Chef Lorelei’s Star Bread tutorial: It’s a beauty!
Cinnamon Star Bread
Ingredients:
- 2 cups (241g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1/4 cup (46g) potato flour or 1/2 cup (46g) dried potato flakes
- 1/4 cup (35g) Baker’s Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk
- 3/4 cup + 2 to 4 tablespoons (198g to 227g) lukewarm water, enough to make a soft, smooth dough
- 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons, 57g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 tablespoons (25g) sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg for egg wash
Makes 1 Cinnamon Sugar filling
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon or 2 teaspoons Vietnamese cinnamon*
Stir sugar and cinnamon together
Method:
Add all of the dough ingredients to a large bowl or a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix to incorporate and then knead until you have a soft, smooth dough.
Lightly grease a large bowl and place the dough in it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and let rise in a warm place for about an hour, or until the dough is almost doubled in size.
When the dough is ready, divide it into four equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough out into a 10″ round.
Place the first circle of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the surface lightly with the beaten egg, leaving 1″ space without egg around the edge. Spread ⅓ of the filling on the dough.
Place the second circle of dough on top of the filling, brush with egg wash and spread ⅓ of the filling on the dough. Repeat with the next round. Place the final dough round on the top.
Trim the edges of the circles if they aren’t even. Place a 2″ wide drinking glass, biscuit cutter, or other circular object in the center of the top circle of dough.
Using a very sharp knife, cut through the dough from the outer edge to the edge of the circular object in the center. Cut sixteen equal slices.
Take two slices of dough and twist them away from each other twice. Repeat around the entire circle. Take each pair of twisted slices and lay one end over the other to create a pointed end and press the ends together firmly to seal the dough.
Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 15 minutes, while you heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Brush the top of the loaf with beaten egg, sprinkle with flaky sea salt or sugar and bake it for 15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.
Serve warm or at room temp. Store any leftover bread, well wrapped in plastic, at room temperature for several days. Freeze for longer storage.
This can be made a few days in advance. Wrap the baked bread well in plastic then foil and freeze. The day you want to serve it, remove from the freezer and unwrap. Place the frozen bread on a baking sheet and loosely cover with foil, and place in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.
Optional: whisk together ½ cup powdered sugar and 1-2 Tablespoons milk to make a glaze and drizzle over the bread right before serving.