after with an offset spatula. It’s more gentle than a spoon.
A baking tray: any tray or baking dish you have for the oven.
Parchment paper: makes cleaning much easier and faster, and it avoids the dough from sticking to the pan.
Brush: for the egg wash.
Thermometer: it might be useful to know the temperature of the dough to know if it’s baked, but you have to be careful not to check the temperature of the Nutella or chocolate, as it will be completely different.

How to shape the Nutella chocolate chip brioche

Start by separating the dough into 8 equal-sized portions, shape it into a round ball, and then roll out each one of the individual pieces.

Spread Nutella all over the middle. Fold the right side towards the center, but don’t reach it; do the same with the left. There should be a space in the middle; if you put both sides together, the brioche will be too small. Now, starting from the bottom, the one closest to you, and pulling carefully to make sure the Nutella stays inside, roll it. Close the end to make sure the Nutella doesn’t escape.

This recipe is very versatile; you can do any shape you want and stuff it however you prefer.

How to store and enjoy

We all know homemade enriched doughs are not the same as the days go by. The first day, it’s super soft and pillowy. The next day, it’s drier and just not soft. If you reheat it properly, you can have it taste fresh every day.

I personally recommend you freeze it. Any leftover brioche rolls you have, freeze them and then microwave them from frozen to defrost. This is my favorite way of reheating any doughy dessert, brioche, donuts, rolls, or breads. It always tastes just like fresh.

If you choose to store it in the fridge, it’s good to enjoy it for up to 4 days. Make sure to reheat them every time before you eat the Nutella roll so it has the best flavor and texture.

*Any food you freeze needs to have a date and a name added to the container or freezer-safe bag. Make sure you are storing it in a bag or container made to go to the freezer so it can stay safe.

How to freeze brioche

You can freeze the brioche individually, so it makes it perfect to grab one when needed. They’re already portioned, so that’s something you don’t have to do again.

Place them in a tray lined with parchment paper. freeze for 2-4 hours until it’s slightly hard.

Place them in a freezer-safe bag or inside a freezer-safe container. I like to do both at the same time, the bag inside the container, only to be extra careful. You want to add the name of the food and the date of the day you made it. For example, Nutella chocolate chips brioche. Day/month/year or month/day/year.

They’re safe in the freezer for 2-3 months. After that, they might get freezer-burnt or have a weird freezer taste, which we all hate. I can immediately taste a food that has not been stored properly.

And that’s it! If you try this recipe, make sure to leave us a review below, select as many stars as you think this recipe deserves, and leave a small comment. We appreciate every review you can give. And don’t forget to follow our brand-new Facebook page!