holiday baking Archives - My Kitchen Clatter

Cinnamon Star Bread

Serving Size:

8-16

Time:

4 hours total

Difficulty:

Medium

Ingredients – Dough

2 cups (240 g) of unbleached all-purpose flour (such as King Arthur Flour in the red bag)
3/4 cup (184 g) of milk (preferably whole)
4 T (57 g) of unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 t vanilla extract
2 t instant yeast
2 T (25 g) sugar
1 t salt

Ingredients – Filling (and Egg Wash)

1 large egg, room temperature
1/2 cup (99 g) sugar
1 T cinnamon

Directions

Heat the milk to about 110 degrees – it should be lukewarm. I heat mine 1 minute in the microwave.
Combine the milk, 1 cup of flour, butter, vanilla, yeast and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer or in a large bowl, if you are mixing by hand. Slowly add the salt and enough of the remaining flour to form a shaggy dough that forms a ball.
Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes until it forms a smooth ball. The dough should be soft but not sticky.
Oil a large bowl (I use canola or another neutral flavored oil) and place the dough in the bowl. Roll the dough in the oil. Cover with a towel and place in a warm, draft free spot such as a slightly heated oven. Allow to rise about an hour until the dough has about doubled.
After the dough has risen, remove from the bowl and gently deflate. Divide into four equal portions. Shape each quarter into a ball and allow to rest 10 minutes.
While the dough is resting, prepare the filling. Beat the egg in a small bowl and combine the sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl.
Prepare a baking sheet by lining with a sheet of parchment or silicon baking mat.
After the dough portions have rested, take one portion and roll out into a 10-inch circle. Gently move the circle onto the prepared baking sheet. Brush the dough with the egg and then sprinkle with about 1/3 of the cinnamon sugar. Roll a second dough, and lay it on top of the first circle. Repeat with egg and cinnamon sugar until all of the doughs are layered. The top dough does not get egg and cinnamon sugar treatment.
Set a glass or other circle with about a 3-inch diameter in the center of the dough. This will act as a template so you don’t cut too far into the center.
Using scissors or a bench knife, cut the circle into 16 even sections – stopping at the center circle marker. Remove the center circle marker.
Take two strips of dough next to each other in each hand and twist away from each other two times, then pinch the strips together at the end. Repeat around the circle so that you have eight twists.
Allow the dough to rise in a warm spot again for about 45 minutes. It should be puffy at the end of this rise.
While the dough is rising, heat the oven to 400 degrees.
At the end of the rise, gently brush a light layer of the egg over the top of the dough.
Bake for 15-18 minutes until the bread is golden with dark cinnamon streaks. The center should register 200 degrees F on a digital thermometer.
16.Remove from oven and allow to rest about 10 minutes before serving. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and serve warm or at room temperature.
You can also allow it to cool completely at this point and wrap in tin foil or freezer paper and freeze. To serve from frozen, allow to come to room temperature overnight (either in the fridge or on the counter) and then heat (covered loosely with tin foil in a 325 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes.

This bread reminds me of my childhood and Christmas all rolled up into one pretty little loaf of bread. My mom used to bake loaves upon loaves of cardamom raisin bread at Christmas time. She would send my sister and I to school with beautiful loaves of fresh baked bread for our teachers as their Christmas gifts. I imagine the teachers must have loved getting those loaves.

While this isn’t my mom’s exact recipe, it does include the cardamom and I think it is just as wonderful. I’ve carried on my mother’s tradition, with this bread. I share it with neighbors, teachers, and anyone who stops by our home for the holidays. It freezes beautifully, so you can make a big batch ahead of time, freeze the loaves and distribute to all of your neighbors when it is convenient. And by the way, it is the absolute best toasted.

When you are shaping the loaves, you can either make one large loaf, or three smaller loaves. I usually do three smaller loaves for sharing. Just divide the dough into thirds and then thirds again (if you are going to make three loaves). Roll each third into a long snake and braid it up all pretty. Let rise and then brush with an egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. The sugar makes it all sparkly and pretty – which is just what we need when we are doing holiday baking, right?

If you don’t have home milled whole wheat flour, my recommendation is to skip the whole wheat flour entirely and use a good bread flour, such as King Arthur (red or blue bag work well). If you are using bread flour, you can skip the dough enhancer and vital wheat gluten.

Enjoy!

Sugared Cardamom Braid – Whole Wheat

Recipe Type: Bread

Author: Andrea

Prep time: 2 hours

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 2 hours 25 mins

Serves: 3 small loaves

This bread freezes well and makes great gifts. Toasted, it is wonderful. It also makes superb French toast and bread pudding.

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups milk (whole or 2% is best)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
6 T butter
2 T grated lemon rind or lemon extract
1/2 to 1 t ground cardamom (I use 1 t)
1 1/2 t salt
2 t dough enhancer or unpasteurized apple cider vinegar (not needed if you use white flour)
2 t vital wheat gluten (not needed if you use white flour)
4 1/2 to 5 cups home milled whole wheat flour* (or white flour, or a combination of wheat and white)
2 t instant yeast
1 large egg
GLAZE
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1 T water
1 T coarse-grain sugar, such as Turbindo

Instructions

Combine the milk through the salt in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Cook 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves and a thermometer registers 115 degrees, stirring frequently. Remove saucepan from heat. Let cool down to 115 degrees, if necessary.
Add the warm milk mixture into your mixer bowl. Add the dough enhancer, vital wheat gluten, yeast, egg and about half of the flour. If you are using your Bosch Universal mixer, and have a dough hook extender, use it. Mix just to combine. Turn machine to low and continue adding flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough just cleans the sides of the bowl. You may not use all of the flour.
Knead the dough for 6-10 minutes or until the surface is smooth and elastic. The dough should be soft.
Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking oil, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size. Lightly punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes.
Divide dough into 3 equal portions for three smaller loaves (about 1 pound each). Working with one portion, divide it again into three equal portions to make a three strand braid, or six equal portions for a six strand braid. Shape each portion into a 10-inch rope. Pinch ends together at one end. Braid ropes on a lightly oiled surface, pinch loose ends to seal or turn them under. Place braid on a baking sheet coated with oil. Repeat with remaining portions of dough so that you have three loaves formed. Cover and let rise 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
Preheat over to 375 degrees
Combine egg white and water; brush over top of loaf. Sprinkle with course-grain sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden and loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from oven; cool on a wire rack.
* Note: If you don’t home mill your flour, replace the whole wheat flour with a good bread flour, such as King Arthur’s All Purpose or Bread Flour (red or blue bags).
* Note: For braiding ideas, videos and diagrams, I recommend Pinterest or King Arthur Flour’s website.