Holiday Star Bread, Sweet

Ingredients

Dough

• 480g (3 3/4 cups + 2 tbsp) Bread flour 100%
• 240g (1 cup) Whole milk, lukewarm (about 95°F / 35°C) 50%
• 50g (1 large egg) Large egg, room temperature 10.4%
• 60g (1/4 cup + 1 tbsp) Granulated sugar 12.5%
• 70g (5 tbsp) Unsalted butter, softened 14.6%
• 9g (1 3/4 tsp) Fine sea salt 1.9%
• 7g (2 1/4 tsp) Instant yeast 1.5%

Cardamom Sugar Filling

• 85g (6 tbsp) Unsalted butter, very soft
• 100g (1/2 cup) Granulated sugar
• 4g (2 tsp) Ground cardamom
• 1g (Pinch) Fine sea salt

Cranberry-Orange Filling (Variation)

• 140g (1 1/3 cups) Fresh or frozen cranberries
• 80g (1/3 cup + 1 tbsp) Granulated sugar
• 6g (1 tbsp (1 orange)) Orange zest
• 30ml (2 tbsp) Fresh orange juice

Finish

• 50g (1 large egg + 1 tbsp milk) Egg, beaten with 1 tbsp milk (egg wash)
• 15g (2 tbsp) Powdered sugar, for dusting

Equipment

Method

Make the Dough

This is a soft enriched dough, milk, butter, and egg, built to roll thin without fighting back and to stay tender for days. Same dough family as the beetroot and savory stars in the Pantry, so once you learn it here you own the whole technique.

1. Combine and mix. Whisk the flour, sugar, and instant yeast in the mixer bowl. Add the lukewarm milk and the egg, then mix on low until no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes. Let it rest 10 minutes so the flour hydrates before the real work starts.
2. Add salt and butter, then knead. Add the salt, then the softened butter a tablespoon at a time with the mixer on low. Once it's absorbed, knead on medium 8-10 minutes until the dough is smooth, supple, and clears the sides of the bowl. Check it with the windowpane test: a small piece should stretch thin enough to read a timer through.
3. Bulk rise. Round the dough, drop it into a lightly oiled bowl, and cover. Let it rise until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours at 75°F (24°C). Cold kitchen? Give it a warm spot or a proofer. Or park it in the fridge overnight for a cold retard and shape tomorrow, the dough rolls even better cold.

Make the Filling

Cardamom sugar is the classic, and it perfumes the whole house. The cranberry-orange variation is tarter and louder, a good match for a Christmas morning table. Either way, the filling has to be spreadable but not wet. Wet fillings slide, and sliding layers make a lopsided star.

1. Cardamom sugar (classic). Stir the very soft butter, sugar, cardamom, and salt into a smooth paste. It should spread like soft frosting. If your kitchen is cold and the butter firms up, give it 10 seconds of low microwave, not more.
2. Cranberry-orange (variation). Simmer the cranberries, sugar, zest, and orange juice in a small pan until the berries burst and the mixture turns thick and jammy, 8-10 minutes. Cool it completely before spreading. Use a thin layer, about 3 tablespoons per tier. More than that and it squeezes out when you twist.

Tip: Making the cranberry version? Cook the filling during the bulk rise so it has time to cool.

Layer, Cut, and Twist the Star

Here's where a plain round of dough becomes the centerpiece. Four thin layers, filling between them, sixteen cuts, and a twist. Read all the steps once before you start. Your hands will thank you.

1. Divide into four. Turn the risen dough out and press out the gas. Divide it into 4 equal pieces with the bench knife, about 225g each on the scale. Round each piece, cover, and rest 10 minutes so the gluten relaxes.
2. Roll the first layer. On parchment, roll one piece into a 10-inch (25cm) circle. Use a 10-inch dinner plate as a template and trim to a clean edge. The trimmed edge is what makes the finished star look sharp. Keep scraps, tuck them under the center of the next layer.
3. Stack with filling. Spread a third of the filling over the first circle, leaving a 1/2 inch bare border. Roll the second piece, lay it on top, and repeat. Third layer, last of the filling. Roll the fourth piece and lay it on top clean. Four layers of dough, three layers of filling, nothing on top.
4. Mark the center and cut sixteen strips. Press a 2.5-3 inch round cutter or a glass gently into the center as a guide. Don't cut through, just mark it. With a pizza cutter, cut from the edge of that circle out to the rim: first into quarters, then eighths, then sixteenths. Sixteen equal strips, all still attached at the center.
5. Twist into a star. Take two neighboring strips, one in each hand. Twist them away from each other twice, then pinch the ends together firmly and tuck the pinch under slightly. Work around the whole circle, eight twisted pairs, and your sixteen-point star appears. Pinch hard. A lazy pinch unravels in the oven.
6. Move to the pan. Slide the parchment, star and all, onto the half-sheet pan. Neaten any points that shifted. That's the whole transfer, which is why you rolled on parchment in the first place.

Shaping the Sixteen-Point Star

The star shape is one technique with endless fillings. It's the same cut-and-twist you'll see in the beetroot and savory stars.

Classic Sixteen-Point Star (recommended)

Four stacked layers, sixteen cuts, eight twisted pairs.

1. Stack. Four 10-inch circles with filling between, top layer bare.
2. Cut. Mark a 3-inch center circle, then cut sixteen equal strips from center mark to rim: quarters, eighths, sixteenths.
3. Twist and pinch. Twist neighboring strips away from each other twice, pinch the tips hard, and tuck the pinch under.

Proof test: Press a floured fingertip gently into a thick part of the star. It should spring back slowly, leaving a shallow dent.

Proof and Bake

A gentle final proof puffs the layers, then a moderate oven sets the shape and browns the egg wash to a deep holiday-card gold.

Oven: 190°C / 375°F. Internal temperature when done: 88°C / 190°F.

Half-Sheet Pan (recommended)

The standard method for a 10-inch star.

Equipment: Half-sheet pan lined with parchment

1. Final proof. Cover the shaped star loosely with oiled plastic and proof 45-60 minutes, until the strips look puffy and the dough passes the poke test. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) halfway through.
2. Egg wash. Brush the whole star with egg wash, top and sides of every twist. Get into the spirals gently, don't deflate them.
3. Bake. Bake 22-26 minutes, rotating the pan at 15 minutes, until deep golden and 190°F (88°C) internal at the thick center. If the points brown fast, tent loosely with foil for the last 5-8 minutes.
4. Cool and dust. Cool on the pan 15 minutes, then slide the parchment onto a rack. Dust with powdered sugar once it's warm, not hot, or the sugar melts and disappears.

Note: Pull it at 190°F (88°C) internal. Enriched doughs go dry past 195°F.

Storage

• Room temperature: 2-3 days wrapped or under a cake dome. Refresh at 300°F for 6-8 minutes before serving.
• Frozen: Freeze the whole baked star, wrapped tight, up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature, then rewarm and dust with fresh powdered sugar.

Serve it whole and let people pull the points. That's the fun of it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make this the night before?

Yes, two ways. Retard the dough in the fridge after mixing and shape in the morning, or shape the whole star, cover it well, and refrigerate overnight. The shaped star bakes straight from the fridge with 2-3 extra minutes. Both fit a Christmas-morning schedule.

My layers slid apart when I twisted. What went wrong?

The filling was too wet or too thick. Butter-sugar filling should be a soft paste, not melted, and the cranberry filling has to be fully cooled and spread thin. Also keep that 1/2 inch bare border so the layers can grip each other at the edge.

Can I use all-purpose flour?

You can. The dough will be slightly softer and the points a touch less defined. Hold back 15g of the milk and add it only if the dough feels stiff.

How do I keep the points from unraveling in the oven?

Pinch harder than feels polite, then tuck the pinched tip under the twist. Under-proofing also pops points open, so wait for the slow spring-back on the poke test before the star goes in.

Can I fill it with jam or chocolate instead?

A thin layer of thick jam works, about 3 tablespoons per tier, and this season's christmas-jam is built for exactly that. Chocolate works too: use the babka-style spreadable filling from holiday-chocolate-babka, not chopped bars, which tear the layers.

Is there a sourdough version of this dough?

Not of the sweet star yet, but sourdough-savory-star-bread uses the same shaping on a naturally leavened dough. Swap its filling for the cardamom sugar here and you've built it yourself. You'll need an active starter, and sourdough-starter-from-scratch gets you there in a week.

Nutrition

Per serving (1 point with center share (1/12 of star)): 320 calories, 48g carbohydrates, 7g protein, 11g fat, 2g fiber, 310mg sodium. Makes 12 servings.