The bread wreath is so beautiful that it can be presented in the center of the table for a special occasion. Almost everyone prepares lamb, artichokes, or typical Easter recipes, but most of the time we neglect the bread and settle for buying it in the store. For this reason, I wanted to create a wreath with the same super recipe as the cute bread bunnies for children and highlight the festive bread.
This bread recipe is really simple. To add more flavor and texture, I only replaced the oil with butter (or vegetable butter) and shaped it into a spring wreath. The dough is perfect for any other type of bread you want to create and works very well for pizza too.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 2 Hours
- Portions: 10 People
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups water (warm)
- 3 1/2 tbsps butter (substitutable with vegetable butter or oil)
- 2 tsps fine salt
- 1 block fresh yeast (0.8 oz)
- 1 egg yolk (with 1 tablespoon of milk for brushing)
Steps
Sift the flour into a large bowl, which you will then use for the dough to rise, and add the fine salt. Crumble the fresh yeast into the slightly warm water and let it dissolve. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan or in the microwave.
Pour the yeast water over the flour and mix the mixture with a fork, gathering all the flour, then add the melted butter and continue to knead in the bowl to incorporate it well. Initially, the dough will be slightly soft; let it rest for 15 minutes covered.
After the time has elapsed, knead it with your hands still in the bowl, add a bit of flour to handle it better, and form a smooth and homogeneous loaf, which you will let rise until it doubles in size.
After about 1 and a half or 2 hours, depending on the external temperature, the dough will have doubled in volume and is ready to be worked.
Turn the dough onto the floured surface, knead it just a little and then divide it into two parts. With each part, form a tubular cord about 27.5 inches long. Then join the ends of the two cords and twist them around each other.
At this point, shape the wreath into a circle by joining the ends of the twisted cord, and place the wreath on the baking sheet (photo 1).
With the tip of a small pair of scissors, cut the surface of the dough (photo 2).
Continue carving the small leaves all over the wreath (photo 3).
After you have finished cutting the small leaves, beat an egg yolk with a tablespoon of milk and brush it over the entire wreath.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (static) and when it’s hot, bake the bread wreath on the middle-lower shelf. Let it bake for about 40 minutes, until lightly golden, and do the final toothpick test. Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool. It can also be frozen.
You can decorate the wreath with colored ribbons and small flowers in the center, fresh or fabric !!!
