Christmas Wreath Bread

Name: Christmas Wreath Bread
Ingredients: dough; 150 ml warm milk; 3 egg yolks; 25 ml oil; 1 tablespoon sugar; 1/2 packet dry yeast; 300 g flour; 1 pinch of salt; filling; 50 g butter at room temperature; 1 tablespoon sugar; 150 g dried fruits (apricots, raisins, rosehips, etc.); a little cinnamon; syrup; 50 ml milk; 2 tablespoons sugar; 1 tablespoon almond flakes

November 18, 2009

Christmas Recipes Dough Desserts

If we had the spinach and feta wreath on the Easter table, I thought a wreath would also be fitting for the Christmas table. This time the jewels in the crown are dried fruits, as they're in season (but you can substitute with cubes of Turkish delight), and I added a little cinnamon, because it's Christmas and the house should smell lovely to let the carolers know they can knock on our door.

The dough is the wasp nest recipe from Angela, but you can also use a classic sweet bread dough, whatever your favorite is. You can fill the center with Christmas symbols or even a simple flower.

Ingredients

Dough

150 ml warm milk
3 egg yolks
25 ml oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 packet dry yeast
300 g flour
1 pinch of salt

Filling

50 g butter at room temperature
1 tablespoon sugar
150 g dried fruits (apricots, raisins, rosehips, etc.)
a little cinnamon

Syrup

50 ml milk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon almond flakes

How to prepare christmas wreath bread

Put the dough ingredients in the bread machine in the order listed and set it to the kneading and rising program.
If you don't have a bread machine, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the milk. Add to the rest of the ingredients and knead by hand until the dough is elastic and doesn't stick to your hands. Let it rise for at least 1 hour in a covered bowl placed in a warm spot.
Cream the butter with the sugar until fluffy.
Cut the dried fruits into small pieces if needed (e.g., apricots). You can use any mix of dried fruits, but the more colorful they are, the better they'll look.
On a floured sheet of parchment paper, roll out the dough into a thin rectangular sheet. Spread a thin layer of butter over the sheet. Sprinkle the dried fruits on top. Sprinkle a little cinnamon over them.
Roll up the sheet lengthwise. Cut the dough at intervals of about 4-5 cm using a very sharp knife (or a box cutter), the cuts should be clean.
Gently turn the scored roll with the cuts facing you and bring the ends together to form a circle. Insert one end into the other to close the circle well and press the dough in that area to seal it as best as possible.
Slide a baking pan under the wreath (under the parchment paper). If you have a pan with removable sides (26 cm diameter), put the rim on. Trim the parchment paper around the pan. Place a jar in the center of the wreath (to keep the hole in the center as the dough rises), cover the pan with a plastic bag and let it rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. Fill the jar halfway with water.
Bake at 180°C for 30-35 minutes (leave the jar with water in the middle), until the wreath is golden on top.
Important! If you have a pan with removable sides, place aluminum foil underneath, because while it's in the oven some butter will drip out and we don't want to smoke up the kitchen.
Meanwhile, prepare the syrup: heat the milk with sugar until the sugar dissolves. Remove the jar from the center and brush the top of the wreath with this syrup, sprinkle the almond flakes on top and then bake for another 5 minutes.
* Instead of syrup, you can brush the wreath with honey heated and diluted with a drop of water