Pull-Apart Easter Blossom Bread

4.70 (76)
⏱ 170 mins 🍽 ['20', '2 loaves'] 🌶 american 🏷 Breakfast

This festive American bread is a showstopper for Easter. An enriched yeast dough is shaped into two flower loaves, with petals that are later filled with raspberry jam. After baking to a golden brown, the breads are finished with a sweet lemon glaze. The final result is a pull-apart treat ideal for a celebratory breakfast, dessert, or snack, yielding two impressive loaves.

Pull-Apart Easter Blossom Bread

Ingredients

  • 6 cups all-purpose flour, or more if needed (divided)
  • 0.5 cup white sugar
  • 1 tablespoon rapid rise yeast
  • 0.25 teaspoon salt
  • 0.5 cup unsalted butter
  • 1.75 cups milk
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 0.5 cup seedless raspberry jam
  • 1 cup confectioners' sugar

Method

  1. In a large bowl, whisk 4 cups of flour with the white sugar, yeast, and salt until combined. Set this mixture aside.
  2. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the milk and warm the mixture to about 110 degrees F (43 degrees C).
  3. Gradually whisk roughly one third of the warm butter and milk into the beaten eggs in a separate bowl. Pour this egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining warm liquid. Stir in the lemon zest.
  4. Pour the wet ingredients from the saucepan into the flour mixture and stir to combine thoroughly.
  5. Mix in the remaining 2 cups of flour to form a soft dough. Turn it onto a floured surface and knead for 8 to 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
  6. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch it down and let it rest for 10 more minutes.
  7. Divide the dough in half and shape each into a ball. Roll one ball on a floured surface into a 12-inch circle.
  8. Place a drinking glass face down in the circle's centre. Use a knife to cut the dough into quarters from the circle's edge to the glass rim.
  9. Cut each quarter into 5 narrow wedges, leaving the centre uncut. Remove the glass to reveal 20 strips around the centre.
  10. Take two adjacent strips and twist them together about 4 times. Pinch the ends together at the top and gently coil to form a rough round. Place this in the centre where the glass was.
  11. Take another two adjacent strips, twist and pinch them, then coil into a round. Arrange this petal next to the centre rosette.
  12. Repeat with the remaining 16 strips, making 8 more petals around the centre to form a flower with 9 petals. Repeat the entire shaping process with the second dough ball.
  13. Grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment. Place the shaped breads on it, reshaping if needed. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise until almost doubled, 30 to 45 minutes.
  14. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Beat the egg yolk with water and brush this wash over both breads.
  15. Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes until golden brown. Allow the breads to cool.
  16. Gently press your fingers into the centre of each petal to deepen the indentations. Fill each with about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of raspberry jam.
  17. In a bowl, mix the confectioners' sugar with lemon juice to create a glaze. Drizzle thin lines of glaze all over both breads. Let the glaze set before pulling the petals apart to serve.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories269 kcal
Fat6 g
Sugars17 g
Protein6 g
Sodium51 mg

Recipe details

CategoryBreakfast
Cuisineamerican
AuthorSarah-May