Happy New Year 2020! Many cultures have a celebratory dish or bread or …. something that they use to ring in the New Year. This year, I decided to do a variation on the New Year’s Bread. In the past, I’ve done a giant New Year’s Pretzel … this year it is New Year’s Star. It’s like a giant cinnamon roll actually. Either which way, it is a lovely item for breakfast in the morning. I hope that your 2020 starts off well. Enjoy!
Ingredients
for the dough
2 1/2 teaspoons (1 packet) active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110 to 115F)
1/2 cup warm whole milk (110 to 115F)
1 large egg, room temperature
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/4 to 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
for the filling
1 large egg, beaten with a splash of milk
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
Directions
Dissolve yeast in warm water until foamy. In another bowl, combine milk, egg, butter, sugar and salt; add yeast mixture and 3 cups flour. Beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch down dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 4 portions. Roll 1 portion into a 12-inch circle. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silpat. Brush a thin coat of beaten egg on the surface, then evenly sprinkle with 1/3 of the cinnamon-sugar, leaving 1/4″ of bare dough around the perimeter. Roll out a second circle the same size as the first, and place it on top of the filling-covered circle. Repeat the layering process — egg, cinnamon sugar, dough circle — leaving the top circle bare.
Place a 2 1/2 inch to 3 inch round cutter in the center of the dough circle as a guide – do not press down! With a bench knife or sharp knife, cut the circle into 16 equal strips, from the cutter to the edge, through all the layers.
Using two hands, pick up two adjacent strips and twist them away from each other twice so that the top side is facing up again. Repeat with the remaining strips of dough so that you end up with eight pairs of strips. Pinch the pairs of strips together to create a star-like shape with eight points. Remove the cutter. A good photo tutorial of what you are supposed to do is here.
Cover the star and let it rise until it becomes noticeably puffy, about 45 minutes. While the star is rising, preheat the oven to 400F.
Brush the star with a thin coat of the beaten egg. Bake it for 12 to 15 minutes, until it’s nicely golden with dark brown cinnamon streaks; the center should register 200F on a digital thermometer. Remove the loaf from the oven and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve warm or at room temperature.
