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 1/2 a cup of milk and 1/4 cup of water and heat them to about 110 degrees F (43 C).
• Add the heated milk and water to a large bowl.
• Add 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar to the bowl.
• Mix everything well together and set it aside for 5 min. The yeast will bloom and double in size.
• Once the yeast has bloomed for 5 mins, let’s add 2 and 1/4 cups of flour, 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of butter, and 1 egg to the bowl.
• Mix everything well together to form a dough. Knead well for about 5-8 minutes or until it comes together.  
• Cover the dough with a clean tea towel and let it rise or proof for about 60 minutes.

The Onion 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 two large red 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.

The Chive Pesto

Now we can make the chive paste.

• Add 1 bunch (about 1 cup) of washed and properly dried chives to a mortar and pestle, or food processor.
• Add the 3 tablespoons of olive oil and blend or crush them to a paste. The paste will be thick; if you use a food processor, you will need to scrape the sides a few times to blend all the chives evenly.
• Once done, set aside.

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 of about 10 inches in diameter.
• Carefully lift the rolled-out dough. Sprinkle more flour on another part of the counter or large chopping board and lay the rolled-out dough on it.

• Evenly spread the onions onto the top of the rolled-out dough.
• Move back to the counter and repeat the rolling of the second ball of dough.
• Gently lift and place it on top of the onion layer and spread the ricotta cheese on the second 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 3rd layer.

• Now we can roll out the 4th layer and place it on top of the chive layer. Covering the chive pesto with it.
• Because each layer might be of a slightly different size, using a plate and a pizza cutter 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.

Shaping the Christmas Star Bread

Now we are ready to build our star bread.

• Gently lift all four layers together and place them on a parchment-lined baking tray.
• Place a small bowl in the center of the circle and using a pizza cutter or a knife, gently score a circular shape around the bowl.
• 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. DO NOT cut to the center of the layers.
• 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.

Baking the Christmas Star Bread

Now we are ready to bake our beautiful and delicious Christmas star bread.

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 C).
• 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.

Tried and Liked the Recipe?

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