This one is personal! I’ve been making my special wreath bread for the holidays ever since I was in high school. I love making it, I love cutting into it (as pretty as it is) and I absolutely love giving it away as a holiday gift from my kitchen. I think I cut the recipe out of a Women’s Day Magazine many, many years ago, and eventually the clipping just disintegrated from overuse. By the time that happened however, I had the recipe embedded in my cooking DNA. The inside of this gorgeous bread wreath is filled with delicious surprises like brown sugar, walnuts, soaked raisins and spices. The outside is a thing of beauty and in my opinion, the perfect holiday wreath to share! Enjoy it as a breakfast bread or a sweet snack anytime!

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Jan's Holiday Bread Wreath

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Servings

Ingredients

For the Bread Dough:

• ¾ cup milk
• 2 packages active dry yeast
• ¼ cup warm water
• 1/3 cup softened butter
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 4 cups flour
• 1 egg +1 tablespoon milk

For the Filling:

• 2/3 cup raisins soaked in hot water or brandy
• 2 cups chopped walnuts
• ½ cup brown sugar firmly packed
• 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ cup melted butter
• ½ teaspoon salt

• teaspoon ¼nutmeg
• cup ¼melted butter
• teaspoon ½salt

Servings Ingredients For the Bread Dough: ¾ cup milk 2 packages active dry yeast ¼ cup warm water 1/3 cup softened butter ¼ cup sugar 1 egg, beaten 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind 1 teaspoon vanilla ½ teaspoon salt 4 cups flour 1 egg +1 tablespoon milk For the Filling: 2/3 cup raisins soaked in hot water or brandy 2 cups chopped walnuts ½ cup brown sugar firmly packed 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon ¼ teaspoon nutmeg ¼ cup melted butter ½ teaspoon salt teaspoon ¼nutmeg cup ¼melted butter teaspoon ½salt

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Instructions

For the Bread Dough:

1. In a saucepan, heat milk until bubbles form on sides. Cool to lukewarm. In a small bowl, sprinkle yeast over warm water, mixing to dissolve. In a large mixing bowl, add warm milk, butter, sugar, egg, lemon rind, vanilla, salt and yeast. Slowly stir in 3 ½ cups of flour. Dust ½ cup flour on counter or board. Knead until smooth. If too sticky, add up to ½ cup more flour. Placed in greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm spot until double, about one hour. Meanwhile, make filling.

1. Drain raisins and place raisins in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Punch dough down and roll out on a floured surface into a 21 X 18 inch rectangle. Cut off a 21 X 3 inch strip and set aside for dough decorations. Spread filling evenly onto the dough, leaving about an inch border all the way around. Roll up dough in jellyroll fashion. Then make it into a wreath, tucking one end under the other to complete the circle. Cover and let rise until double. 15 minutes before ring has finished rising, preheat oven to 375. Roll out reserve strip of dough and with cookie cutters or by hand, cut out leaf designs. Beat egg and milk together and brush on ring. Attach cutouts to ring. Bake about 35 minutes. Serve warm. To store, wrap in foil after baked and freeze.

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