Black Sesame Holiday Star Bread with Citrus Glaze

A fluffy tear and share bread with hot chocolate for breakfast is a special memory during Christmas holidays and I wanted to create something that would capture the spirit of Christmas along with my love for bread and that memory! A two-tone milk bread dough perfumed with cardamom and citrus zest. Filled with the sesame crunch butter and finished with a sweet aromatic glaze. It’s soft, nutty, aromatic, tangy and quite special…

I created this recipe for Rooted Fare ‘s Holiday Bakes contest however due to my nut allergy I couldn’t taste it, so obviously I made a simple sweetened sesame paste version and loved the contrast of slight bitterness from black sesame with the floral tang from both cardamom and the glaze. Making it again tomorrow!

*Note: you can totally skip the food coloring and make it as is and use a beaten large egg for the shine.

Prep time: 25-30 mins
Proving time: approximately 75 mins 1st proof and 35 mins second proof
Bake time: 16-20 mins
Serves: 6-8

Ingredients
Dough
200g Bread Flour (I used King Arthur Brand)
40g Cake Flour (substitute with Plain Flour)
45g Instant Mashed Potato Flakes (I use the generic Idahoan Brand)
3g Fine Sea Salt
29g Milk Powder / Dried Milk
2 tsp Ground Cardamom
1/2 tbsp Meyer Lemon Zest (substitute with any citrus)
8g Instant Yeast
28g Granulated Sugar
205g Lukewarm Water
55g Salted Butter, softened
Tubes of Red & Green Gel Food Colors (either Wilton or Betty Crocker brand is fine)

*Note: don’t recommend using natural or artificial powdered food colors as they make the bread dry and the post bake color won’t be quite vibrant

Filling
120g Black Sesame Crunch Butter (Rooted Fare)
for a nut free alternative :
150g Toasted Black Sesame Seeds
2 tbsp Floral Honey or Agave Syrup
2 tbsp Salted Butter

For shine
2 tbsp Heavy Whipping Cream
2 tsp Maple Syrup

Citrus Glaze
1/2 tbsp Meyer Lemon Zest (substitute with any citrus)
1/2 tbsp Orange Juice + 1/2 tbsp Meyer Lemon Juice (substitute with any citrus)
110g powdered sugar

Directions

🌟 Make sesame paste: If going for the nut-free version then, using a food processor grind the toasted sesame seeds until they release oil and start forming into a coarse paste (about 5-6 mins in short bursts to avoid over heating). Then stir in honey and butter and run the processor for 1-2 mins until a smooth spreadable paste is achieved. Keep it refrigerated until 15 mins before spreading and assembling the loaf.

🌟 Make the dough: If kneading by hand, combine all dough ingredients except food colors. Knead until a smooth-soft dough is formed, shouldn’t be sticky! If using stand mixer, then combine all dough ingredients except butter. Using dough hook attachment, knead on medium speed for 7-8 mins. Now gradually add butter bit by bit while the mixer is running. Continue kneading for about 15 mins until it’s turned into a smooth ball of dough.

Now, divide the dough equally into 2 portions (by weight), add several drops (adjust the quantity based on your brand) of red gel color to one and green to other. Knead the colors into each piece of dough until fully incorporated. Adjust the quantity of colors based on your desired shade of red and green. Transfer each dough into separate bowls, cover and let them rise until roughly doubled in size (about 75-90 mins).

🌟 Shaping: Divide each risen dough into 2 equal portions (2 red and 2 green). Roll each into balls, cover and let it rest for 10 mins. On a lightly oiled surface, roll out one red ball into a 25cm circle.  Transfer it onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Transfer 40g sesame crunch butter or the sesame paste (from Step 1) and evenly spread filling leaving at least 0.5cm border. Now roll out the second red ball into same size & place it on top of filling covered disc. Repeat the layering process with filling and green dough discs - leaving the top green disc bare (*note: 40g filling in each layer)

🌟Shaping contd.: Place a 7.5cm circular guide (I use a cookie cutter) in the center and using a sharp knife or pizza cutter cut 16 equal strips through all layers. Pick up 2 adjacent strips and twist them away from each other 3 times then pinch the ends to form a pointy end. Repeat this for remaining strips so that you have an 8-point Star. Cover and let it rise until puffy, about 35-40 mins.

🌟 Baking: Pre-heat oven to 415F (or 205C) and whisk heavy cream and maple syrup until homogeneous. Brush the puffy loaf with the heavy-cream maple syrup mixture. Bake for 16-20 mins or until the center records 200F temp. Meanwhile, whisk the glaze ingredients and keep it aside.

🌟 Finishing: Transfer the loaf to a cooling rack & let it cool for few mins before brushing it with the citrus glaze. Let the glaze set for 15 mins before tearing and sharing! Highly recommend some good Oolong Tea to go with it