Holiday Star Bread

Christmas Star Twisted Bread - swirled this bread in savory flavors is indeed a festive treat to eyes and mouth or as Paul Hollywood says "style and substance". Although traditional star breads are filled with cinnamon sugar, I made mine with savory chicken mince, onion, spice seasonings and blend of tomato puree and mint chutney. Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas! Stay safe and be positive.

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons instant or active dry yeast*

• 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar

• 3/4 cup (180ml) whole milk

• 1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

• 1 large egg

• 2 and 1/3 cups (290g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled), plus more as needed

• 1 teaspoon salt

• filling (see recipe note)

• egg wash: 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon (15ml) milk

Filling

• 2 tbsp oil

• Minced chicken

• 1 cup onions, finely chopped

• 1 tbsp minced ginger (ginger paste)

• 1 tbsp minced garlic (garlic paste)

• 2 green chilies, chopped

• 1/4 tsp ground turmeric (turmeric powder)

• 2 tsp ground coriander (coriander powder)

• 1 tsp garam masala

• 1 1/2 tsp ground fennel (fennel powder)

Method

1. Make the dough: Place the yeast and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Or, if you do not own a stand mixer, a regular large mixing bowl. Heat the milk on the stove or in the microwave until warm to touch, about 110°F (43°C). Pour warm milk on top of yeast/sugar. Whisk gently to combine, then loosely cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes. The mixture will be frothy after 5-10 minutes.

2. If you do not have a mixer, you can mix by hand in this step. Add the butter, egg, flour, and salt. Beat on low speed for 3 minutes. Dough will be soft. Using lightly floured hands, form it into a ball. If the dough is too sticky to handle, add 1-3 more Tablespoons of flour, but you want a very soft dough.

3. Place the dough in a greased bowl (nonstick spray is fine) and cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Place in a slightly warm environment to rise until doubled in size, around 60-90 minutes. For this warm spot, I suggest using the oven. Preheat to 150°F, then turn the oven off after preheating. Place the covered bowl inside and shut the oven door. This is your warm environment.

4. Prepare filling: Place chicken, ground turmeric, ground coriander, garam masala and red chili powder in a bowl. Season with salt. Coat chicken in the spices. Pan fry chicken. (Alternatively, cook chicken in a pressure cooker). Reserve the cooking liquid. Allow chicken to cool slightly. Shred. Set aside.

5. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onions, ginger, garlic and green chilies. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes or until onions are soft. Add ground turmeric, ground coriander, garam masala and fennel powder. Sauté, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.

6. Stir in shredded chicken. Stir fry for 1 minute. If the mixture is too dry, add a little reserved cooking liquid, and cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool slightly. Set aside.

7. Punch down the dough to release the air. Place dough on a lightly floured work surface. Divide into 4 equal pieces and, with a floured rolling pin, roll each out into a thin 10-inch circle. Place the bottom circle on prepared baking sheet. If it lost its circle shape, use your hands to form the edges back into a round shape. Fill each layer with chicken filling, then layer top and bottom layer with tomato pasta sauce and mint chutney.

8. The top layer does not have filling on it, so only 3 of the 4 circles will be topped with filling. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut any scraps around the edges so you have an even circle. Place a 3 inch round object or bowl in the center and make an indent. This is the center of the star. Now it’s time to cut strips from the edge to the center 3-inch circle. Using a pizza cutter, cut 16 even strips. Using both hands, grab two strips and twist them away from each other twice, then press the two ends together to make a point. Your star bread will have 8 points.

9. Cover the shaped bread with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and let it rest for 20 minutes.

10. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the star bread with egg wash. This ensures a beautifully shiny golden brown bread. Bake for about 25- 30 minutes or until golden brown on top. If you notice the top or points browning too quickly, loosely tent the star bread with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes.