Mix together all the ingredients to make the stiff starter. Knead it until smooth.

Place in a jar, close lid and let it sit at room temperature for two hours.

Refrigerate this overnight.

Next day, remove it from fridge and let it come to room temperature.

The volume should be three times the original volume.

Use it in the dough when it triples.

Mix together 75 ml water and 15 g protein powder and mix well until there are no lumps left.

Set it aside for 15 minutes before using in the recipe.

In a food processor bowl, combine all the ingredients except butter.

Add the whole batch of stiff starter and start kneading.

Knead the dough until it is quite strong. It takes nearly 10 minutes to reach that stage.

Now add butter little by little and let the dough absorb all the butter before adding another portion. Do it in three or four instalments.

Once the butter is completely mixed in the dough, knead it for further 5 minutes or until it passes the window pane test. It should stretch very thin without breaking.’

Remove the dough from the processor, place in an oiled bowl, and cover with cling film and let it prove until double in volume.

The time taken differs from place to place depending on the room temperature and starter strength.

Take the dough out, punch it and roll it into a rectangle.

Apply Nutella on half the portion.

Bring the longest edge away from the Nutella spread and fold it over to make half the rectangle.

Now using a dough scraper or knife, slice the rectangle into eight equal stripes.

Take each stripe and slice it into three portions keeping one side intact.

Make a three strand braid and roll the braid from the edge that is intact.

Place on a baking tray.

Once the shaping is done for all the eight rolls, keep it aside until it becomes 1.5 times the original volume.

Preheat oven to 200C.

Bake the rolls for 20-25 minutes or until the top is nicely browned.

Remove from oven and serve it hot.