Christmas Star Bread

My pull apart Christmas Star Bread is guaranteed to be loved by all, young and old. It’s guaranteed to be a show stopper. I can bet anyone that tries it will want the recipe and one piece will just not do. Serve it at your next Christmas gathering and become the talk of the town for being a great host.

The Ingredients for Christmas Star Bread

The usual bread ingredients with the addition of some extras for stuffing and you have the most amazing centerpiece for Christmas.

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Ingredients List for Christmas Star Bread

• Dough:
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 teaspoon dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 medium egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter (softened)
• Filling:
• 2 large red onions
• 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 bunch fresh chives
• 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (divided)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons butter (for brushing on top before baking)

The Dough

Let’s start with the dough. Combine the milk and water and heat them to about 110 degrees F. Add it to a large bowl and add the yeast and sugar to the bowl. Mix everything well together and set aside covered for 5 min. The yeast will bloom and double in size. Once the yeast has bloomed, we can add the butter, egg, salt, and the flour to the bowl.

Mix everything well together to form a dough. Knead well for about 5-8 minutes or until it comes together.  I like the feeling of hand kneading, so I always use my hands to mix and knead the dough on a clean counter space. Once done, the dough will be soft. Cover it with a clean tea towel and let it rise or proof for about 60 minutes.

The Filling:

While the dough is rising, we can prepare the filling for our Christmas star bread. We need to caramelize the onions as well as make the chive paste. Let’s start with the onion. Slice the onions lengthwise and heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a pan. Add the onions to the oil and cook them for about 8-10 minutes on medium-low heat. This will allow them to caramelize slowly and make them all that much sweeter. Once done, turn the heat off and add salt and pepper to taste. Set them aside and allow them to cool down completely.

Now we can make the chive paste. In a mortar and pestel or a food processor, add the washed and properly dried chives. Add the remaining olive oil and blend or crush them to form a paste. The paste will be thick and if you are using a food processor, you will need to scrape the sides a few times to get all the chives evenly blended. Once done, set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

The Assembly:

Now we are ready to assemble our Christmas star bread. By now the dough should be ready and the onions cooled down. Punch down the dough and evenly divide the dough into 4 equal parts. Roll out each part into a ball. Generously sprinkle a clean counter space with some flour and using a rolling pin, roll out one of the balls into a thin flat circular shape. It should be about 10 inches or so in diameter. Carefully lift the rolled out dough and sprinkle more flour on the counter before laying it down on it.

Evenly spread the onions onto the top of the rolled out dough. Move to a different part of the counter and repeat the rolling of another ball of dough. Place it on top of the onion layer and spread the ricotta cheese on this layer.

Now roll out the third ball into a similar sized circular shape and place it on top of the layer with ricotta cheese. Spread the chive paste onto this layer.

Now you can roll out the fourth layer and place it on top of the chive layer. Using a plate or a lid and a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, cut all four layers into a proper circle. Do not discard the cut off pieces. You can bake them off as extras and enjoy them as a special snack for putting in all the effort.

Baking the Christmas Star Bread

Gently lift all four layers and place them on a parchment lined baking tray. Now we are ready to build our star bread. Place a small bowl in the center of the circle and using a pizza cutter or a knife, gently score a circular shape. Do not cut all the way through. Now, using the pizza cutter, evenly cut the shape into 16 equal strips starting from where the circle was scored. To form the star bread, lift one of the cut strips and roll it twice in one direction. Lift the second strip right beside it and roll it in the other direction. Stick the two strips together at the end.

Repeat that process until you have all 16 strips rolled and have eight equal twisted shapes. Now we are ready to bake our beautiful and delicious Christmas star bread. Melt the butter and using a cooking brush, liberally spread the butter all over the ready to bake star bread. Bake it for about 30 minutes or until it’s browned and smells delicious.

Remove from the oven and allow it to cool down completely before serving it as a side for your Christmas dinner or any dinner for that matter.

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