Pull-Apart Easter Blossom Bread
- 6 cups all-purpose flour, or more if needed (divided)
- 1 tablespoon rapid rise yeast
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 3/4 cups milk
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- In a large bowl, whisk together 4 cups of flour, the yeast, white sugar, and salt.
- In a saucepan over low heat, melt the unsalted butter with the milk until the mixture is warm, about 110 degrees F (43 degrees C).
- Gradually whisk about 1/3 of the butter-milk mixture into the beaten eggs, then return the egg mixture back into the remaining milk mixture.
- Stir the lemon zest into the liquid ingredients (set aside lemon juice for later).
- Pour the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture, and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Add enough flour to make a soft dough; turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Place dough into an oiled bowl, and turn the dough around to cover surface lightly with oil.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Punch down the dough, and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
- Divide the dough in half, and roll each half into a round ball.
- On a floured surface, roll out a ball into a 12-inch circle.
- Place a drinking glass, face down, into the center of the circle to prevent cutting the dough too far into the center.
- Cut the dough with a knife, from the edge of the dough circle to the rim of the glass, into quarters.
- Cut each quarter into 5 narrow wedge-shaped strips.
- (Center of the dough is uncut.)
- Remove the drinking glass.
- There are 20 narrow wedge-shaped strips surrounding the uncut center of the dough.
- Pick up two adjacent strips, and twist them together about 4 times; pinch the ends of the two pieces together at the top.
- Gently coil to form a rough flower shape.
- Arrange the round into the middle of the circle, where the drinking glass was.
- Pick up two more adjacent strips, and twist and pinch them as before; coil them into a rough round, and arrange the new petal next to the center rosette.
- Repeat with remaining 16 strips, twisting and pinching them in twos, coiling and arranging them into 8 more petals around the center rosette.
- Finished bread has 9 petals surrounding the center round.
- Repeat steps with the second ball of dough to make two breads.
- Grease a baking sheet, or line with parchment paper.
- Place the shaped breads onto the prepared baking sheet, reshaping them into rounds if needed; cover with a clean kitchen towel, and place into a warm spot to rise until almost doubled, 30 to 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Beat the egg yolk with water in a small bowl, and brush the mixture over both the breads.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the breads have turned golden brown, about 25 minutes.
- Allow to cool.
- Use your fingers to gently deepen the indentations in the center of each petal, and fill each with about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of raspberry jam.
- Mix the reserved lemon juice and confectioners' sugar in a bowl to form a glaze; drizzle the glaze in thin lines all over both the breads.
- Allow glaze to set.
- To serve, pull the petals apart.
allpurpose flour, yeast, white sugar, salt, unsalted butter, milk, eggs, lemon, egg yolk, water, seedless raspberry jam, sugar
Taken from allrecipes.com/recipe/pull-apart-easter-blossom-bread/ (may not work)