On the holiday table, even bread must be original and appetizing. It must surprise. It has to be good but also nice to look at. This tree of rolls meets all these conditions, believe me! It is soft, fragrant, delicate, and definitely lovely. Perfect even as a centerpiece.

Other special bread recipes:

Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Economical
Rest time: 4 Hours
Preparation time: 1 Hour
Portions: 8 people
Cooking methods: Oven
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: Christmas

Ingredients for the Tree of Rolls

In this recipe, I used 5 g of dry brewer’s yeast, but fresh yeast is also fine. In this case, you could use 14/15 g. If you are interested in knowing the correspondence between these two different products, read the article I wrote about it. You can find it by clicking HERE.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cornstarch (maizena)
2 tbsp sugar
5 g dry brewer's yeast
3 1/2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup water
1 tsp salt
1 egg (small)
2 tbsp milk
pomegranate (a few seeds)
A few sprigs thyme

Tools

I prepared the dough for this tree of rolls with a stand mixer, but you can make it with any other mixer or even by hand, working the ingredients first in a bowl and then on the work surface.

Stand mixer
1 Hand whisk
1 Bowl
Kitchen scale
1 Baking sheet
1 Small bowl
1 Brush

Preparation of the Tree of Rolls

Place the flour, cornstarch, sugar, and yeast in the stand mixer bowl and mix with a small hand whisk.
Then add the water and start kneading with the dough hook.
Once the mixture has compacted, add the salt and butter pieces and knead for a long time until a smooth and elastic dough is obtained.
Transfer it to the work surface, shape it into a ball, place it in a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rise for two hours in a warm place protected from drafts.
After this first rising time, take the dough and form 38 balls each weighing 12 g.
Place them inside a rectangular baking sheet lined with parchment paper as shown in the photo below, being careful to keep them slightly separated from each other.
Cover with a towel and let the preparation rise for another two hours or until the balls have all joined together.
In a small bowl, beat the egg together with the milk until a rather fluid mixture is obtained.
Brush it on all the balls.
Bake the tree of rolls in a preheated static oven at 390°F for about 15 minutes or until the surface is golden brown.
Take it out of the oven and let it cool completely before decorating it with some pomegranate seeds and a few sprigs of thyme. Enjoy! Paola
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