Nutella Babka Buns

5 from 2 votes

My take on babka! These soft fluffy Nutella babka buns are simply delicious and fun to make. The lemon and mandarin zest really make the dough so aromatic.

Prep Time30

Cook Time20

Passive Time4

Servings: buns

Author: Bea & Marco

Ingredients

⅓ cup warm water (80 ml)
2 tablespoon honey (40 gr)
1 ½ teaspoon dry yeast (5 gr)
2 ¼ cup bread flour (290 gr)
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg , room temperature
¼ cup powdered milk (30 g)
1 yolk , room temperature
1 lemon zest
1 clementine zest
⅓ cup butter (75 gr), room temperature & cubed
Nutella as needed , for filling

Instructions

Preparing The Dough

Mix honey with warm water and then sprinkle in yeast. Mix and leave for the yeast to activate.
In a standing mixing bowl, add in the rest of the ingredients except butter and Nutella. Add in also the yeast mixture. Mix to incorporate and then knead for 10 minutes.
While still kneading, add in cubed butter bit by bit. Make sure it's incorporated before adding more. After all butter is added, knead for another 10 minutes.
Form dough into a ball, place in a greased bowl and cover the bowl tightly with a cling film. Leave the dough to rise until double its size.

Shaping The Buns

Place dough on a lightly floured working surface and lightly knead it into a log. Cut into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball.
Take a ball and press it into a rectangle. Roll it into a 5x8 inch (13x20 cm), more or less. Spread some Nutella on top, leaving the edges empty.
Roll it lengthwise. Cut it lengthwise leaving, not all the way to the top. Braid the 2 pieces of dough together, making sure the beautiful exposed layers of Nutella is on top.
Stretch the braid into 10 inch (25 cm) length, more or less. Bring both ends together, overlapping them and creating a hole in the middle. Bring one end into the hole and pinch it together with the other end at the bottom.
Place on a baking tray with a baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the balls. Rest the dough for 30 minutes or until they puff up a bit.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350ºF (175ºC) for 20 minutes or until golden brown and fully cooked. When they're still slightly warm, dust with some icing sugar and serve!

Notes

Best served warm.

Nutrition