Braided Hazelnut Brioche (Nusszopf)
This is one of my most beautiful sweet culinary discoveries in recent months: Nusszopf or Braided Hazelnut Brioche! If you love brioche and already know Babka, this recipe is a must-try!
Nusszopf, a traditional German brioche recipe
It is a classic of German baking: the Hefezopf. Hefezopf can be declined in all forms and one of the best known and which I particularly appreciate is the hazelnut version, the Nusszopf.
I discovered Nusszopf for the first time in a small village in southern Germany in Baden-Württemberg.
The Nusszopf looks a lot like the babka from Central and Eastern Europe. It is a brioche dough, slightly sweet. Then, the brioche is filled with a filling made from hazelnuts, milk, sugar and cinnamon. Then, the brioche is braided to form pretty waves. Sometimes we find her in a circle form.
Hazelnut Braided Brioche Recipe (Nusszopf)
For a brioche of about 750 g, you need the following ingredients:
Ingredients
For the dough
- 500 g flour
- 1 sachet of baker’s yeast (dry, instant)
- 70 g sugar
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 egg
- 250 ml of lukewarm milk
- 80 g butter
For the filling
- 200 g of ground hazelnuts
- 120 ml milk
- 60 g sugar
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder
Preparation
Step 1: The brioche dough
Mix the flour, instant baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl.
Then add the milk little by little. Then add the egg and the butter. Mix everything well.
Knead the dough for about 5 minutes until it is smooth. Form a ball and place the dough ball in the bowl covered with a tea towel. Raise the dough for 1h30 to 2 hours. It must double in size.
You can replace instant yeast with fresh yeast (20g for 500g of flour). In this case, start by making the yeast rise in a glass with 3 tablespoon of milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 tablespoon of flour from the total amount.
Leave to rest for 15 minutes. The yeast must foam! Then continue the recipe from step 1.
Step 2: the filling
Pour the milk into a saucepan and heat it over low heat. Add the sugar, then the ground hazelnuts. Mix well.
Remove everything from the heat and add the cocoa powder and the cinnamon. Cool the preparation.
Step 3: The braid
Once the dough is well rested, remove the air by pressing on the dough.
Then roll out the dough using a rolling pin.
Then cover the dough with the hazelnut filling.
Then roll up the dough lengthwise.
Cut the dough in half lengthwise.
Braid the brioche.
Place the braided brioche on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Let the brioche rest for another 30 minutes.
Step 4: Bake
As an option, you can add pieces of crushed hazelnuts to the brioche before baking.
Bake the brioche for 35 minutes at 175 ° C. Let cool before cutting.
If you liked this recipe, then you will surely like these other recipes too!
Do not hesitate to leave me a comment if you have questions!
Braided Hazelnut Brioche (Nusszopf)
Click on the stars to rate!
Ingredients
For the dough
- 500 g flour
- 1 sachet of baker’s yeast dry, instant
- 70 g sugar
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 egg
- 250 ml of lukewarm milk
- 80 g butter
For the filling
- 200 g of ground hazelnuts
- 120 ml milk
- 60 g sugar
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder
Instructions
Step 1: The brioche dough
- Mix the flour, instant baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl.
- Then add the milk little by little. Then add the egg and the butter. Mix everything well.
- Knead the dough for about 5 minutes until it is smooth. Form a ball and place the dough ball in the bowl covered with a tea towel. Raise the dough for 1h30 to 2 hours. It must double in size.
Step 2: The filling
- Pour the milk into a saucepan and heat it over low heat. Add the sugar, then the ground hazelnuts. Mix well.
- Remove everything from the heat and add the cocoa powder and the cinnamon. Cool the preparation.
Step 3: The braid
- Once the dough is well rested, remove the air by pressing on the dough.
- Roll out the dough using a rolling pin. Cover the dough with the hazelnut filling.
- Roll up the dough lengthwise. Cut the dough in half lengthwise. Braid the brioche.
- Place the braided brioche on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Let the brioche rest for another 30 minutes.
Step 4: Bake
- As an option, you can add pieces of crushed hazelnuts to the brioche before baking.
- Bake the brioche for 35 minutes at 175 ° C. Let cool before cutting.
