Calling all pastry lovers! This cinnamon star bread is for you. It’s golden brown on the outside, pillowy soft on the inside and perfectly sweet … everything a proper baked good should be.
While the finished product is quite striking (at least in my opinion), don’t let appearances fool you. Cinnamon star bread is simple to prepare and calls for very basic ingredients, like flour, milk and eggs. If you can get your hands on it, use Clover Sonoma Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Culinary Butter in the dough and filling to amp up the flavor and color.
For maximum enjoyment, serve cinnamon star bread warm from the oven with hot coffee or tea. You can store any leftover pieces in the freezer and then defrost and devour them at your convenience.
P.S. This is not a sponsored post; I just enjoyed working with Clover Sonoma Culinary Butter so much that I wanted to share the product with you.
Recipe adapted from Tutti Dolci.
- 1 cup milk
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 3 tablespoons sugar, divided
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (see notes)
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 3¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (see notes)
- 1 egg, beaten
- In a large bowl, heat milk until warm - about 30 seconds in the microwave should do. Add the yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar. Whisk together until thoroughly combined and let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes.
- Add the remaining sugar, butter, egg, 3 cups flour and salt to the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Continue adding flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough comes together to form a shaggy ball; it should be tacky but not sticky. Then knead the dough by hand (or with a dough hook attachment) until it’s smooth and elastic - this will take about 10 minutes (or less if using a stand mixer). Shape dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let it rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- While the dough rises, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- After the dough has risen, punch it down and divide into 4 equal pieces.
- Using a rolling pin, roll one piece into a circle, about 12 inches in diameter, and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Spread one-third of the butter in an even layer over the top of the dough, leaving a 1” border around the edges. Sprinkle on one-quarter of the filling. Repeat with remaining portions of dough, leaving the last circle bare. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
- Place a 2" round cutter in the center of the stack of dough. Use a sharp knife to cut dough into 16 wedges, leaving the area inside the round cutter intact.
- Using your hands, gently twist two adjacent wedges away from each other a few times and pinch ends to seal. Repeat with remaining wedges of dough.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Let dough rise for 30 minutes and then brush top of loaf with the beaten egg and sprinkle with remaining filling.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes until golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
