Star Bread

4.84 from 6 votes

This nutella-filled Star Bread or Snowflake Bread is an impressive but easy sweet bread that can be filled with all sorts of flavors from cinnamon sugar to cookie butter or raspberry jam and is perfect for holidays, brunches, and gatherings! Let everyone pull off their own pieces and enjoy with a glass of milk or a breakfast casserole!

Prep Time30

Cook Time30

Additional Time2

Total Time3

Course: Bread, Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 396kcal

Author: Amy Nash

Ingredients

Bread Dough

2 ¼ teaspoons instant or active dry yeast*
¼ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup warm whole milk, about 105 to 110 degrees F
¼ cup warm water
¼ cup salted butter, softened to room temperature
1 large egg, room temperature
3 ¼ to 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1 teaspoon salt

Filling

¾ cup Nutella

Decorating

1 large egg
1 Tablespoon water
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Instructions

Combine the warm milk, water, sugar, and yeast in a bowl and let it proof for 5 minutes until foamy.
Add the proofed yeast, butter, egg, salt, and 1 cup of the flour to the bowl of a stand mixer and mix using the paddle attachment until combined. Add another cup of flour and mix in until smooth.
Switch to the dough hook and knead in the remaining flour, about ½ cup at a time, until a smooth, soft dough forms. Knead for 5 minutes on medium speed, then transfer to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm spot for 1 to 1 ½ hours until doubled in size.
Punch down the dough and divide into 4 even pieces. Roll into balls.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out one ball of dough into a 10-inch circle. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with a piece of parchment paper.
Spread ¼ cup of the nutella on the dough, then repeat with the next ball of dough, carefully placing it on top of the first layer of dough and nutella. Spread it with another ¼ cup of the nutella. Repeat with the third ball of dough and remaining nutella. Roll out the final ball of dough and lay it on top.
Use a 3-inch cup, jar, or small bowl as a guide in the center of the stacked dough. Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to slice lines through all four layers of dough in towards the guide, leaving a 3-inch circle of dough in the center. It's easiest to cut 4 lines on each side first, then another 4 lines between the first four, dividing the dough into 8 segments, then between each of those so you end up with 16 sections.
Working with 2 sections at a time, twist the dough away from each other TWICE, then pinch the ends together really, really well. If you don't really pinch them together well, the bread will start to untwist and spoil the effect as it bakes. Repeat to create an 8-pointed star or snowflake shape.
Preheat oven to 375°F while the bread rests for 20 minutes. Don't let it rise too much longer than that or it will lose it's shape when baked.
Brush the dough with an egg wash made by whisking the egg with a tablespoon of water or milk. Bake for 25-28 minutes until golden brown on top. Let cool for 5-10 minutes, then dust with powdered sugar. Serve warm.

Notes

Make-ahead instructions: You can make the dough the night before and place it in the fridge instead of letting it rise for 60-90 minutes. In the morning, take the dough out and let it rise on the counter until doubled in size and proceed as directed. The dough can also be frozen for up to 2 months and thawed in the fridge overnight.
Simple Glaze (Optional): Whisk together 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract for an easy glaze that you can drizzle over the top of the star bread or use for dipping.
Cinnamon sugar filling: Instead of nutella, spread each layer of dough with about 2 tablespoon of softened salted butter, then sprinkle with a mixture of 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and ⅓ cup of granulated or brown sugar.
Jam: I love this bread with raspberry jam spread between the layers and a glaze on top! Raspberry is my favorite, but really any jam will work. I recommend about 2-3 tablespoons of jam for each layer of dough.
Cookie Butter: Cookie butter is AMAZING and a wonderful twist on this star bread, although it's light brown color doesn't showcase the twists as well as some other fillings. I recommend adding a couple of tablespoons of cookie butter to the basic glaze recipe to amp up the cookie butter flavor.

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