Stop looking for that perfect Christmas morning breakfast and check out this amazingly delicious and fun to make Strawberry Twisted Snowflake Bread! A breakfast the WHOLE FAMILY will LOVE!!
We all want to find a fun recipe to make for Christmas that is fun and different but still easy to do and most of all is delicious, right?! That’s the goal for me anyway. And I seem to have stumbled upon the perfect idea! Thanks to Food Network for the plethora of awesome recipes I found this little gem. I don’t know what I love more, how good it tastes or how pretty it is! But who cares! We (well I) will definitely be making this on Christmas morning! Then we will follow it up the days to come with eggs and whole grains because that is what we try to do in this home of ours- to maintain balance. Balance produces satisfaction and satisfaction keeps us happy!
After all it’s Christmas right?! Ya gotta live a little. And this snowflake bread is LIVIN! It kinda brings out the inner Martha Stewart in you.
This bread takes some time so do plan ahead. But most of that time is time the bread is rising and baking. The best part is creating the snowflake after all the dough layers are stacked on top of one another. And don’t think you need to have the perfect dough circle on top of more perfect dough circles. I didn’t and you won’t even notice because you will slice the dough up into sections and then twist those sections. That is where the dough magic begins! The circles of dough are transformed into this beautiful snowflake with strawberry jam oozing out.
Umm, let me just say I have never made anything so cool in my life. It makes me want to become a baker! I could have fun making this snowflake bread every single day. Guess I will stick with food blogging for now though! 🙂 It’s impossible to get bored.
It’s the perfect plan for me. I am always changing my mind and can never stick to one idea. My mind works like fireworks, new ideas popping up here and there but so often it seems they leave just like that because more fireworks are coming and coming. However, every once in awhile there’s a big one that is so bright and loud that I just can’t let it go…like starting a food blog. Quite the analogy huh?
Okay, so back to this amazing snowflake bread. Here are the steps in a nutshell:
- Make dough
- Let rise
- Punch down dough and roll out
- Stack dough layers and make snowflake
- Let rise
- Apply egg wash
- Bake
- Let cool and add glaze
- Be amazed!
Easy as pie! 😉
Strawberry Twisted Snowflake Bread
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 1/4 cups warm water about 110℉
- 1-2 1/4 teaspoon packet active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 4 1/2 - 5 cups all-purpose flour + more for dusting surface
- 1 whole egg
- 3 egg yolks
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons canola oil + more for coating bowl
Strawberry Filling
- 3/4 cup chunky strawberry jam
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
Egg Wash
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons milk
Glaze
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons milk + 1 more if necessary
Instructions
Make Dough
- In a small batter bowl, combine the yeast, warm water, and sugar. Let sit five minutes or until it becomes foamy.
- In the bowl of a stand-up mixer, combine 3 ½ cups flour, salt, and cardamom and stir together on low speed.
- In a separate medium bowl, combine the whole egg, 3 egg yolks, honey, and oil with a whisk. Add the yeast mixture and stir.
- Add mixture to the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined, scraping sides of bowl if necessary. Add additional cup of flour and mix on medium low speed that makes a sticky dough that forms around the paddle.
- Switch to the dough hook and mix on medium low speed until dough becomes smooth but still sticky. Add additional flour if necessary up to ½ cup but you do want dough to be sticky. Mix with the dough hook for about 4 minutes.
- Place dough onto a floured surface and knead just a couple of times until forms a smooth ball.
Let Dough Rise
- Brush a large bowl with oil and place dough in it and turn over to coat all of the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm area and let rise until doubled in size, about an hour and a half.
Punch Down Dough and Roll Out
- After dough has risen, punch it down and divide into four equal sections. Form each quarter of dough into a ball.
Stack Dough Layers and Make Snowflake
- Line an unrimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place one ball onto floured surface and roll into about a 10 inch circle. Place on prepared baking sheet.
- Combine the strawberry jam and cardamom and mix together. Spread one third of the filling on to the 10 inch circle of dough leaving a 1 inch margin around the outside.
- Roll out the second dough ball into another 10 inch circle and place on top of the first one with filling on it. Spread another third of the filling on to the second circle of dough. Roll out the third ball of dough to form a 10 inch circle and place on top of the other dough and spread the final third of filling on top of it leaving a 1 inch margin around the edge. Finally, roll out the last ball of dough and place on top of the others.
- Place a small glass bowl or cup (2 inches in diameter) in the center of the dough to mark the center. Starting at the top center of the dough (12 o'clock position), cut the dough to the point of the bowl with a sharp knife being careful not to cut underneath the glass bowl at the center. Then cut the dough directly underneath the top portion already cut from the bowl to the edge of the dough (6 o'clock position). Repeat this at the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions.
- Cut through each quarter of dough like previously to form 8 equal sections. Cut through the middle of all 8 wedges again to form 16 equal sections.
- Take the glass bowl off the center of the dough. Take two sections of dough and twist each away from each other two times and then pinch the edges together so they form a pointed tip. Do this all the way around.
Let Rise
- Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap that is oiled with non-stick cooking spray or olive oil spray.
- Let dough rise for 45 minutes.
Bake
- Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350℉.
- Combine egg yolk and milk in a small bowl and beat together. Brush the top of dough with the egg wash. Reshape any of the points of the snowflake that have reshaped in order to make them come to a point again.
- Bake bread until golden brown, about 30 minutes.
Let Cool and Add Glaze
- Let cool on a cooling rack for 30 minutes.
- Mix powdered sugar, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons milk in a bowl and drizzle over the bread.
- Best served warm!
Notes
More Delicious Breakfast Ideas
Made Just Right! Breakfast Pizza
Neta Livne says
This looks absolutely wonderful!!!
Megan says
Thanks so much Neta!! I appreciate the comment! 🙂