This week, I’m featuring two Holiday Pumpkin Breads made with the Healthy Bread in Five Minutes Pumpkin Pie Brioche dough. The first bread is a Braided Holiday Pumpkin Wreath and the second is Cinnamon Pumpkin Crescent Rolls. This post focuses on the braided wreath.
You might also enjoy the Holiday Pumpkin Bread which was featured in the bread-baking blog in November. It’s a little bit different than the bread featured in this post – it utilizes a kneaded rather than a no knead dough.
Braided Holiday Pumpkin Wreath
The recipe for the dough can be found here.
My first batch of no knead pumpkin pie brioche dough was so soft, I couldn’t shape it into anything except regular loaves. I decided to give it another try. The second time around, the consistency of the dough turned out much better (click here for details) so, I thought it would be fun to try a different shape. I’ve already made and posted about a braided pumpkin bread this season, so I wanted to take it a step further and shape the braid into a wreath.
For the Braided Holiday Pumpkin Wreath, you roll the dough out into 3 logs, braid the logs, shape the braid into a wreath and place it in the pan to rise. Then it’s into the oven to bake.
Method:
Take the dough out of the refrigerator, dust with flour and cut off a one-pound piece. Divide the dough into three equal pieces.
Roll each piece into a log about 18 inches long. Make a braid with the three logs and pinch the ends together.
Coil the braid into a lightly greased 8″ or 9″ cake pan, shaping it into a wreath-like circle and pressing the ends together where they meet. Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap. Let the wreath rise for about 90 minutes.
Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for 30 minutes, until lightly browned. I brushed the wreath with an egg wash part way through the baking cycle so the bread would brown nicely.
Remove the wreaths from the oven, and allow them to cool on a rack.
Enjoy your beautiful wreath plain with butter or drizzle a powder sugar glaze over it and sprinkle with nuts. I decided to keep my wreath plain so I could serve it as a savory bread. You could also make French toast or bread pudding with this bread.
Happy Baking!
Cathy
Looks great, Cathy…..happy to see the method of making it since I’ve never made a braid.
Thanks Cheryl! This was actually easier than I thought it would be. Just had to use a bit of flour so that the dough didn’t stick to my hands while shaping the braids.