How about this Cranberry Orange Brioche Star Bread?? Wondering what to do with that leftover cranberry sauce? I have the perfect solution, how about putting it in the middle of a few circles of brioche?
Whole Wheat Brioche
I chose to use brioche for this dough as I love it for shaped sweet bread. It is tender, delicious and everyone loves it! A few things to note:
- Brioche is best chilled overnight
- My favorite wheat to use in this recipe is white wheat. If you have a grain mill, you can grind it on your own, if not you can always buy it! King Arthur has a great product.
- The dough is considered an enriched dough, meaning plenty of butter and eggs!
Forming The Star Bread
I rolled 2 circles, about 18-inch rounds. I filled them with 2 cups of the cranberry-orange sauce. Crimp the outside edges. Mark the center of the circle with a cup. I use this simply as a way to mark where I cut my slits into.
Cut slits into it, twists 2 slits together ( As shown in the video, sorry that is really hard to explain..). Although the videos are pretty tricky to do, as I am just learning to do them, they are so much easier at explaining things than typing it all out. Check the full video below for an explanation.
The Finished Cranberry Orange Brioche Star Bread
Brush the bread with an egg wash and bake until it is a beautiful golden brown. This is such a pretty festive bread!!
You can cut the star points off, or just tear them like we did.
Y’all, This bread was so hard to resist. The piece on my plate was my second. You eat the bread as is, with a little butter when it is warm, or even drizzled with icing.
Other Brioche Options
I have a few other breads I have used brioche in and just love. Check them out as well!
- My family loved this Povitica- style Swirled bread. I was barely able to enjoy a piece myself before the boys ate it all!
- This pumpkin brioche has also been really popular on the blog. And for good reason, it is delicious!
- Lemon Brioche pull-apart bread is another favorite in our home. Who can resist the combo of brioche and lemon? Not me!
Cranberry Orange Brioche Star Loaf
Equipment
- stand mixer, sheet pan
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup warm milk I like it right about 100 degrees, or warm to the touch
- 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour I used a white wheat for this
- 1 3/4-2 cups all- purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
- 2 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 2 cups cranberry orange sauce The recipe is also on the post.
- 1 egg for egg wash
- 2 tablespoons milk for egg wash
Instructions
- Place milk, whole wheat flour, 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, salt, yeast, brown sugar, and eggs to a stand mixer. This can also be done by hand with kneading if you prefer. Mix for about 1 minute until the dough comes together. Now, turn your mixer on medium. "Dot" in your butter. This means taking small chunks of the butter, about 1 tablespoon, adding them into the dough as it is mixing. Let one mix in, then add in another. The process should take about 3-4 minutes. Continue to let the dough mix until it is smooth, usually about 5 minutes. The dough is best to refrigerate overnight. So, add to a container, making sure to give enough space for it to rise a bit. cover and place in the fridge. The next day, line a bakign sheet or pizza pan with parchment paper. Set it aside. Now, remove you dough from the fridge. Place on surface and divide in half. Roll each half into a circle about 1/4 inch thick. Mine were about 18 inches around. Make sure they are roughly the same siaze. Place the bottom circle on the baking sheet. Scoop your cranberry sauce onto bottom round. Spread across, leaving abotu 1 inch around the edges wihtout the sauce. Place the top circle on and pinch the edges to close. For shaping, please follow the video in post. It would take a long time to describe here. Cover and allow to rise until almost doubled. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine your egg and milk,mix well. This is your egg wash. Brush this generously on the top. Place bread in oven. Bake until it is a beautiful golden brown. Mine took abotu 30 minues, but every oven is different Plan on 30-45 minutes. Remove from oven.Allow to cool slightly. You can either cut into it, or tear it off like we did! Any way you decide to serve it is perfect!!Now, sit back and enjoy. You deserve it!!
Cranberry Orange Sauce
Ingredients
- 6 cups fresh cranberries
- 2/3 cup sugar or honey If you prefer the recipe a little more sweet, add in an extra 1/2-1 cup sugar. I like mine a little more tart, so I have less listed.
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Bring cranberries, sugar, water, salt and orange juice to a boil over medium heat, making sure to stir occasionally. Cook until berries have popped and the sauce has thickened. Mine took about 10 minutes. Your's might take less or more time, depeding on what medium heat looks like on your cooktop and how thick your pan is. After it is cooked, stir in the zest. Serve immediately or place in fridge for up to 4 days. I have gone longer, but flavor was compromised. Now, sit back and enjoy. You deserve it.
No! If you prefer you can make a brioche with only all- purpose flour. It will be about 4- 4.5 cups
It should certainly be a little “tacky”, or sticky. When pressing the dough with your fingers it should stick just a bit. After the overnight chill, it is perfect to work with.
No. But, I do recommend it. A cool rise, as this is called is good for several reasons. It helps to develop flavors in the yeast breads. It helps the dough relax and be easier to work with. It also allows the gluten to continue to develop.
Yes, yes, and yes! Find your favorite preserve or sauce and add it in place of the cranberry sauce. One thing to note, it is better to use a thicker sauce, as it will hold it’s shape better.
Oh yes! There are a lot of other options. You could easily swap this for a rye, kamut, red wheat, einkorn, etc. Because the ratio is only 50% of the wheat, it is an easy swap out.
This looks beyond beautiful, Amy! I am sure you’ve totally devoured this – as would we. Thanks for the inspiration!
I am not sure how I missed this comment. Thank you so much Katerina!! It was so good, and definitely gone so fast!