A beautiful holiday wreath bread, essentially a Christmas wreath in bread format, filled with cranberries (or lingonberries), chocolate, and sweet spices. This version is made with spelt flour, and sweetened with maple syrup and coconut sugar. Lots of complex flavour!
This is a slightly more time-intensive recipe, with a little bit more skill – or at least patience – needed for the twisting element. The end result, though, is a beautifully layered wreath that makes a lovely gift or holiday treat.
If you’ve made cinnamon rolls, you’ll be able to make this. It’s a bit of a project recipe but there’s no better time to make homemade bread than when it’s dark and chilly outside.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Lightly sweet, with pops of lingonberry, orange, and dark chocolate, this is the winter holidays in a loaf of bread.
- It doesn’t need too many ingredients: the base dough recipe is a simple sweet bread and the filling uses easy to find ingredients (see substitutions below).
- The flavour combination is stellar: bright orange and berries, rich chocolate, and sweet spices are in balance here for a just-right sweet loaf.
- A shorter kneading time: like any spelt flour bread, it doesn’t need to be kneaded for as long.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Cranberries: if using large cranberries, you can give them a quick chop in the food processor beforehand. Substitute something like lingonberries if preferred.
- Spelt flour: plain white flour can be subbed for spelt, but the dough should be kneaded for a few more minutes if making this substitution.
- Coconut sugar: plain white sugar, cane sugar, or another alternative like maple sugar can be used in the filling in equal amounts.
- Spices: any mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves, or other sweet spices you like can be used, including a pre-made mix like lebkuchen or speculaas spice.
Recipe Notes
Don’t worry if some bits of filling fall out when twisting the strands of dough. They can be tucked right back in to the layers.
If your yeast doesn’t bloom (expand) in the warm water, there will be two likely reasons: one, the liquid was too hot and killed the yeast. Check the liquid by touching it before adding the yeast. Or two, the yeast was dead to start with. Either way, start over with fresh yeast.
Fresh or frozen cranberries or lingonberries can be used. In a pinch, use dried cranberries, though they’re much sweeter.
How to Store
Storage: like most yeast breads, this is best when freshly baked. It can be stored in a sealed container for up to three days, but will dry out slightly as it sits.
Freezing: the bread can be frozen in an airtight container for up to a month. It will be slightly dry when thawed but if toasted or otherwise heated, will be almost as good as fresh.
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Expert Tips
- Don’t over-knead: spelt flour doesn’t contain as much gluten as wheat flour, and doesn’t need such extensive kneading. Work it for too long, and the crumb will be tough.
- Shape on the baking sheet: a filled, twisted wreath bread is impossible to transfer to a baking sheet after it’s been shaped. Roll the dough, then place it onto the baking sheet and form it into the wreath there.
- Use baking chocolate: regular chocolate bars have a greater tendency to burn in the oven, but baking chocolate is specifically formulated to withstand those higher temperatures.
- Keep yeast cold: dry yeast should be stored in the refrigerator for the best shelf life. Test your yeast to see if it’s still active by adding a pinch to a small bowl of warm water and wait for it to bloom, about ten minutes.
More Sweet Bread Recipes
Swedish Cardamom Buns
Spelt Saffron Buns
Chocolate Banana Babka
Saffron Wreath Bread
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Holiday Wreath Bread
Ingredients
- ¼ cup warm water
- 1 teaspoon coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon dry yeast
- 1 ½ cup warm non-dairy milk*
- ¼ cup maple syrup or honey
- 3 tablespoons grape seed oil or other light tasting oil
- Juice of an orange
- Zest of an orange
- 2 cups spelt flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla powder
- 3 cups kamut flour*
Filling
- ⅓ cup coconut oil softened
- ½ cup dried cranberries or 1 cup fresh
- ½ cup chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips
- ½ cup slivered almonds
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Pour the warm water into a large bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer). Sprinkle the coconut sugar and the yeast into the water and let it sit for ten minutes, or until it expands.1/4 cup warm water, 1 teaspoon coconut sugar, 1 tablespoon dry yeast
- Add the warm milk, maple syrup, oil, orange juice and zest, two cups of flour, and spices. Stir with a wooden spoon or the paddle of a stand mixer until fully combined. Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time. Stir until it’s too stiff to continue, and then place the dough on a clean floured surface and knead, adding more flour as necessary. If you’re using a stand mixer use the dough hook on the lowest speed.1 1/2 cup warm non-dairy milk*, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 3 tablespoons grape seed oil or other light tasting oil, Juice of an orange, Zest of an orange, 2 cups spelt flour, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon vanilla powder, 3 cups kamut flour*
- Knead until a soft and smooth dough forms. Place the dough in a large greased bowl, and put the bowl in a warm place. Let the dough rise for about an hour or until doubled in size.
- After an hour, punch the dough down. You can separate it into two at this point if you want two smaller wreaths, or keep it whole for a large wreath. If you’re keeping it in one piece make sure you have a big baking sheet for it.
- Roll the dough out to 2 cm thick on parchment paper. Don’t do this on a floured counter, as it’s too hard to transfer to a baking sheet. Add the filling in the order listed above.1/3 cup coconut oil, 1/2 cup dried cranberries, 1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips, 1/2 cup slivered almonds, 1/3 cup coconut sugar, 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- Gently roll the dough up like you would for cinnamon buns. You can cut it up like cinnamon buns and bake it that way if you’d prefer. For the braid, you have to cut it lengthwise down the centre. Cross each section over the other like a two strand braid, and then gently make a circle with the braid, tucking one end under the other to complete the circle.
- Let this rise for another 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Bake the bread for 30 minutes if you made two wreaths, and 40 if you've made one large wreath. It should be golden and sound hollow when you knock on it.
- Cool on a rack for 10 minutes before eating, and fully before storing in a sealed container. It will stay good for a couple of days, and still be edible on the third (but not as nice).
Notes
2. You can use all spelt in place of the kamut flour, or use all-purpose here.
* For American cup measurements, please click the pink link text above the ingredient list that says ‘American’.
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
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