The perfect fruity, nutty festive bread to grace your Christmas morning breakfast table. Cinnamon roll meats hot cross bun is the best way to describe this bread. And a fun extra, the fruit has been soaked in spiced rum (optional).

Can be made ahead of time. See recipe notes

Fruit & Nut Breakfast Wreath

Vanessa Vermaak

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Course Baked Goods, Bread, Breakfast, Brunch

Servings

Ingredients

Bread:

¼ Cup Warm water
½ Cup Warm milk
2 Tbsp Brown or golden castor sugar
2¼ tsp Instant dry yeast
2 Large Eggs
2 tsp Lemon Zest
3½ Cups White bread or all-purpose flour
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
¼ tsp Ground Allspice
Dash of ground nutmeg
¼ tsp Salt

Filling:

¾ Cup Dried fruit of your choice I used a mixture which includes, raisins, sultanas, cranberries, goji berries and currants
½ Cup Spiced/Dark Rum, Whiskey or Bourbon* Optional (See notes below for substitutes)
90 Grams Unsalted Butter Softened to room temperature
⅓ Cup All-Purpose/Cake Flour
3 Tbsp Dark Brown Sugar / Dark Muscovado Sugar
1 Tbsp Lemon Zest (approx. 1 Lemon)
¾ Cup Toasted Flaked Almonds

Glaze:

1½ Cups Icing/Powdered Sugar
2 Tbsp Water
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Lemon Zest
Extra flaked almond, icing sugar and zest for decorating Optional

Instructions

To prepare the fruit:

Add the fruit and rum* (you can substitute with the same amount of water or orange juice if not using alcohol) to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer for around 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover and set aside for a couple of hours or overnight

To prepare the dough:

Add the warm water and warm milk to a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Add the sugar and give it a stir, then sprinkle over the yeast and let it sit for around 5 minutes
Whisk the eggs then add them to the mixture, followed by the zest
Finally, sift in the flour, spices and salt and mix until well combined and a soft dough forms
Next, knead the dough by hand or in your stand mixer for around 5 minutes
Place the dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl, cover and place in a warm draft free area to rise until it has doubled in size (around 1½ hours)

To prepare the filling:

Drain the fruit from any remaining alcohol and place into a medium bowl. Add the softened butter, flour, sugar, zest and almonds and give it a good mix
Cover and place in the fridge

To assemble and shape:

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a large baking sheet with baking/parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside
Remove the dough from the bowl and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead or punch out any air bubbles
Roll the dough into a long rectangle, around 22cm in width and around 50cm+ long
Crumble the filling over the dough, leaving an approx. 2cm edge around the sides
Starting on the long side, roll the dough tightly into a sausage shape, pinching the edges to seal
Using a sharp knife, cut the dough roll down the centre lengthways, leaving around 2cm at one end still attached. Once cut, carefully turn each half to let the cut sides to face up
Now loosely twist the two strands around each other, ensuring the cut sides keep facing up and pinch the ends together to seal
Carefully transfer the twisted rope to the lined baking sheet and shape into a wreath shape. Tuck the ends under to neaten and pinch together to seal
Bake for around 25 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a wire cooling rack to cool a little before glazing and decorating (10 – 15 minutes)

To glaze and decorate:

Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add the water, lemon juice and zest and mix until well combined and lump free. (The glaze needs to be a slightly thick but pourable consistency to stick to the bread but not run straight off. If it is too loose/liquid, add more icing sugar a bit at a time, if too stiff to pour, add a teaspoon more lemon juice or water at a time)
Slowly pour the glaze over the bread, then sprinkle with extra flaked almonds and zest if you wish
When the glaze is dry, feel free to sprinkle the wreath with icing sugar for an extra touch, decorate as you wish, or serve as is

Notes

*Soaking the fruit in alcohol is totally optional. You can substitute the alcohol with the same amount of water or orange juice if you wish or use the dried fruit as is if you do not want to re-hydrate them.

Tip: This wreath can be baked up to 2 days ahead of time. Do not glaze if making ahead of time. Let the bread cool completely, then wrap tightly in foil and store at room temperature. Re-heat the bread at 180°C for 10 to 15 minutes when ready to use, and drizzle with the glaze just before serving.

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Keyword Christmas, Christmas baking, Christmas Bread, Christmas wreath, christmas wreath bread, Fruit & Nut, fruit and nut bread

Fruit & Nut Breakfast Wreath