The Christmas herb bread star is a very soft and fragrant leavened bread, perfect for the holiday table. Not only does it look good, but it’s also very tasty due to the addition of grated Parmesan cheese and chopped herbs.
At Christmas, I always prepare the bread differently with a Christmas theme. I like to vary and present it in a scenic way, even as a centerpiece. I’ve already made the bread tree, the aromatic crown, and the whole wheat ring, and this year it’s the star’s turn.
The bread star is prepared with a double rise using a pre-dough, which makes the leavened bread very soft and keeps it that way even the next day. Just warm it up slightly in the oven.
The addition of cheese, chopped rosemary, and sage not only adds color but also gives a particular flavor to this star made with many embedded appetizing balls that you can also fill if you like.
What do you think, do you like it? I tell you it’s also delicious, so follow the recipe and prepare it for your Christmas table.
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 20 Hours
- Portions: 4 servings
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas
Ingredients for the Christmas Herb Bread Star
- 5 oz All-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup Water
- 2 tsp Fresh yeast
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 14 oz All-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup Grated Parmesan cheese
- 7 oz Milk
- 1/4 cup Olive oil
- 2 tsp Salt
- 2 sprigs Rosemary
- 1 sprig Sage
- 1 Star-shaped mold
Tools
- 1 Stand Mixer
- 1 Mixer
- 1 Mold
Preparation for the Christmas Herb Bread Star
To prepare the bread star, we start with the pre-dough also known as biga or sponge.
I prepared everything in the stand mixer bowl, but you can do it by kneading by hand in a bowl.
Start by dissolving the yeast in water, add the flour and sugar, mix, and knead everything well.
Form a ball and let it rise for about 1 hour.After the first hour, prepare the second dough: add the Parmesan and oil to the pre-dough, knead well, then continue to add the milk, mix again, and gradually add the flour. Depending on the brand and humidity, it may absorb less or more, in which case add more as needed. Knead well, add the salt, and work the dough for about 7-8 minutes with the stand mixer or vigorously by hand.
Chop the rosemary and sage, add them to the dough, leaving a small portion for the final decoration. Work for a few more minutes to incorporate well into the dough.
Once you have a good compact and homogeneous dough, form a ball and let it rest for about 15-20 minutes so the gluten relaxes and the dough is easier to work with.After this time, take the dough and the star-shaped mold.
To form the star, take 6 pieces of 3.5 oz each and 5 smaller pieces of 1.8 oz each from the dough. Shape the pieces of dough into rounds with your hands and place them in the mold, starting with the larger ones and then the smaller ones. With the remaining dough, make more small balls and add them between the remaining spaces. Brush the star with some oil and then sprinkle with the chopped herbs. Let it rise in the turned-off oven for about 2 hours until it doubles in volume and the empty spaces are no longer visible.
BAKING
Bake the bread star in a preheated oven, in the lower part of the oven, for the first 5 minutes at 392°F, then lower the temperature to 356°F and continue baking for another 20-25 minutes. The Christmas bread star with rosemary and sage is ready when it’s well-cooked and golden. Adjust based on your oven’s power if you need to take it out sooner or continue baking. To prevent the surface from coloring too much, cover with aluminum foil for the last 10 minutes.
Remove the bread star from the oven, let it cool, then decorate with rosemary, sage, and pink peppercorns, set it on the table, and serve!
Tips: for preparing the Christmas star, you can also use different and quicker doughs. Read the recipes for bread dough.
You can also fill each ball that forms the star with deli meats or other fillings if you like.
Here are the recipes for other Christmas bread Stuffed Bread Tree– Aromatic Rose Bread Crown – Whole Wheat Bread Ring– Bread Flower with Turmeric
