Hazelnut Chocolate Monkey Bread

 Made this recipe from the Breakfast Stars series from Martha. I loved the banana bread recipe, and this recipe looked fabulous, so decided to give it a shot. 

We made monkey bread even more irresistible. Nutella takes this pull-apart treat to an extra level of deliciousness. The chocolate-hazelnut spread is layered throughout. When serving for breakfast, make the dough the night before and set it in the fridge, then bring to room temperature and bake. Or make it the day of and serve for elevenses. 

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 package) 
• 1/2 cup plus a pinch granulated sugar 
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted separately, plus more for brushing and pan 
• 1 cup whole milk 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 
• 2 large eggs, room temperature 
• 4 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 
• 1 1/4 cups hazelnut-chocolate spread, such as Nutella, melted in microwave 
• 1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar 
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Directions

• Step 1

  In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the dough-hook attachment, combine yeast, 1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees), and pinch of granulated sugar. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Beat on low speed while adding 1 stick (1/2 cup) melted butter, milk, salt, remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and eggs. Slowly add flour while beating until mixture just comes together. Increase speed to medium-high; beat until dough is soft and elastic, 5 minutes.

• Step 2

  Lightly brush a large bowl with butter. Place dough in bowl; cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm place and let rise until dough doubles in size, 1 to 2 hours (or refrigerate overnight).

• Step 3

  Generously butter a 10-inch Bundt pan. Drizzle bottom with 1/4 cup hazelnut-chocolate spread. Place remaining 1 stick melted butter in a bowl. In another bowl, stir together brown sugar and cinnamon.

• Step 4

  Deflate dough; divide into quarters. Working with one piece of dough at a time, and keeping remaining pieces covered in plastic, cut off 1-inch pieces with a sharp knife; roll into balls. Coat each in melted butter, then roll in sugar mixture; place in prepared pan. Drizzle evenly with 1/4 cup hazelnut-chocolate spread. Repeat 3 more times. Cover with plastic; let stand in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 60 to 90 minutes. (You can also refrigerate the assembled pan overnight; bring to room temperature 1 hour before baking.)

• Step 5

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until bread feels firm when pressed lightly and is golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pan 5 minutes; invert onto a serving plate and let cool completely. (If any pieces stick to pan, just pull out and arrange back in place.) To serve, pull apart, or cut into slices with a serrated knife.

  
  

My thoughts: 

1. I added the mild solids leftover from making ghee into the bread dough just to see if it would give it a more butter-y taste. Wasn’t appreciable in the final product.

2. I used Justin’s Hazelnut-Almond chocolate spread, didn’t really measure the 1.25 cup amount. In  fact the entire reason I decided to make this recipe was in order to use up the jar, which expired last year. It melted down into a thin consistency enough to drizzle but it hardened fast too. However in terms of final sweetness, it was perfect for me— I think Nutella might have been too sweet with all the brown sugar in the coating. However, Nutella may have made for a less dry cake. 

3. I did the double overnight rise, and it worked. I would happily do it again that way if I had fridge space for it. I didn’t have a Bundt pan so I used a 9x13 pan, which ended up working out. Perhaps the balls weren’t super smooshed together so the “pull apart” stretchiness didn’t happen— more like balls stuck together. There were only two real layers of balls because of the pan shape. They puff a bit more in the oven. It was done closer to 35 minutes because of the pan shape. 

4. The assembly part is messy and lengthy. I melted the butter in a small pot, and kept it in there, which I would do again. Rolling them into balls takes a while, and the melted butter has to be cool enough that the dough doesn’t melt from the heat but still melted... so I had to put butter back on stove a few times. I mixed the brown sugar and cinnamon in an overlarge bowl which I would also do again so as to have room for tossing around in the mix. Next time I would try to be more assembly line-like about it— roll a ton of balls, then dip and coat and drizzle... but I’m sure it’ll still be messy. I definitely poured any leftover butter and sugar on top. 

5. Yummy, but I wouldn’t necessarily make again unless I was trying to feed a crowd. It’s not really a bread that keeps well. But I don’t think I’d buy Nutella or anything specifically to make this recipe.