Cinnamon Snowflake Bread is the perfect breakfast for Christmas Day. While sugar plums are dancing in the heads of your family, make this amazing bread for a memorable start of Christmas Day.
Add the dough ingredients to the bread machine pan in the order listed. Select the dough cycle and start the machine. After five minutes of mixing, check the dough and add 1 to 2 more Tablespoons of water or flour if it is too dry or too wet. (See Tip 3)
Cinnamon Filling
Mix sugar and cinnamon together. Add melted butter; stir to combine.
Glaze
Beat confectioners' sugar, butter, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth. If necessary, add more milk or confectioners' sugar to achieve desired consistency.
Cinnamon Snowflake Bread
Preheat oven to 350°F. Invert a large baking sheet; line it with a silicone mat. Set aside.
When the dough cycle is finished, remove the dough and form it into 4 balls, each roughly 8 ounces. On a lightly floured surface, roll one of the balls into a circle roughly 12 inches in diameter. Place on a silicone-lined baking sheet. Center a 10-inch cake pan on the dough and press down slightly to form a 10-inch circle indentation. (See Tips 4 and 5)
Spread ⅓ of the cinnamon filling inside the circle. Repeat with two more balls of dough and the remaining cinnamon filling.
Roll the final ball of dough into a 12-inch circle and place it on top of the third cinnamon/sugar layer.
Place a 3 ½-inch cup in the center of the dough. Starting about 1 inch from the edge of the cup, cut 4 equal slits in the dough. Then cut each wedge in half, yielding 8 cuts. Starting about 1 inch from the cup or cookie cutter, cut each of the 8 wedges in half, resulting in 16 cuts.
Very carefully, pick two adjacent pieces and twist them twice away from each other. Press to seal the edges. Repeat with the remaining 14 wedges.
Remove the cup from the center. Brush with egg wash.
Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. (See Tip 5)
Remove bread from oven; transfer to a wire rack. Drizzle glaze over warm cinnamon snowflake star bread. Serve warm if possible.
Yield: 12 servings.
Video
Tips/Notes
Use filtered or bottled water. The chlorine in tap water can retard the growth of the yeast.
I always use low-fat sour cream when making the dough.
If you make the dough the night before, coat a large bowl with oil. Place the dough in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. The next morning, remove the dough about an hour before you plan to make the snowflake bread, so it has a chance to come to room temperature.
The dough tends to be a bit springy when rolled out. Therefore, I'll roll it out into about a 6-inch circle and let it rest for about 5 minutes. Then, I'll roll it again into about an 8-inch circle and let it rest again before the final rolling.
Because the dough will be trimmed once the Lemon Curd Star Bread is assembled, the circles don't need to be perfect.
Once the bread is assembled, there is no need to let it rise. Just go ahead and pop it into the oven, the same way that you would a pizza.