Braided Cinnamon Star Bread

Braided Cinnamon Star Bread

At Christmas time, Zac my son wanted to learn how to make this beautiful bread because his future sister in law had asked him to make it for Christmas. Of course, he wanted to practice and we were the fortunate ones because we were his guinea pigs and we got to eat it!

It’s so pretty and would be perfect for an Easter dinner. Not that hard once you get the hang of it, and the taste is amazing. It was gone in just a few minutes, seriously!

Braided Cinnamon Star Bread

Ingredients: Click to Print:

Dough:
3 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup milk
2 egg yolks (use egg whites for brushing of the bread)
1 1/2 teaspoon of active dry yeast
2 Tablespoons butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Filling:
1 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 Tablespoons cinnamon

Glaze:
4 Tablespoons butter
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 to 6 tablespoons milk

Braided Cinnamon Star Bread

Directions:

• Pour milk into the saucepan, heat until warm. When its warm, add yeast, 1 Tablespoon of sugar, and flour and dissolve all the ingredients. Let it sit for 15 minutes to activate the yeast.
• In a large bowl, combine all the remaining dry ingredients.
• Separate egg yolks from egg whites. Add the egg yolks, butter to the bowl of dry ingredients. Mix until well combined.
• Knead the dough for about 5 to 10 minutes. If the dough is smooth and just a little bit sticky, put it into a bowl, cover with a dishtowel, and set it in a warm place Let it rise for about 40 minutes ( it should double in size).
• When the dough is almost ready, you can turn on the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees.
• Filling: In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon.
• Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Make sure to have some flour ready to sprinkle on your hands.
• Knead the dough for about 1 minute, then divide it into 4 equal parts.
• Roll them out into a circle. They should be about 0.1 inches thick. Place the dough circle on parchment paper. Take a pie tin and use it as a pattern and cut the edges off to make a circle.
• Spread the first layer with butter and then sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar mixture on top. Place another layer of dough on top and repeat the steps until the last dough is placed on top. Leave the top plain.
• Using a small glass, mark the center of the cake. Divide the cake into quarters and start cutting from the marked circle, remember to leave the center intact. Then, divide every quarter into four equal parts. In the end you should have 16  equal parts.
• Take two parts of the cake in both hands and carefully twist them in the opposite direction. Repeat with all the pairs to form an eight-armed star.
• Twist the ends of each arm underneath to create a round shape.
• Brush the surface of the bread with the whipped egg whites. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

• Glaze: Combine the ingredients in a small bowl and then spread on top of the bread!

On Easter, a lot of times we go down to the lake and have a Dutch oven meal and let the kids run around. What is your favorite thing to do on Easter?