Star Bread Recipe Recipe
How to make Star Bread - a simple, easy step by step guide to making the most delicious cozy winter treat, perfect for the holidays! Adapted from King Arthur Flour.
How to Make the Best Star Bread Recipe
Star bread is a stunning and delicious Nordic-inspired holiday treat that’s sure to impress family and friends. This beautiful braided bread combines soft, pillowy dough layers with a warm cinnamon-cardamom spiced filling studded with cranberries and almonds. Adapted from King Arthur Flour, this recipe has been updated to create the most delicious cozy winter treat perfect for the holiday season.
What makes star bread special is both its visual appeal and its wonderful flavor combination. The instant yeast creates a light, airy crumb, while the spiced-sugar filling adds warmth and depth. The cranberries provide tartness and chewiness, while the almonds add a satisfying crunch and nuttiness. This is a showstopper dessert bread that looks far more complicated to make than it actually is.
Don’t be intimidated by the shaping process—once you understand the twist and pinch technique, the beautiful star shape comes together beautifully. The result is a bread that’s as pleasing to look at as it is to eat, making it an ideal centerpiece for your holiday table or a thoughtful homemade gift for special people in your life.
Star Bread Recipe
How to make Star Bread - a simple, easy step by step guide to making the most delicious cozy winter treat, perfect for the holidays! Adapted from King Arthur Flour.
Ingredients
Dough
Filling
Optional Fillings & Garnish
Instructions
Prepare the Dough
- Place all dough ingredients in a stand mixer with paddle attachment and beat on low for 3 minutes. Alternatively, mix by hand in a bowl until you have a soft, smooth dough.
- Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rise in a warm spot for about 60 minutes or until doubled in size. If using active dry yeast, rising time will take twice as long.
Prepare the Filling
- Beat the egg in a small bowl and set aside. Mix together the sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom in a small bowl.
Shape the Star
- Once the dough has doubled, divide it into four equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball, cover the balls, and let them rest for 15 minutes.
- On a floured surface, roll one piece of dough into a 10-inch circle. Place the circle on a parchment-lined sheet pan, brush with a thin coat of beaten egg, then evenly sprinkle with a third of the spiced sugar mixture, ¼ cup dried cranberries, and ¼ cup almonds, leaving ¼ inch of bare dough around the edges.
- Roll out a second circle the same size as the first and place it on top of the filling-covered circle. Repeat the layering process: egg, spiced sugar, cranberries, almonds. Then roll out the 3rd dough circle, add the remaining filling. Roll out the final (4th) dough circle and place it on top, leaving the top completely bare.
- Place a 2½ to 3-inch round cutter or cup in the center of the dough circle to use as a guide. With a sharp knife, cut the circle into 16 equal strips from the edge of the cutter to the outer edge, through all layers, like sunbeams.
- Using two hands, pick up two adjacent strips and twist them away from each other twice so the top side is facing up again. Repeat with all remaining strips to create eight pairs of strips.
- Pinch the pairs of strips together to create a star-like shape with eight points. Remove the cup/cutter.
Bake
- Cover the star with a thin towel and let it rise until it puffs, about 45 minutes.
- Brush the star with a thin coat of beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 16-20 minutes or until beautifully golden. Test doneness with a thermometer—it should reach 200°F in the center.
- Allow it to cool for 10-15 minutes before serving. Dust with powdered sugar or brush with melted butter.
