How to Make Festive Butter Bread

November 16, 2020. Sunny and cool. Festive Butter Bread.

I have been on a bit of a baking slump for the past few days. The unceasing staying at home has finally gotten to me and I was feeling restless. Anyway, I snapped out of my blue mood and decided to bake this fun and festive recipe. I have seen this a while back and it was on my bake list. I believe the original recipe was from Eva Toneva and published in Bulgarian. This bread is somewhat similar to the Pull Apart Flower Garlic Bread but instead of cream cheese with garlic, this one is simply filled with unsalted butter. I love the swirls and twirls on this bread. It looks impressive when baked up and will look fantastic on your dinner or party table.

There are no unusual ingredients for this one – simple yeast, milk, flour, eggs – all pantry staples. However, as with most baked bread, you will need patience and time. I’ll walk you through how I made it step-by-step below.

I have included both metric and American measurements for ease of use. If you are ever stuck or have a question, do not hesitate to reach out to me at the comment section below.

Let’s get baking!

Ingredients for Festive Butter Bread

Item listed roughly in the order it will be used:

2 tsps. active dry yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 cup (250 ml) whole milk, room temperature, divided
4 cups (500 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 Tbsp. olive oil
½ tsp. vinegar
8 Tbsp. (100g) unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon of water for egg wash

You will also need a large mixing bowl, stand mixer (if using), a round pan for baking (I used my large 10″ (25cm) quiche pan), rolling pin and a sharp knife (or a bench scraper).

Making the Dough

Let’s start by gathering all the ingredients. Mix yeast and sugar in half a cup of milk, stir and let it bloom for about 5 minutes.

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In a large mixing bowl (or your stand mixer bowl) add flour and salt. Whisk to combine. Next, add eggs, the other half cup of milk, olive oil, vinegar and yeast mixture to the dry ingredients. Turn on the mixer (or use a spatula) and combine until a soft dough is formed. Add more flour as needed (¼ to ½ cup/ 30 to 60g) until the dough is soft and pliable.

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If kneading with hand, tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes. If using a mixer, turn speed to medium and knead for about 5 minutes.

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When done, form dough into a round and place in a greased bowl. Cover and let it rise in warm place for about an hour, or until it doubled in size. When dough is resting, generously butter large round baking pan with some of the melted butter and set aside.

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Shaping the Festive Butter Bread

Then, deflate the dough and put dough a floured surface. Next, divide the dough into 8 equal sized pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into rectangular shape, all approximately similar in size ( about 6″x10″ /15cm x 25cm) each. Then, brush melted butter over each piece and layer one piece on top of another. Roll the 2 pieces together into a cylinder, set it seam side down and set aside. Repeat with the remaining dough pieces. You should end up with 4 cylinders of 2-layer dough.

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To shape the bread, for each cylinder, cut about 1½” (4cm) from each end. Then, lightly score and cut the middle part of the cylinder roll into 4 triangles.

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Arrange the end pieces in the middle of the pan (like the heart of a flower) and place the rest of the triangle pieces around the center (like flower petals). When done, cover with clean kitchen towel and let the shaped dough rest for about 45 minutes.

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Baking and Finishing

When almost ready, preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Prepare the egg wash – beat a large egg with a tablespoon of water until well combined. Carefully brush the egg wash on top of the dough, getting into all the nooks and crannies. Then, pop the pan into the preheated oven and bake bread for 25 to 30 minutes, until the bread is golden brown.

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When done, remove from oven and promptly brush bread with remaining melted butter. Your Festive Butter Bread is ready!

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Notes on Festive Butter Bread

1. If the dough rectangles shrinks when shaping, cover and set aside for 5 minutes and try again after resting.
2. Since this bread uses such simple ingredients, please use the best quality full milk butter available for the best tasting outcome.
3. Uneaten bread can be stored in air tight container for 2 days. For longer period, freeze.

Postscript

I was curious what types of bread are most popular in the US and found this short article => https://www.tasteatlas.com/most-popular-breads-in-usa

Now I’ll have more breads to check out and make – especially the Rhode Island’s Johnnycakes and Puerto Rico’s Pan de Mallorca! So many breads to try, so little time!

Adapted from Eva Toneva’s Holiday Cake (Празнична погача)

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Gamed to try something new and different for dinner? Check out this delicious steamed dish that you can make in under an hour => How to Make Chinese-Style Splendid Stuffed Cabbage Leaves