In the last few years, bread has come to symbolize holiday eating. We just returned from a three year stint living in Germany, where bread was just a way of life. Each holiday brought with it a new type of bread. Stollen, or Weinachtsstollen (Christmas version of this bread), was the type to eat during the holidays.
Admittedly, I am trying to recreate just about every bread I had in Europe, whether I liked it or not. I was not in love with stollen (maybe it was the plethora of alcohol-soaked dried fruits?) but it did remind me of a bread I’d had some twenty years ago probably.
I remember my mom making several loaves of a yeast bread with just a hint of sweetness, but a lot of buttery taste. So I did a bit of research, trying to find a recipe to give me that the buttery soft taste, with just a hint of sweetness, and a bit of almond taste that is so prevalent in German bakery dishes. Plus I wanted it to be a fun shape.
That led me to the holiday wreath bread:
There you go! Okay, there is more to it, but it really is easy. I made it one night while my children roamed around my house/ climbed on me.
The recipe is based mostly on this one: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/christmas-wreath-bread
I left out dry milk powder (I never have this and I’m averse to milk in powdered form), reduced the glaze by a half, used vanilla instead of almond extract (because I have a several ounces of vodka with vanilla bean soaking, another post another day, I promise), and used a cup less flour.
I will be back with a step by step tutorial on how to make this!
Merry Christmas!
