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Strawberry Star Bread

by Emily

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I am back to baking and blogging after a long unplanned absence due to a lot of life happening all at once. In the span of two months, I set a dissertation defense date (end of June), registered to graduate, accepted a job offer, and was planning a cross-country move for said job. Then the world collapsed – my dad fell very, very ill and I rushed back home shortly after taking the photos for this post in late April. I’m so glad I went when I did, because I only ended up getting to spend a few days with him before we had to say goodbye. I spent the last month alternating between the languishing that only grief can induce and manic bursts of work in preparation for my defense and transition out of PhD life. Mental exhaustion is putting it mildly.

But today I finally poured a glass of wine, took a deep breath, and pulled up my long-neglected blog. And I wish I’d done it sooner, as selecting and editing the photos of this beautiful strawberry bread has been a balm for my ragged nerves. I’m comforted by the fact that we all came from and will return to the beautiful stars we see twinkling in the night sky, so this feels like an especially meaningful and beautiful bake. Of course, I have my dad to thank for my sweet tooth, and he would have especially loved the light strawberry sweetness of this bread. The tender, buttery dough is filled with a bright and lemony strawberry cream cheese filling. But don’t be tempted to substitute fresh strawberries here – the concentrated flavor and color come from my favorite baking secret weapon, freeze-dried strawberries. You could use any kind of freeze-dried fruit you fancy – blueberries, raspberries, even mangoes would all be delicious. I added a healthy dose of lemon zest to make the strawberry flavors sing even louder.

The smooth, silky dough is rich with butter and whole milk, pliable and so very easy to work with even if you’ve never made a yeasted bread before. Don’t be tempted to rush through the kneading; the dough needs to be worked long enough to develop a shiny, stretchy texture (see below).

After a short proof, the dough is layered with the strawberry cream cheese and twisted into a starburst pattern – it’s not as difficult as it looks and doesn’t need to be perfect at this stage as the twists will merge as the bread puffs up during baking. I’ve included a video tutorial on how to shape the dough (which also doubles as a cautionary tale about moisturizing your aging hands).

After a final egg wash, the bread bakes up into a beautiful, golden brown masterpiece, the star of your brunch or afternoon tea table. It is rich and buttery enough to stand on its own, but we are nothing but extra with our sweets and have enjoyed spreading it with coconut jam or pistachio cream.

Strawberry Star Bread (Adapted from Bake from Scratch magazine)

  • Servings: 1 large loaf, about 14 slices
  • Difficulty: medium
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 3 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons (425 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
  • 7 grams instant yeast
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 60g unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature + 1 egg white
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or extract
  • 4 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature
  • 30 grams confectioners’ sugar
  • 1/4 cup (9 grams) freeze-dried strawberries (or blueberries or raspberries or fruit of choice)
  • zest of a large unwaxed lemon

Directions

  1. Blitz the dried strawberries in a food processor until processed to powder (alternatively, crush in a sealed plastic bad with a rolling pin). No need to sift out the larger pieces. Set aside.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat 125g flour, sugar, yeast, and salt at medium-low speed until thoroughly combined.
  3. In a medium saucepan, heat milk and butter over medium heat until an instant-read thermometer registers 120°F -130°F. Add milk mixture to flour mixture; beat at medium for 2 minutes.
  4. Add 1 egg and vanilla bean paste; increase speed to medium high until well mixed (~2-3 minutes). Reduced speed to low, slowly add remaining flour, stopping when just combined and no white streaks remain.
  5. Switch to the dough hook attachment. Beat at medium speed until a soft, sticky dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl in one big ball. This should take you 8-10 minutes.
  6. Place dough in lightly oiled bowl, turning to grease. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, 40 minutes to 1 hour.
  7. Line a light-colored baking sheet with parchment paper.
  8. While dough is rising, combine cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, strawberry powder, lemon zest, and egg white until smooth.
  9. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
  10. Punch down dough; cover and rest for 5 minutes. Divide into 4 equal portions and shape into balls. Cover with plastic wrap, and rest again for 15 minutes. Keeping other portions covered with plastic wrap, roll and pat 1 portion into an 11-inch circle and place on prepared pan. Don’t worry if the dough circles shrink a little after you put them on the pan. Spread one-third of the strawberry cream cheese onto dough circle, leaving a ½-inch border. Repeat twice. Place the last dough circle on top.
  11. Place a 1½-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter in center of dough and press lightly to leave a mark. Using a sharp knife, make 16 evenly spaced cuts working from center mark to edge of dough. Twist wedges out and away from each other twice; pinch ends firmly together (see video above). Repeat with remaining cut portions.
  12. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in size, 30-45 minutes.
  13. Make an egg washing with 1 tablespoon water and 1 egg. Brush top of dough with egg wash.
  14. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
  15. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

CategoriesBreakfast/Brunch Easter Sweet Breads
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