How to make Nutella more spreadable
I am making chocolate Babka. Nutella is used as a chocolate spread. Both microwaving and hot water bath have both been used for thinning the mixture. Neither have worked very well.
Anyone have any ideas that will help?
Thank in Advance,
Danny
Solved!
https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/68808/tip-nutella-can-be-made-easily-spreadable
”Ever since I began making Chocolate Babka there has been a problem getting the Nutella thin enough to easily spread on the raw bread dough before rolling up.
Google has a number of methods that claim to work and I’ve tried a bunch of them.
The simple solution to thin Nutella is to slowly add very small amounts of water to the chocolate spread. This technique will make the mixture as thin as you desire. It will also maintain this viscosity for an extended length of time if the product is kept sealed.”
I appreciate the input from those that replied with ideas…
I read that the maker of Nutella has an appliance that keeps the Nutella at 84F. I have a bowl of Nutella sitting in a Sous Vide set to 84F. Not super confident, but giving this a try. Will report back.
Update -
84F hasn’t worked well. In desperation, a small amount of water was slowly added and mixed in. Eureka! It seems to work very well. The consistency has become easily spreadable.
Standby for our next Community Bake, Babka…
Hi Dan,
As an Australian, I can tell you that Nutella here spreads probably too easily in the warmer months and can be quite difficult to extract when colder - to the point where a knife is mandatory in winter but nearly useless in summer!
My understanding is that, like most foods that have local production (and Nutella is produced locally in both Australia and North America,) the formulations will be slightly different so perhaps yours is a little firmer than ours.
Looking at the weather where you are, it seems fairly similar to what we get in Sydney so if the formulations are the same, I would expect that a jar left out on the counter would be spoonable.
Our most common size is 750g, which is ~26oz so perhaps larger jars just won't soften as much.
d.
From what you are saying, it is possible we have a different formulation. 84F in a Sous Vide made no noticeable difference. But a small amount of water did the trick. Thanks for your reply.
Hope you join our upcoming Babka Community Bake…
Danny
A thought -
Just to test your idea once more, I will place a new bottle of Nutella out in the sun. Temps should rise in the neighborhood of 90F (32C) today. I’ll try to remember to reply back with my findings.
We haven't had Nutella in the house for . . . rather a long time. If we have had it, I wasn't me who bought it and it would have been and gone before I noticed. (I tend to devour bread with such gusto that it usually doesn't even get a smear of butter.)
One thing I do recall, however, is that, like similar spreads (e.g. nut butters,) it will harden as it ages - especially if it isn't stirred frequently.
I imagine that when it's warmer and softer, the oils will rise, as they are want to do but, as I have never seen noticeably oily Nutella, I suspect that just keeps the top layer extra-spreadable while the lower layers gradually . . . dehydrate, I suppose. Each time it's used without stirring thoroughly, you are 'skimming' off the top, moistest layers, reducing the average moisture (i.e. oil) each time.
As heating the spread is there to soften the oils, if too much of that oil has already been 'harvested' from the upper layers during use, there's may simply not be enough left to soften the remaining mixture.
So, if you're jars's old, it may simply be time for a new one! (Alternatively, you could try adding some extra oil to it but if it's really difficult to spread, it may be too difficult to mix the oil in anyway.)
half a teaspoon of warm water. That's all.
Heating it up too warm tends to thicken nut butters. So now you know what to do if you add too much water. Lol! Boiling water added to cooking nut butters is a tricky and fun experience but needed for making certain nut sauces. With a little experimentation you can get the desired consistency.
and it is solid at room temperature so bringing it 95°F should change it from paste to a flowing viscous substance.