Whether you simply wanted to elevate your dinner rolls or have goals to STUN your family and friends with this ultimate centerpiece, this Cheese-Stuffed Garlic Wreath Bread will be giving "main character" energy at your next holiday table. Perfectly decorated for the season with each bite stuffed with gooey-gooey warm cheese, your guests will be tearing into this delicious bread wreath again and again until it's all gone.
It's slowly become a tradition of mine to share a holiday bread every year. I just love working with dough! Cheese stuffed in pillowy soft dough baked until golden and brushed with a fragrant herb butter using garlic, fresh basil, parsley, and sweet and tang cranberries. If you're intimidated just looking at it, don't be! If you can bake classic dinner rolls, you can easily put this together.
I saw Amy Tasty post this idea a few years back, and I knew instantly I had to try recreate it. What a genius move to add cranberries into the savory garlic herb butter and lather it on the pull-apart bread. It adds that subtle tang and sweetness of the holidays!
If you love this idea, go check out my Cheesy Pull-Apart Christmas Tree Bread recipe - it's one of my favorites! And if you feel more comfortable make classic dinner rolls, use my Festive Holiday Dinner Rolls recipe to jazz up ANY dinner rolls for Christmas.
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Yeast: I prefer using instant yeast, but active dry yeast works as well - just be sure to bloom it first. You can do this by dissolving the yeast with the sugar and water and allow it to sit until you see bubbles and/or foam.
- Bread flour: We want to use a high protein bread flour. If all you have is all-purpose flour, you can definitely use it. The bread structure may not rise as well and texture may be less chewy.
- Sugar: Adds subtle sweetness, flavor, and helps to activate the yeast. You can also substitute with honey.
- Salt: I prefer using kosher salt for most baked goods.
- Olive oil: Aids in moisture for a softer crust and crumb and adds subtle flavor. You can easily substitute with softened butter, but using olive oil is a nice contract since we're already brushing on herbed butter.
- Cheese: Block of mozzarella or cheddar cut into cubes, or cut string cheese to size.
- Butter: Unsalted and room temperature. It's always safe practice to use unsalted butter for bread making so you can control how much salt is added. If you do use salted butter, adjust or reduce the salt measurement.
- Garlic: Fresh grated or you can also use garlic purée.
- Fresh basil and parsley: Finely chopped. If you prefer to use dry herbs, reduce to 1 teaspoon each.
- Dried cranberries: Adds sweetness and tang to the herbed butter. You can also use pomegranate.
How To Make Cheese-Stuffed Garlic Wreath Bread
Combine ingredients to create your dough. Knead until smooth and let rise until doubled in size. Punch out dough to release the gas.
Divide into dough balls and encase each one with cheese. Pinch and seal the dough.
Use a springform pan for easy release when complete. Arrange as a wreath and place a roll-up ball of aluminum foil in the center to keep it hollow as bread bakes.
While the bread wreath is baking, make the cranberry garlic herb butter.
Dollop cranberry garlic herb butter on top the bread wreath.
Brush butter on evenly as it slowly starts to melt. Garnish with more herbs and serve immediately.
Suzy's Tips For Success
Measure your flour and ingredients accurately: For best results, use a kitchen scale. If you asked 10 people to measure one cup of flour using a measuring cup, you will mostly get 10 different weights. Take out the guesswork and just use a scale - they are so affordable now and available everywhere! I'm not saying you cannot achieve successful bakes measuring by volume. With any bread recipe, it's just a shame if inaccurate amounts from the get-go become the cause for a bake to not come out as expected.
Properly knead your dough: Use a stand mixer with hook attachment or knead by hand. Properly kneaded dough will pass the windowpane test, indicating it has enough gluten development. Stretch a small piece of the dough thin enough to see light pass through. If dough doesn't break or tear easily, that means it has been kneaded properly. You did it!
Allow enough time for dough to rise and proof: Once you've kneaded your dough, allow it to rise. In a nutshell, this is when fermentation is happening. Your dough rises from trapped carbon dioxide gas from the gluten. That's when you see us bakers always punching our dough! You also give it time to proof after you've shaped them. It may not double in size as the initial rise, but it should increase in volume. This will all result in a light fluffy bread crumb.
Do a dough poke test: After your Christmas tree is laid out and it's ready to proof, how do you know when your dough has proofed long enough and is ready to bake? Poke your finger ½ inch into the dough. Observe how the dough responds.
- Under-proofed: your dough will spring back very quickly not leaving any indent. Dough will also feel tight and dense. Allow it to proof longer.
- Over-proofed: the dough will not spring back at all and indent will remain. It may also feel slightly deflated. Bake it anyway - it will still be delicious! Take notes for your next bake.
- Properly proofed dough: your poke will spring back slowly and indent will fill in after a few seconds. It's ready!
Make the dough ahead: Knead and cover your dough. Instead of doing the first rise, store in fridge until you're ready the next day. Bring dough to room temperature and allow it to double in volume before punching. Dough should be puffy and airy. Proceed then to divide into dough balls.
Best Way To Store/Reheat Cheese-Stuffed Garlic Wreath Bread
This Cheese-Stuffed Garlic Wreath Bread is best enjoyed the same day. Store any leftovers in the fridge wrapped in aluminum foil and ziplock bag. To reheat, bake in oven at 350ºF (175ºC) for about 10 minutes.
FAQ
Definitely - I sometime prefer it! For beginner bread bakers, kneading by hand familiarizes you with the different textures the dough goes through that you can't get from kneading in a mixer. It will take a little longer, but you can skip arm day at the gym!
If you don't own a springform pan with removable sides, simply place the dough on a large flat baking sheet in a circular wreath shape. Space them slightly apart as they will expand as they rise.
Your kitchen may be cold, and yeast will always work faster in warmer temperatures. I usually keep my kitchen at around 74ºF (23ªC). Another issue could be your yeast. If your warm water was too hot, it could kill the yeast. And finally, your yeast could simply be a bad batch or expired. Buy new yeast.
ANY dense bread crumb is usually a sign the dough was under-fermented. Be sure to let your dough rise and proof properly. Once you allow the yeast to fully do its job, it will result in lighter fluffier crumb. See Suzy's Tips For Success section above for more tips.
Yes! Instead of doing the first rise, store dough in fridge until you're ready the next day. Bring dough to room temperature and allow it to double in volume before punching. Dough should be puffy and airy. Proceed then to divide into dough balls.
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Equipment
- stand mixer optional
- 9-inch springform pan or parchment paper w/ large baking sheet
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 teaspoon instant dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1⅓ cup warm water not to exceed 115℉
- 4 cups +3 tbsp bread flour
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
Cheese
- 7 oz mozzarella, white cheddar, or string cheese cubed
Cranberry Garlic Herb Butter
- ¼ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 tablespoon grated garlic approx 7-8 cloves
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil, finely chopped + more for garnish.
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Combine all the dough ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Knead in a stand mixer or by hand for 10-15 minutes until dough is smooth and passes the windowpane test. Cover and let rise for 1-1½ hrs until dough doubles in size.2 teaspoon instant dry yeast, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, 1⅓ cup warm water , 4 cups +3 tablespoon bread flour, 1 tablespoon kosher salt, 3 tablespoon olive oil
- Meanwhile, cut the cheese into 20 cubes approx 10g each. Alternatively, you can use cut-up string cheese. Set aside. Grease bottom of your springform pan, including the removable sides.7 oz mozzarella, white cheddar, or string cheese
- Punch out dough. Divide into 20 pieces and roll into dough balls. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Wrap cubed cheese into each dough ball and place evenly spaced in greased springform pan. You can also lay out onto parchment paper and baking sheet in a circular wreath design. Be sure to leave space in between to allow dough to expand. Place a rolled up ball of aluminum foil in the center to keep it hollow as it bakes. Cover pan and let dough proof for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 425º (218ºC).
- To see if dough is ready to bake, perform a finger poke test. Poke the dough to leave an indent. If the indent doesn't stay and springs back quickly, let it proof a little longer. If indent stays and slowly retracts back, it's ready to bake.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. In the meantime, make the cranberry garlic herb butter. Combine and stir all the ingredients in a small bowl. If you prefer using dried parsley and basil, reduce each one to 1 tsp. Set aside.¼ cup unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon grated garlic , 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped, 1 tablespoon fresh basil, finely chopped, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ cup dried cranberries
- Remove wreath bread from the oven. Allow pan to cool for 2 minutes, then carefully unhook and release springform ring using towel or oven mitts.
- Dollop your cranberry garlic herb butter on top your wreath bread, and brush evenly as it slowly starts to melt. Garnish with extra basil and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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