Imagine eating the most amazing, soft donuts ever. Now, imagine adding yummy Nutella to them. That’s exactly what this recipe does! It makes super delicious Nutella donuts that are soft and wonderful.
HOW TO MAKE THE PERFECT NUTELLA DONUTS
Making Nutella donuts is lots of fun, but sometimes it can be tricky to get them just right. Don’t worry, though! I’ve got some really helpful tips to make sure your Nutella donuts turn out perfect every time. Let’s start.
1. MAKE A TANGZHONG-BASED BRIOCHE DOUGH
Tangzhong is like a magic potion for bread! It’s made by cooking flour and milk until they become a thick paste. When you add this magical paste to bread dough, it keeps the bread super moist, soft, and fluffy. It’s commonly used in Japanese milk bread recipes and works wonders for making delicious donuts, just like the ones I’m sharing with you!
Besides the tangzhong, I also added some extra butter to the dough after the first knead. This butter gives the dough a special touch, making it as soft and luscious as brioche bread with its lovely, thread-like texture.
This dough is wonderfully soft and a bit sticky, which makes it perfect for creating delicious donuts. While using a standing mixer, like a KitchenAid with a dough hook, can make the process easier, don’t worry if you don’t have one! You can still knead it by hand. Start with a wooden spoon, and then get your hands in there. It might seem messy at first, but with a little practice, you’ll master it in no time. And if you need to add more flour, just remember to do so gradually.
2. AVOID UNDER-PROOFING OR OVER-PROOFING YOUR DOUGH
After kneading your dough thoroughly, it’s time to let it rise to perfection. Simply cover it and place it in a warm spot, around 75°F, for approximately 1 hour until it doubles in size. When you gently poke the dough, it should bounce back slightly. Ensuring the dough proofs properly is essential for achieving the light and airy texture we desire in our donuts. So, be patient and enjoy the anticipation of delicious results.
Now comes the fun part—shaping your donuts! Simply shape them and place them on pieces of parchment paper. Let them rise one more time, but this time for only 30-45 minutes. This shorter proofing period allows any air that was pushed out during shaping to be reintroduced, resulting in perfectly fluffy donuts. Enjoy this final step, knowing that you’re just moments away from enjoying delicious treats.
But be careful not to let the donuts rise for too long now. If they puff up too much, they can get big air bubbles while frying, which makes them too greasy. So, just keep an eye on them, and you’ll get perfect, yummy donuts.
When you start frying, keep the uncooked donuts in a cool spot, like the fridge, away from the stove. This helps prevent them from rising too much and keeps them just right for frying.
3. FRY AT THE RIGHT TEMPERATURE FOR THE RIGHT TIME
Precision is important when frying your donuts!
Firstly, it’s important to check that your oil is just right. I suggest using a food thermometer to make sure it’s around 350°F. This temperature is perfect for cooking the donuts quickly on the inside without getting too brown on the outside. Once you’ve got the temperature right, set the heat to medium and keep an eye on it as you fry your donuts.
Secondly, it’s a good idea to use a timer to fry your donuts just right! These donuts take a bit longer to cook through since they don’t have holes like traditional ones. I’ve found that about 2 minutes per side works perfectly. To be sure they’re cooked just right, try a test donut first, then adjust the cooking time for the rest accordingly.
4. USE A WEIGHING SCALE TO UNIFORMLY FILL DONUTS WITH NUTELLA
It can be tricky to know how much Nutella to put inside the donuts, so using a scale is a great idea! You can get an inexpensive and reliable one from Amazon. First, warm up the Nutella slightly to make it easier to spread. Then, put it into a piping bag with a Bismarck tip for filling the donuts. Weigh each donut before and after filling, aiming for about 20–25 grams of Nutella in each. I’ve found that this gives just the right amount of filling without being too much.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
WHAT IS TANGZHONG?
Tangzhong is a slurry or roux made by cooking flour and milk on low heat, constantly stirring, until they form a thick paste. It is added to breads as it allows adding a lot more moisture to them and results in much softer bread that stays fresh for longer. It is used in the fluffy Japanese milk breads we love.
WHY ARE MY DONUTS DENSE?
This could be due to a few reasons:
- If your dough isn’t rising properly, it could be because your yeast isn’t fresh anymore. To check, mix a teaspoon of yeast in ¼ cup of warm milk and let it rest for 10 minutes. It should start to foam up. If it doesn’t, it’s time to get some new yeast.
- It looks like your dough hasn’t risen enough. Make sure it nearly doubles in volume and springs back partly when gently poked. Only start shaping the donuts after they reach this point.
- If your oil is too hot, your donuts might fry too quickly, not giving them enough time to rise and become fluffy. Keep an eye on the oil temperature to make sure it’s just right.
WHY ARE MY DONUTS OILY?
This can happen due to 2 common reasons:
- It seems like your dough has been left to proof for too long. When overproofed, the dough can deflate and lose volume, and it might become oily when fried. Make sure not to leave the dough for too long.
- Your oil temperature isn’t quite right for frying. If it’s not hot enough, your donuts will take longer to cook and might soak up more oil. Aim for around 350°F for the perfect donuts.
NUTELLA DONUTS RECIPE
Ingredients
For the donuts:
- Tangzhong: 4 tablespoon milk (50g), 1 tablespoon flour (10g)
- 180 g (¾) cup milk
- 1.5 tbsp. Yeast
- 400 g (3 cups) all purpose flour
- 15 g (2 tbsp.) milk powder
- 50 g (¼ cup) sugar
- 1 large egg, room temp
- 70 g (5 tbsp.) softened butter, divided into 2 parts
- ½ tbsp. salt
For assembly:
- 200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar for coating
- 300 g Nutella mixed with 1-2 tablespoon oil
Instructions
- To make the tangzhong, stir the flour and milk in a nonstick pan over medium heat until they form a thick paste.
- In your standing mixer's bowl, mix the tangzhong with cold milk and yeast, then let it sit for 5 minutes. The warmth from the tangzhong will create an ideal, lukewarm temperature for the yeast to work its magic.
- Now, add all the remaining ingredients for the dough, except for half of the butter. Use a dough hook attachment on your mixer and knead at medium-high speed for 5 minutes, until the dough starts to come together nicely.
- Add the rest of the butter and knead again for 5-8 minutes until the dough becomes smooth and stretchy. You'll know it's ready when it pulls away from the edges of the bowl.
- Cover the dough and let it rise for about 1 hour until it doubles in size. You can also refrigerate it overnight, but avoid letting it rise to room temperature before refrigerating.
- Roll out the dough until it's about ½ inch thick. Then, use a 4-inch round cutter to cut out circles. Keep doing this until you've used up all the dough.
- Put the donut circles on small pieces of parchment paper and then onto a tray. Let them rest at room temperature for about 30–45 minutes.
- Heat about 2-3 inches of oil in a wok over medium heat. Once it reaches 350°F, carefully drop in a test donut, removing the parchment paper, and fry for about 2 minutes on each side. Test to make sure it's cooked through, and adjust the timing if needed. Fry all the donuts, and keep the ones you haven't fried yet in a cool place so they don't rise too much.
- While warm, dip the donuts in the sugar and coat them generously.
- Warm the Nutella in the microwave for about 5–10 seconds to make it a bit runnier. Then, add the oil and transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a Bismarck tip.
- Fill your donuts with 20-25g of Nutella each.
- Serve & enjoy!!!These are best eaten fresh but stay really good for a day.
Notes
- Be careful not to let your donuts sit for too long and overproof. This can cause them to develop big air bubbles that pop and soak up too much oil.
- Remember to set a timer while frying the donuts to ensure they’re perfectly cooked inside.
- Make sure to use a test donut to check how long it needs to be fried for.
- Use a scale to make sure each donut gets the same amount of Nutella filling inside.