Day 20: Nutella Espresso Rolls

I spent the last two days over at my aunt's house, and decided to make them something extra special for breakfast. I had seen these Nutella Espresso Rolls on Pinterest, and had immediately wanted to make them. So what better time than right now?

The actual recipe begins near the bottom, after all the pretty pictures and commentary. For those of you new here, please read on the original site and follow along. For regular readers, sorry I say this every time; I know it must get old.

The Espresso Dough

The Ingredients

I used instant coffee rather than espresso powder. A small lesson: espresso powder is essentially baker's instant coffee; it's just a really strong instant coffee that isn't actually used for coffee drinking purposes, just for flavor in baking. Since instant coffee isn't as strong, I upped the amount I used to a tablespoon (equivalent to three teaspoons).

I ended up using a good 3/4 cup more flour (2 3/4 cups total).

The Process

Instead of melting my butter separately, I actually stuck the butter into the milk, then warmed it up slightly. The butter won't completely melt in the microwave, but after stirring it in the warmed milk for a little bit, it will.

I just used this small measuring cup as I continued with activating my yeast. This took ten minutes. The reduced surface area for the yeast to lay on might have contributed to the longest wait time to activate, but I don't think it actually made a difference in the end.

I then transferred the mixture to a big mixing bowl before adding in the coffee, egg, and sugar.
You'll notice that the coffee had a little bit of trouble being fully incorporated. This is because the instant coffee powder I had was a bit more chunky than just straight up powder. It wasn't a huge deal.

Adding the flour was definitely the most time intensive, and frustrating, part of the active preparation.
I began by just mixing in the flour gradually with a spoon. As I finished putting in my 2 cups, I switched to using my hands to fully incorporate it all, only to find myself in a huge sticky mess - literally. After 2 cups, the dough was still ridiculously sticky; I had to add a lot of dough just to get it off my hands.
Because it was still so sticky, I decided to use the dough hook on the mixer to incorporate more flour into the batter. There wasn't really enough dough though to knead/mix it with the mixer, and the dough hook was somewhat deceptive, as the outside would seem to be the appropriate texture, but the inside (the part actually on the dough hook) was still too sticky. It was also harder to tell if it was actually the appropriate texture, because I was basing this on sight, rather than actually touching it.
I ended up switching back to using my hands again to mix the dough, while my aunt sprinkled more (much more) flour on the dough. Of course, I was so nervous that I'd make the dough too dense (I'd already added so so much!), that I'd knead it for a minute or so before deciding it was indeed still too sticky.
In the end, I added almost 50% more than the called for amount.

Since the dough hook and mixer was deemed unfit, I switched the dough into a different bowl that was easier to mix in. I'm not sure how long exactly I kneaded my dough, but it was probably somewhere in or near the ball park of 7-10 minutes as called for.
I then covered the bowl with a moist kitchen towel, which supposedly helps keep the dough moist, though I've never really tested that fact. Whatever - the main thing was that it was indeed covered.

I ended up letting my dough rise for 2½ hours, as I wanted to completely finish my blog post for yesterday before continuing to make these rolls.


I know the before picture doesn't really show how big it is, but you can see that it was just a lump that didn't even cover the entire bottom of the bowl. After rising, the dough was easily 3x as big. Of course, it deflated quite a bit just from picking it up out of the bowl, but expect a huge difference in volume after your wait!

The Nutella Filling

The Ingredients

I didn't actually measure how much Nutella I used. I'm particular, but I'm not that particular (particular can be read as anal). I used around ½ a cup.

I also didn't use a complete ¼ cup of brown sugar. Nutella is sweet enough already, so it didn't need the entirety of a densely packed ¼ cup.

Since this was to be sprinkled on top rather than mixed in, I crushed the instant coffee into a fine powder using the back of a spoon. I also kept the amount at one tsp.

The Process

Roll out your dough into an approximate rectangle approximately the size of 11"x15" that is approximately the same height and even throughout. Again not that particular ((anal)).

To spread the Nutella, I just used a regular knife.

Sprinkling the brown sugar/instant coffee mix was a bit tricky. Brown sugar likes to clump a bit, so you couldn't sprinkle evenly like with granulated sugar. However, after the first initial act of sprinkling, I ran my finger gently over the top of the sugar, which separated it and spread it out. You will accidentally touch the Nutella and mess that up a little bit, but I decided to be more particular (anal) about the spread of the sugar than the spread of the Nutella.

Putting It All Together

Luckily, rolling this dough tightly was a lot easier than the jam swirls I made. I was so relieved.

I cut my rolls just using a regular boning knife. I think any knife with a sharp, straight edge would work.

I also ended up with 11 rolls. I think it was a combination of my rectangle being slightly longer, the end pieces I cut off being slightly smaller, and the rolls themselves being a little less wide as well.

I then put my rolls on a regular plate, covered them, and put them in the fridge. I wouldn't say the wait was overnight though, since I actually went to bed early in the morning.... Heh. I also put them upright since I put them on a plate rather than a baking sheet (plate was easier to find, and at around 2AM you aren't particular (ANAL) at all). This prevented the loss of Nutella to the evil grips of the plate.

After 4½ hours in the fridge, the rolls had still risen quite a bit. I began preheating my oven, poured myself a strong cup of coffee, then transferred my rolls from the plate to a big round baking sheet. As the oven was still just beginning to preheat, I went ahead and stuck my rolls in to warm them up. After they were slightly warmer than room temperature, I pulled them out to wait on the counter again. This was to help activate the yeast a little more so that the rolls would rise just a teensy bit more.

I baked my rolls for about 18 minutes. They were really only golden and slightly toasted, definitely not as dark as the ones picture on the original recipe's blog.

You can also see that I didn't place my rolls tightly together on the baking sheet like the original. I think this may have contributed to the Nutella oozing out around the bottoms (though that might've happened in the original, you just can't see it though since it's covered by another roll). This doesn't make the rolls stick to the platter though, and it can also be easily broken off the bottom to make the rolls more presentable. Plus, it's really yummy, like a thin and super crispy brittle.

The Final Product

Some Notes

I know age affects flour's absorbency, plus we live in a very hot and humid climate. I'm not sure if the fact I used unbleached all-purpose flour made a difference. But that is a lot more flour. If you live in a very dry area, maybe just being with 2 cups of flour. But anyone like me, I'd go ahead and start with 2¼ cups, knowing you'll probably have to add more.

Just use your hands to knead the dough. I know, it's so much harder, but just trust me, it's not actually.

I was a little surprised at how little filling there is after the dough has been baked. Maybe a lot oozed out, or maybe it got a little absorbed while the rolls rose, or maybe it just dries and deflates a lot in the oven. The flavor is still there, but it's not as strong as the original amount just spread over toast.

The subdued Nutella let the coffee flavor really shine through. These two factors combined gave the rolls a surprisingly more mature taste than what I had assumed they'd taste like.

I experimented and let a few rise for a few hours in the open after they had been in the fridge. This made the rolls way more dense. So don't let them rise out in the open too long.

On a blog rather than product related note, I realize that I've done online recipes the past few days, rather than posting one from a cookbook. I promise tomorrow I'll have a good ol' fashioned printed (but then put online by me) recipe.

If I Could Do It Again....

I'd be more aware of the stickiness of the dough, which goes also goes along with just using my hands to mix and knead. I'd also be less afraid of adding more flour.

I'd bake the rolls touching each other. It'd be interesting to see if that makes a difference.

I'd use espresso powder, but only because I know we have some at home. If you only have instant coffee, that's totally acceptable.

The Final Verdict

Everyone who had these rolls said they were really good. I thought they were only pretty good, but I think I may be becoming desensitized to baked goods because I have just been making so darn many; I've had a much more subdued reaction to my end products compared to everyone else's for a few of the last items I've made.

Aside from taste, baking these rolls filled the house with one of the best aromas ever. Seriously just as good as the actual taste of the rolls. I just don't think you can understand how good it smelled unless you make them, because it was that good.

Though the dough caused me a lot of problems, I think if I made it again it'd be much quicker and easier, now that I know what to expect. (And hopefully if you make these, you don't have these beginner fears and issues because of the insight I provide!)

Generally, I try to stray from calorie-expensive breakfasts. But I think these would be a nice treat, especially for those around me, every now and then. Waking up to something cooked for you by someone else is just about the best way to begin the day.