This homemade cinnamon star bread is literally the star of the show! It’s a beautiful treat with mesmerizing swirls that looks intimidating but is surprisingly easy to make. Full of warm and buttery cinnamon-sugar filling, this pull-apart bread is irresistible. Also known as snowflake bread, as it looks like a beautiful snowflake after you’ve dusted the tops of the bread with confectioners’ sugar, this is the perfect festive treat for the winter holidays! For another holiday treat, try my classic linzer cookies, homemade peppermint bark, or panettone recipe.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Yeast — always double-check the expiry date of your yeast. If it is past its best before date, then pick up a new packet of yeast at the store.
Milk — not only does the milk add tenderness and flavor, but the natural sugar from the milk also helps activate the yeast.
Butter — be sure to buy unsalted butter and not salted butter. Salted butter does not have a consistent amount of salt across different brands, so I like to add my own measured salt to my bread dough.
Cinnamon sugar — If you forgot to get some then skip buying cinnamon sugar and make your own by combining ground cinnamon with granulated sugar.
How to Make Star Bread
1. In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, combine warm milk and yeast. Let stand until very foamy, then add the melted butter, sugar, and egg. On top of the wet ingredients, add flour and salt. Using the dough hook, mix at low speed until a dough starts to form. Increase speed to medium-low, and continue kneading until a sticky and elastic dough is formed, about 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. After doubled, punch down the risen dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
3. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and shape each into a ball.
4. Roll one dough ball into a thin roughly 12-inch circle. Place on a sheet of parchment paper. Lightly brush with melted butter, leaving about ½-inch border, and sprinkle the butter with a third of the cinnamon sugar. Roll another dough ball into the same size circle and place it on top of the sugar-coated round.
5. Brush the top of the circle with more butter.
6. Sprinkle with another third of cinnamon sugar. Repeat layers again. Roll the last dough ball and place it on top. Trim the dough where needed to create a clean edge and a 10- to 11-inch circle.
7. Place a 3-inch round cookie cutter or small bowl in the center of the dough. Using a pastry cutter or very sharp knife, cut the circle into quarters, starting at the edge of the dough and stopping at the edge of the bowl. Cut each quarter in half, and then each of those in half again.
8. Grab two dough strips, one in each hand, and twist them 3 times away from each other. Lay them down, pinch the end together. Repeat all around the circle. Loosely cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel and let rise until noticeably puffed before brushing with an egg wash and baking for 25 minutes. Lightly dust the star bread with confectioners’ sugar before serving warm.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- The time it takes for your dough to rise depends on the temperature of your kitchen. The ideal temperature for dough rising is 75 to 78F.
- If your kitchen is cold, you can place your cinnamon star bread dough in an OFF oven with the light on.
- Make sure the milk is between 110 to 120F as milk that’s too hot will kill the yeast, and milk not warm enough won’t activate the yeast.
- If you are using yeast from a container, be sure to store the additional yeast in an airtight container in the fridge, so it doesn’t go stale.
- Avoid adding too much flour by measuring your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake that leads to dense bread. The best way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one, then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
- Keep a close eye and a timer on the star bread during the second rise. If the bread is left alone for too long, you risk losing the star shape.
- Roll out one ball of dough at a time while leaving the rest of the balls covered in plastic wrap or a tea towel to prevent the dough from drying out.
- If you do not have a mixer, you can knead the dough by hand. It will take longer, around 10 to 15 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a different filling?
Not a fan of cinnamon sugar? Feel free to use a different filling for your star bread. Try using Nutella, jam, pumpkin butter, pumpkin spice, or cream cheese instead of cinnamon sugar.
Why is my bread dense?
If your Christmas star bread is dense, it means you added too much flour, or you did not knead it long enough as kneading develops the gluten in the dough. The dough should be sticky and elastic and start pulling away from the mixing bowl.
How do I store this?
You can leave this cinnamon star bread at room temperature for up to 4 days. If you would like for it to last longer, you can store it in the fridge. I like to reheat mine before enjoying it, but you can also leave it at room temperature.
Can I freeze this?
You can! Once the bread has cooled, transfer it to a freezer-safe bag or container. Freeze it whole or in individual pieces. It’ll last for 3 months. When ready to enjoy, thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat it until warmed throughout in the oven.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this Star Bread recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Star Bread
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 1 cup warm whole milk 110F (240mL)
- 1 0.25-ounce packet instant yeast
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50g)
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 3¾ cups all-purpose flour (450g)
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the FIlling:
- ½ cup granulated sugar 100g
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
For the Topping:
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon water
- Confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
For the Dough:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine warm milk and yeast. Let stand until very foamy, about 10 minutes.
- Once foamy, add the melted butter, sugar, and egg. On top of the wet ingredients, add the flour and salt. Using the dough hook, mix on low speed until a dough starts to form. Increase speed to medium-low, and continue kneading until a sticky and elastic dough is formed, about 8 to 10 minutes. (the dough should start pulling away from the sides of the bowl, but may still stick to the bottom.) Shape the dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
For the Filling:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon.
- Punch down the risen dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and shape each into a ball. Roll one ball into a thin roughly 12-inch circle. (If your dough is shrinking back on itself as you roll, let it rest for a few minutes and try rolling it on an unfloured surface.) Place on a sheet of parchment paper. Lightly brush with melted butter, leaving about ½-inch border, and sprinkle the butter with a third of the cinnamon sugar. Roll another dough ball into the same size circle and place on top of the sugar-coated round. (If the dough is wanting to shrink a little, lightly pinch the edge of the top dough round to the edge of the bottom dough round to help keep the shape.) Brush with butter and sprinkle with another third of cinnamon sugar. Repeat layers again. Roll the last dough ball and place on top. Trim the dough where needed to create a clean edge and a 10- to 11-inch circle.
- Place a 3-inch round cookie cutter or small bowl in the center of the dough. Using a pastry cutter or very sharp knife, cut the circle into quarters starting at the edge of the dough and stopping the edge of the bowl. Cut each quarter in half, and then each of those in half again. (You should end up with 16 little triangles connected at the center.)
- Grab two dough strips, one in each hand, and twist them 3 times away from each other. Lay them down, pinch the end together. Repeat all around the circle. You should have an 8-pointed star. Remove the cutter. Transfer the star with the parchment paper onto a rimmed baking sheet. Loosely cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel and let rise until noticeably puffed, about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375F.
For the Topping:
- Beat the egg and water together until well combined. If the points of the star have separated while rising, pinch them together again. Brush the egg wash all over the puffed star.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown, covering with foil after 15 minutes if it’s browning too quickly. Let cool on the pan for 10 minutes. Lightly dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving warm.
Notes
- The time it takes for your dough to rise depends on the temperature of your kitchen. The ideal temperature for dough rising is 75 to 78F.
- If your kitchen is cold, you can place your cinnamon starbread dough in an OFF oven with the light on.
- Make sure the milk is between 110 to 120F as milk that’s too hot will kill the yeast, and milk not warm enough won’t activate the yeast.
- If you are using yeast from a container, be sure to store the additional yeast in an airtight container in the fridge, so it doesn’t go stale.
- Avoid adding too much flour by measuring your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake then leads to dense bread. The best way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one, then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
- Keep a close eye and a timer on the star bread during the second rise. If the bread is left alone for too long, you risk losing the star shape.
- Roll out one ball of dough at a time while leaving the rest of the balls covered in plastic wrap or a tea towel to prevent the dough from drying out.
- If you do not have a mixer, you can knead the dough by hand. It will take longer, around 10 to 15 minutes.
