Let’s Make the Unusual Cool Wool Bread

March 13, 2021. Warm winter day. Cool Wool Bread.

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This ring bread that looks like pouffy skeins of sheep 🐑 wool has been making its round on social media recently. I saw it posted in one of the Baking groups I follow on Facebook. I thought it looks fun, plus it reminded me of the Asian-inspired filled crescent rolls I made a while back. It also has the loft of the easy pouffy popovers my kiddo loves, the texture of a milk bread, AND it’s also easy to pull apart, like my yummy garlic rolls.

I decided to check out the popular Wool Roll Bread video on YouTube posted by Apron. The video was clear and easy to follow along. I also read a few similar recipes. Then, today, I recreated the recipe and made a few tweaks to suit.

Overall, it’s a pretty straightforward recipe – make the dough, shape it and finally bake it. In between, you let the dough rest and rise. Lots of patience with bread! Hands-on time is not too long. I think the trickiest part is shaping the bread, which requires lots of cutting!

Let’s get to it!

Ingredients for Cool Wool Bread

1 tsp (5g) Active Yeast
1/3 cup (80ml) Milk, warm
2⅛ cup (300g) Bread Flour (high protein flour)
1 tsp (9g) Salt
2½ Tbsp. (30g) Sugar
1/2 cup (100ml) Cream
1 large egg, at room temperature
2/3 cup (100g) dried cranberries (craisins)
Melted butter to grease pan
Milk or cream to brush on top of dough

You will need a Stand Mixer to do the mixing and kneading, a rolling pin, a sharp knife or bench scraper, and a parchment-lined 8″ (20cm) round pan to proof and bake the bread.

Making the Dough

Let’s start by gathering all the ingredients. First, we bloom the active dry yeast by adding the teaspoon of yeast to warm milk. Stir and let it rest for 5 minutes. Note: This step is to make sure the yeast is still good. If after 5 minutes you don’t see any foaming on the surface of the liquid, toss away the mixture and try again. This happened to me during this bake, and I had to repeat this process. If the yeast is not active, your bread will not rise and you will end up with a flat and dense bread.

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In the mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and sugar until well combined. Then, add in the cream, egg and yeast mixture. Note: best to use these wet ingredients at room temperature for optimal results.

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Use the dough hook attachment on your mixing stand to combine the ingredients until a dough ball is formed, about 2 to 3 minutes. Knead for another 6 to 8 minute until it is smooth. When ready, shape dough into a ball, place in lightly greased bowl, cover and let it rest a in warm spot for about 60 minutes, or until the dough is puffy and has doubled in size.

Shaping the Cool Wool Bread

When the dough has doubled in size, tip it onto a lightly floured work surface. Then, carefully deflate the dough. Using your bench scraper or a sharp knife, divide into 5 equal pieces. Form the dough pieces into balls. Roll them on the surface to create a taut surface. Then, cover and let them rest for 15 minutes.

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When waiting, chop up the dried cranberries. If you plan to use any other filling, this is when you would prepare it – best to have filling that is not too wet (we don’t want to change the composition of the bake) and not too lumpy (difficult to roll up). Set aside. Next, prepare the pan. Brush melted butter generously all over the inside bottom and sides of the pan. Line pan with parchment paper and brush with melted butter, also.

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Cutting and Rolling

After resting for 15 minutes, take one of the dough balls, and roll it out into a long oval approx. 12″ (30cm) long by 5″ (12cm) wide. I used the lines on my pastry board as a rough guide. Tip: Very lightly score a line across the middle of the oval, as if you are dividing it in half. This will be a guide when you cut the top part of the dough.

Then, using a very sharp knife or your bench scraper, cut long thin lines from middle to the top of the dough piece.

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Here’s a short clip on how I cut the dough:

Next, scatter about a tablespoon of chopped dried cranberries to the bottom uncut part of the dough. Fold in the sides and (confidently!) start to roll up the dough from the edge closest to you. Placed the rolled up piece onto the prepared round pan. Rest the rolled up piece on its seams. Repeat with all the other 4 pieces of dough.

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Another closer look at the cool shape

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Final Proofing of Cool Wool Bread

Cover the shaped dough with plastic cling wrap and let it rest for about 60 minutes until it looks pouffy. When waiting, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C)

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Baking the Cool Wool Bread

When ready, brush the top of bread with cream (or milk). Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Remove pan from heat. Let it cool in pan for 10 minutes before inverting and popping out of pan. It’s ready!

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Notes:

This is such a fun bread to make! The finished product is lots of fun to eat too. I think it looks like a cooler version of the Japanese Milk bread with filling that is easy to pull apart! If you are not a fan of dried fruits, simply swap out the filling and add things you enjoy. Just make sure the filling is not too wet or too lumpy or large.

Ideas for Savory filling: Shredded cheese, cream cheese, spicy cooked minced meat, chopped up ham, bacon bits

Ideas for Sweet filling: Cinnamon sugar, Nutella spread, chocolate chips/flakes, coconut flakes, dried fruit mix

I was researching online and found more ideas on what to stuff or add to your bread. Here are a few articles to help get your creative juices flowing:

https://www.brit.co/stuffed-bread-recipes/

https://food52.com/blog/21470-stuffed-bread-recipes-for-winter

So many possibilities! Happy tinkering!

More Fab Ideas:

Do you like cool and unusual shaped bread? Check this out => How to Make a Classic English Cottage Loaf!

How about this gorgeous 16-Point Star Bread? => How to Make 16-Point Star Bread

Fancy something elegant for company? Check out these => How to Make Elegant Russian Lace Rolls!

Something Quick and Easy AND fancy? Check out this => How to Make Quick & Delicious Chinese Twirl Flower Buns