Christmas bread wreath recipe made with blueberry and almond cinnamon rolls. Fun to assemble and a real Christmas showstopper!
I'm not a huge fan of traditional Christmas flavors (except gingerbread). Since berries are in season in our Aussie Summer Christmas, it's only makes sense to make a beautiful Christmas bread wreath!
The wreath is made in a similar way to my blueberry cinnamon rolls. However, the assembly is inspired by some things I found on Pinterest! The wreath may look complicated but it's actually easy if your dough is the right consistency!
Preparing the dough for the Christmas bread wreath
Once we've made and rested our dough, we need to roll it out on a floured surface, spread the thick blueberry jam on the surface and roll it up.
This step is almost exactly the same as when you make vegan cinnamon rolls. However, since we want to make a wreath out of it, it helps if your dough is as LONG as possible!
Otherwise you'll end up with a circle with a small hole rather than a wreath ;).
Assembling the Christmas bread wreath
Once you have a 'log' of dough, simply bring the two ends together. You don't have to pinch them together. We just need a rough wreath shape.
At this point, if you find that your 'log' isn't long enough to make a wreath, you can simply stretch it with your hands. Try to do this gently!
Now, get a sharp and clean scissors and cut 'rolls' out of the dough at an angle. The shape of the scissors will force each roll to have a pointed edge, which is pretty!
Also, we don't want our scissors to cut through the whole log - the bottom of it needs to stay in tact for the wreath!
I alternated my rolls so it'd be like:
- Cut a roll out, move it to the left.
- Cut a roll out, move it to the right.
- And so on!
Honestly, I was a little nervous about this stage as I've never done it before. However, if your dough is the right consistency (firm but not too soft), it helps a lot! If your dough is too soft, simply place it in the fridge or freezer until it's firm enough :).
Making the blueberry wreath in advance
If you want to enjoy the wreath on Christmas Day or Eve, you can prepare parts of it beforehand! You can either:
- Make the ball of dough and immediately chill it before you let it rise. When you bring it out of the fridge, if your dough is still soft, you can roll and shape it immediately. If it's a little too firm, allow it to come to room temperature and soften then shape it.
- Make the dough, shape the wreath and chill it immediately. On the day you want to enjoy the wreath, allow it to come to room temperature. If it didn't rise in the fridge, allow it to rise at room temperature. If it did rise, simply bake it when it's room temperature!
More vegan Christmas bread recipes:
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Blueberry Almond Christmas Wreath Recipe
Ingredients
Wreath dough
- 2 ½ - 3 cups (440g) all-purpose plain flour, or bread flour (start with less flour and add more if needed)
- ¾ cup (165g) dairy-free milk, warm
- ½ cup (115g) vegan butter, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons (40g) granulated sugar, or coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon (9g) instant dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt, if you're not using salted butter
Wreath filling
- 1 ½ cup (225g) fresh or frozen blueberries
- 3 tablespoons corn starch / corn flour
- Sweetener if desired
- Dash of vanilla extract, optional
To decorate
- ¼ cup (20g) flaked almonds
- 3 tablespoons berry jam
Instructions
To make the dough:
- Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl or stand mixer and mix until it comes together. Knead the mixture until it forms a smooth and stretchy dough. It should be a tacky but shouldn't stick to the kneading surface. Add a little more milk if the dough is too dry or a little more flour if the dough is sticky.
- Place the dough in the bowl and cover with a tea towel. Set aside in a warm spot for at least 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
To prepare the wreath filling:
- Add all ingredients to a small saucepan and mash the blueberries with a fork. Bring the mixture to a simmer for about 15 minutes or until the mixture has thickened. Use a stick blender to blend the blueberries. Set aside to cool.
To assemble the wreath:
- Lightly dust a clean surface with flour. Roll out the dough into a rectangular shape approximately 1 cm (0.4 inch) and 45 x 25 cm (17 x 10 inch) large.
- Spread all of the cooled blueberry puree onto the dough about 2 cm (1 inch) away from the edge. Starting from the long side, tightly roll the dough into a log shape.
- Roll the log onto a large piece of baking paper. Roughly bring the two ends of the dough together.
- Use a sharp pair of scissors, to cut off the ends. Use the scissors to cut diagonally into the dough creating a pointed 'roll'. When you cut into the dough, make sure you leave a little dough in tact at the bottom so the wreath can keep its shape. Cut one roll and move it to the left. Cut another roll and move it to the right. Repeat for the remainder of the wreath.
- Arrange the end rolls together to continue the pattern. Reshape any parts of the wreath if needed. Cover with a tea towel and set aside for at least 1 hour or until the dough is puffy again. The wreath should increase in size by around 20%.
Baking the wreath:
- When the wreath is puffy again, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Brush the jam on the wreath and sprinkle almonds on top.
- Bake the wreath for around 20 minutes or until the outside is slightly golden brown. The baking time will depend on the thickness of your wreath. If you insert a skewer into the wreath, there should be no wet dough on it. Allow the wreath to cool on the baking tray.
- The wreath is best eaten the day it is baked. Alternatively, store it in airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days for in the fridge for 5 days. When serving the leftovers, warm up the rolls before eating.
Notes
Nutrition
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I made this and it was absolutely great. It did take about 30 minutes for me to make it to the right golden color, but matthew it was just cold in my kitchen!
So glad to hear! Yes my oven is often colder in the cooler months too. Thanks for your feedback 🙂
This was great! Easier than I thought. I was expecting it to be sweeter, but after the fact noticed it was called a “bread” wreath. Still beautiful and can always be sweetened with icing. However, with expectations set correctly, I will probably make this exactly the same way next time. (I subbed half the flour with whole wheat pastry flour.)