Braided Nutella Bread

This sweet bread is a feast for your eyes and your belly!

I recommend that you consume this within two days of baking for ultimate deliciousness.

Recipe adapted from: Manu's Menu
Ingredients - starter dough
4g dry instant yeast (I'm pretty sure I used a full 7g packet and it worked out fine...)
75mL lukewarm water
1 tsp honey
135g flour

Ingredients - dough + filling
400g flour
75g white sugar
120mL lukewarm milk
5g salt
3 egg yolks
120g room temperature butter
1 1/2 cups Nutella

Method
1. Make the starter dough (I did this in a little jug) - mix the yeast, water and honey together.  Ensure that the water is just lukewarm, not too hot (you'll kill the yeast) and not too cold (the yeast won't activate).  Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes until the yeast starts foaming.

2. Mix the starter dough flour into the yeast mixture until smooth, then set it aside covered with cling wrap or a tea towel for about 45 minutes.

3. Once the starter dough has risen, in a separate bowl whisk the sugar, lukewarm milk, salt and egg yolks.

4. Add the flour and knead the dough.  I used the dough hook on my electric mixer for this.

5. Add the butter a bit at a time, mixing in between so it's combined.

6. Finally, add the starter dough and knead until fully incorporated.

7. Grease the bowl lightly with butter and let the dough rise for another 2 hours.

8. On a clean, lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a large rectangle.

9. Spread the Nutella onto the dough evenly.  If there's not enough Nutella...add more Nutella.  Less is not more when it comes to Nutella.

10. Roll the dough up starting from the longer edge until you form a long cylinder.

11. Cut the cylinder lengthways, leaving a bit at the top uncut so that the two sections stay stuck together.  At this point, you can transfer the roll onto a sheet of baking paper so that it makes it easier to move the finished product to a baking tray.

12. Turn the sections so that the cut cross-sections face upwards, then plait the ropes around each other and form the braid into a circle.  Tuck the ends together so they look neat.

13. Slide the braid onto a baking tray and leave it to proof for another 30 minutes.  During this time, you can preheat your oven to 180C (355F).

14. When the dough has risen, bake it for about 35 minutes.  Be sure not to overbake it because the bread could get dry.

15. Let the bread cool for a few minutes.  You can eat it warm or cold, it's also good heated up in the microwave for a few seconds the next day!