Spiced fruit & pistachio bread wreath
- Preparation and cooking time
- Prep:
- Cook:
- plus 2 hrs 45 mins proving and rising
- A challenge
- Serves 10 - 12
Skip to ingredients
Showing items 1 to 3 of 6
For the bread dough
- 250ml whole milk
- 50g buttercubed
- 450g strong plain flour
- 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
- 50g golden caster sugar
- 1 eggbeaten, to glaze
For the filling
- 200g currant
- 50g chopped mixed peel
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- zest and juice 1 lemon
- zest and juice 1 orange
- 50g pistachiochopped
- 100g buttersoftened
- 2 tbsp golden caster sugar
- icing sugarto glaze
Nutrition: per serving (12)
- kcal352
- fat15g
- saturates8g
- carbs50g
- sugars23g
- fibre3g
- protein6g
- salt0.3g
Method
step 1
First make the bread dough. Warm the milk in a saucepan until you can see steam coming from the surface, but don’t let it boil. Add the butter and set aside. Tip the flour, yeast, sugar and ½ tsp salt into a large bowl. When the milk has cooled to hand temperature and the butter has melted, pour the liquid into the bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon, then tip out onto your work surface and bring together with your hands. Knead the dough for 10 mins or until soft. Put it in a clean, lightly oiled bowl and cover with a sheet of oiled cling film. Leave somewhere warm for about 2 hrs until doubled in size.
step 2
Place the currants, mixed peel, cinnamon, mixed spice, zests and juice into a saucepan. Boil hard for a few mins until the fruit has absorbed the liquid and become nice and plump. Chill until cold, then mix with the pistachios, butter and sugar.
step 3
When the dough is ready, tip out of the bowl and knead briefly to knock out the air bubbles. Roll out to a 45 x 28cm rectangle. Spread the buttery spiced fruit mixture over the surface of the dough. From one of the long edges, roll the dough to a tight cylinder, then bring the 2 ends to meet, creating a ring. Place on a lightly floured baking sheet with the join underneath.
step 4
Using a sharp knife, cut incisions around the outside of the dough, about 3cm apart, in a sunburst pattern, going quite close to the centre, but not all the way through. Working your way around the outside, pull each piece of cut dough out a little, then push it down on one side, so that the cut edge is exposed and they’re on a curve to create a fan shape around the edge of the wreath. When you’re happy with the shape, re-cover with oiled cling film and leave to prove for about 45 mins until doubled in size. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
step 5
Uncover the bread and brush all over with beaten egg. Bake for 25-30 mins until golden and hollow sounding when tapped on the base. Mix a little icing sugar with enough water to make a smooth runny icing. Whilst the bread is still warm, brush the icing over the surface with a pastry brush to make a sugary crust. Best eaten within 3 days.
