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holiday braided wreath
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5 from 5 votes

HOLIDAY SWEET BRAIDED BREAD

Holiday sweet braided bread is golden buttery dough with walnut, brown sugar & cinnamon filling twisted in round shaped bread. This beautiful bread will be your next holiday brunch sensation. 
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Resting Time2 hours
Total Time2 hours 50 minutes
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: European
Keyword: braided bread, holiday wreath, sweet holiday bread, twisted bread
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 215kcal
Author: Julia

Ingredients

For the sweet dough

  • 1 cup (220 ml) lukewarm milk
  • 2 tablespoons (30 g) fresh yeast (1,5 tsp dry yeast)
  • 3 tablespoon (40 g) fine sugar
  • 4 cups (550 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 50 g (50 g) soft butter

For the filling

  • 2 cups (300 g) chopped walnuts
  • 5 tablespoons (70 g) soften butter
  • ½ cup (100 g) brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 large whole egg for egg wash

Instructions

For the yeast starter

  • Skip this step if you are using dry yeast.
    In a larger coffee cup, warm the milk for 15 seconds in the microwave and crumble fresh yeast in it. Add 1 teaspoon of fine sugar (out of 40 g called in recipe). Stir it in, until you have a smooth paste. Cover with plastic food foil and let rise the yeast for 10 minutes, in a warm place. Continue the following steps below.
    1 cup (220 ml) lukewarm milk, 2 tablespoons (30 g) fresh yeast, 3 tablespoon (40 g) fine sugar

Make the dough

  • In a standing mixer with the hook attachment, add all-purpose flour, salt, sugar and if you are using dry yeast, stir well all the dry ingredients together. If you are using fresh yeast, add it together with egg yolks, melted butter and start kneading on low speed. Knead the dough in a standing mixer, until it starts coming together. Then knead for an additional 5-10 minutes, until you see the dough is soft and stretchy.
    4 cups (550 g) all-purpose flour, 1 pinch salt, 50 g (50 g) soft butter, 2 large egg yolks
  • If the soft dough is sticking to the bowl, sprinkle it with one tablespoon of flour. If it's too dry and doesn't come together, add one tablespoon of melted butter. Once the dough doesn't stick to the bowl, take it out on a clean floured surface and knead for about 1 minute, then form a ball and place it in a medium kitchen bowl. Cover with a tea towel or wrap with food foil. Let the dough rise in a warm place for one hour, or until it doubles in size.

Make the filling

  • Prepare filling. Meanwhile, the dough is proving, start chopping walnuts in smaller pieces. I use a large knife & large cutting board. Take a small pan and roast the walnuts on medium low heat. This step doesn't require any butter or oil.
    2 cups (300 g) chopped walnuts
  • Remove the roasted walnuts from the pan and set aside. In a medium kitchen bowl, add brown sugar, cinnamon and melted butter. Stir well and set aside the filling.
    5 tablespoons (70 g) soften butter, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ cup (100 g) brown sugar
  • Preheat the oven, middle rack, to 177 C/ 350 F. Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a clean floured surface. Roll the dough with a rolling pin, in a rectangular shape, about 15 inch x 12 inch.
  • Spread the sugar filling to the edges of the dough and sprinkle the roasted walnuts on top. Roll the dough into a log, starting from the long side of the dough. Using a large, sharp knife, cut the log in half-length to have two halves of dough. Place the right half of dough over the left and carefully twirl the two halves together until you have twisted bread. Place the twisted log on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and connect the two ends together to form the wreath. Cover the wreath with a tea towel and let rise for another 20 minutes.

Bake

  • Brush the wreath with egg wash before placing it in the oven. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. The wreath is ready once it has golden color on top and the large toothpick comes out clean.
    1 large whole egg
  • Let cool the wreath on the baking sheet for 15 minutes. Transfer to a festive plate, you can dust the holiday wreath with powdered sugar and decorate with red ribbon. Before serving, cut in 2 inch slices. Serve with coffee or tea.