Swedish Tea Ring and Christopsomo Bread

The moon is near full and holidays are lapping in like a glittery tide. We are finally getting a breath of cool air here in the Crescent City and nothing feels better on a cold day than baking. I very much enjoyed the first edition of Zoe Francois and Jeff Hertzberg’s Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, and along with the Tartine method, it revolutionized my approach to bread baking, which is to say, I never knead anymore. Also, I like to make giant batches of dough to store in the refrigerator and have fresh bread all week. Their latest holiday edition has decadent selections, gorgeous photography and a multiplicity of recipes to choose from all using the same few starter doughs. High marks.

 

Swedish Tea Ring

Adapted from Holiday and Celebration Bread in Five Minutes a Day

3 TB unsalted butter, melted

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 TB cinnamon

Pinch of salt

1 ½ pounds piece of whole wheat brioche dough straight from the fridge (see recipe below)

All purpose flour for dusting

Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 TB water or milk), for brushing

Icing

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

¼ tsp almond extract

1 TB heavy whipping cream

½ cup sliced almonds

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, combine melted butter, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Roll out dough ball into a rectangle about 14 by 18 inches. Spread the cinnamon butter mixture evenly over the dough.

Start with the long end of the dough and roll it into a log. Pinch the seam closed and stretch the log until it is about 1 ½ inches thick. Join the ends into a wreath. Place on the baking sheet, cover loosely in plastic wrap, and let rest 40-60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Brush lightly with egg wash. Make evenly spaced cuts all the way around the wreath about 1-2 inches apart, going almost to the bottom of the ring but not quite to the bottom. Pull every other piece to the outside and twist up so it looks like a cinnamon roll (it should still be attached by the bottom, and it’s fine if it looks messy). Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Let cool for 20 minutes before drizzling with icing (just mix all together in a bowl, more titrate the liquid to the desired drizzability).

Greek Cross-Topped Bread, or Christopsomo

Adapted from Holiday and Celebration Bread in Five Minutes a Day

1 pound brioche dough (below)

1 TB orange zest

Egg yolk glaze (one yolk beaten with 1 TB milk)

1 walnut, decoration

Grease an 8-inch cake pan. Dust the refrigerated dough with flour and roll dough into a ½ inch rectangle, and spread orange zest evenly over dough. Roll up like a log, then form into a ball. Knead to distribute the orange zest. Pinch off two pieces, sort of plum size, and form a boule with the larger dough ball and place in the cake pan. With the smaller pieces, roll into thin snakes about 12 inches long.

Cut each at the end with a four inch slice so each snake looks like a chromosome. Roll the ends, like so.

Cross the two strands over the resting dough ball in the pan, and then top with a walnut. Brush with egg glaze, cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 F, and just before baking glaze with the egg wash again. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool and serve!

Whole Wheat Brioche Dough recipe

4 cups whole wheat flour

3 cups white flour

100 g (about ½-3/4 cup) sourdough starter

1 TB kosher salt

2 ¼ cups warm water

1 ½ sticks unsalted butter

5 eggs, beaten

¾ cup honey

Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 TB water), for brushing

In a stand mixer, mix together the liquid ingredients, including the sourdough starter. Then add the dry ingredients—a dough hook works best. Chill for 3 hours. No need to knead! You can refrigerate for up to five days, or freeze. This makes a ton. In addition to the above,  I also made just simple rolls for our last Mid-City Dinner Club—styled into these gorgeous place settings by none other than Denae, my beautiful neighbor friend.