**Uncover the Sweetness of Santa Bread: A Journey Through Flavors and Festive Traditions**
As the aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg fills the air, let us embark on a delectable adventure with Santa bread, a culinary masterpiece that has captured hearts and taste buds for generations. This traditional Portuguese sweet bread, also known as Bolo de Rei, holds a special place in festive celebrations, particularly during the holiday season. With its origins deeply rooted in Portugal, Santa bread has become a beloved treat enjoyed worldwide, embodying the spirit of joy, togetherness, and cultural heritage.
From the classic Bolo de Rei, adorned with colorful crystallized fruits and nuts, to the innovative creations that incorporate modern flavors and fillings, this article presents a collection of Santa bread recipes that caters to diverse palates and preferences. Discover the secrets behind the perfect dough, the art of shaping and baking, and the creative garnishes that transform this bread into a true work of art.
Within these recipes, you'll find variations that range from the traditional Portuguese Bolo de Rei, with its rich, buttery dough and assortment of candied fruits and nuts, to delightful twists like the Nutella-filled Santa bread, the indulgent chocolate Santa bread, and the aromatic orange-scented Santa bread. Each recipe is carefully crafted to guide you through the process, ensuring successful baking outcomes every time.
As you explore the recipes, you'll uncover the secrets of achieving the perfect balance of flavors, textures, and aromas. Learn how to create a dough that is both soft and fluffy, how to incorporate fillings and toppings that complement the bread's sweetness, and how to achieve that golden-brown crust that adds an irresistible touch of perfection.
Embark on this culinary journey and discover the magic of Santa bread. Whether you're a seasoned baker looking for inspiration or a novice eager to explore new flavors, these recipes will guide you towards creating mouthwatering treats that will delight your family and friends during festive gatherings or any special occasion. Let's begin our baking adventure and experience the joy of Santa bread!
GOLDEN SANTA BREAD
A friend of mine shared this fun idea. She made it with purchased frozen dough, and I use a family bread recipe. The finished loaf looks complicated. but it's actually simple to create. -Vicki Melies, Elkhorn, Nebraska
Provided by Taste of Home
Time 55m
Yield 1 loaf (18 servings).
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a small saucepan, heat milk, water and butter to 120°-130°. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Beat in eggs until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Preheat oven to 350°. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 2 portions, 1 slightly larger than the other. , Shape the larger portion into an elongated triangle with rounded corners for Santa's head and hat. , Divide the smaller portion in half. Shape and flatten 1 half into a beard. Place beard over face; using a sharp knife, cut deep slits to resemble hair. , Use the remaining dough for the mustache, nose, eyebrows, hat pompom and brim. Shape a portion of dough into a mustache; flatten and place on face over beard. Using sharp knife, cut slits to resemble hair. Place a small ball above mustache for nose. With scissors, cut 2 slits for eyes; insert raisins into slits. Form another small portion of dough into eyebrows; flatten and place above eyes. Roll out a narrow piece of dough to create a hat brim; position below hat. Fold tip of hat over and add dough ball for pompom. If desired, using scissors or sharp knife, cut small lines along edges of brim and pompom to resemble fur., In separate small bowls, beat each egg yolk. Add red food coloring to 1 yolk; carefully brush over hat. Brush plain yolk over remaining dough., Cover loosely with foil. Bake 15 minutes. Uncover; bake until golden brown, 10-12 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack.
SANTA FE CHICKEN BREAD BOWLS
Steps:
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Remove dough from cans. Cut each loaf into 3 pieces; shape each into ball, placing seam at bottom so dough is smooth on top. Place dough balls, seam side down, on sprayed cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 22 to 26 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken, bell pepper and onion; cook 5 to 7 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center, stirring occasionally. Add all remaining ingredients except cheese; mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 7 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. With sharp knife, cut small portion off top of each loaf. Lightly press center of bread down to form bowls. Place each bread bowl on individual serving plate. Spoon about 1 cup chicken mixture into each. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Place top of each bread bowl next to filled bread bowl.;
SANTA BREAD
A slightly sweet, Danish-like bread shaped like Santa's jolly face makes your holiday breakfast that much more festive.
Provided by Food Network Kitchen
Categories dessert
Time 2h15m
Yield 8 to 10 servings
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it just begins to simmer, then remove from the heat and let cool to 115 degrees F. Stir in the yeast and let stand until the mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes.
- Pour the yeast mixture into the bowl of stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the sugar, butter and 2 of the eggs and stir until smooth. Add the flour and salt and mix on medium-low speed until the dough comes together. Increase the speed to medium high and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let stand until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a rimless baking sheet with parchment.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Pinch off 1 golf ball-size piece of dough and roll it into a ball for the pompom of Santa's hat. Pinch off 1 ping pong ball-size piece of dough and roll it into a ball for Santa's nose. Cut off a 1-inch-wide, 9-inch-long, 1/4-inch-thick strip and roll it into a smooth log for the brim of Santa's hat. Cut another piece of dough into a roughly 2-inch-wide, 5-inch-long, 1/4-inch-thick strip of dough. Snip evenly from the bottom (but not all the way up) and spread the strips out slightly to form a mustache.
- Roll out the remaining dough into an elongated diamond with the top triangle of the diamond double the length of the bottom triangle. Position the diamond on the prepared baking sheet with the top of the longer triangle hanging over the edge. Working on the shorter triangle, use scissors or a knife to cut 1/2-inch-wide strips of dough up toward the middle, stopping at the imaginary line where the top and bottom triangles meet. Pick up each strip of the beard and twist it, if you like, lying the twists down next to each other naturally so they look like a beard.
- Fold over the overhanging corner of dough so that it fits back within the edge of the baking sheet and position it slightly to the right to form the tip of Santa's hat. Position the dough log across the top triangle where the tip of Santa's hat ends and tuck the ends under the sides of the triangle; this is the brim of Santa's hat. Position the golf ball-size ball of dough over the tip and against the brim and press lightly to adhere for the pompom of Santa's hat. Arrange the mustache at the top of the beard, then position the ping pong ball-size ball of dough above the mustache to make Santa's nose.
- Beat the remaining egg with the cream in a bowl to make an egg wash. Using a pastry brush, brush the entire surface of the dough, including the pompom and brim of the hat but not the body of the hat, with the plain egg wash, making sure to get into all the crevices of the shapes. Add the food coloring to the egg wash, stir to combine, then carefully brush the body of the hat with the red egg wash, being careful not to let it stain the pompom or brim.
- Bake until the bread is golden brown and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately set the chocolate chips proportionally on either side and slightly above Santa's nose to form his eyes. Let the bread cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, and then transfer to a wire rack. Using cut pieces of parchment paper or foil to shield Santa's nose, face and the body of his hat, dust the beard, brim and pompom with confectioners' sugar. Remove the paper and serve the bread while still warm with butter.
SANTA MARIA GRILLED GARLIC BREAD RECIPE - (4/5)
Provided by TeeSquared
Number Of Ingredients 4
Steps:
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and parsley, and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Cut the bread into diagonal 1/2" slices. Lightly brush some of the garlic butter onto both sides of each slice. Set up the grill for medium heat, direct grilling with both a hot and cold (unheated) zone. When ready to cook, brush and oil the grate. Place the bread slices over the hot zone over the coals, and toast them until golden brown, 1-3 minutes per side. Keep an eye on them, so they don't burn. Serve immediately.
SANTA FE CHICKEN BREAD BOWLS
Number Of Ingredients 14
Steps:
- Heat oven to 350°F. Spray cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Remove dough from cans. Cut each loaf into 3 pieces shape each into ball, placing seam at bottom so dough is smooth on top. Place dough balls, seam side down, on sprayed cookie sheet. Bake at 350°F. for 22 to 26 minutes or until golden brown.Meanwhile, heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken, bell pepper and onion cook 5 to 7 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center, stirring occasionally. Add all remaining ingredients except cheese mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low simmer 7 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally.With sharp knife, cut small portion off top of each loaf. Lightly press center of bread down to form bowls. Place each bread bowl on individual serving plate. Spoon about 1 cup chicken mixture into each. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Place top of each bread bowl next to filled bread bowl.Nutrition Per Serving: Calories 590 Protein 26g Carbohydrate 78g Fat 18g Sodium 1960mgFrom "Pillsbury Best of the Bake-Off® Cookbook." Copyright 2004 General Mills. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Nutrition Facts : Nutritional Facts Serves
Tips:
- Prep your ingredients: Prior to starting, make sure all the ingredients are accurately measured and prepped, particularly the butter and eggs.
- Room temperature ingredients: Take out the butter and eggs about an hour before baking to attain room temperature, resulting in a smoother batter.
- Creaming the butter and sugar: This initial step ensures the butter and sugar are light and fluffy, creating a foundation for the cake's texture.
- Gradually incorporate the eggs: Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition to prevent curdling.
- Add the dry ingredients: Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl, then gradually add them to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- Don't overmix: Stir until the batter is just combined, avoiding overmixing, which can lead to a dense cake.
- Baking time: Keep an eye on the baking time, using a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center of the cake to check for doneness. It should come out clean.
Conclusion:
Indulge in the flavors of Christmas with the delightful Santa bread. This moist and fluffy cake, bursting with warm spices, citrus zest, and plump raisins, is sure to become a holiday favorite. Follow the tips and steps provided, and you'll create a stunning cake to share with loved ones. Decorate with a sprinkle of powdered sugar or a drizzle of glaze, and elevate it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream. Merry Christmas and happy baking!
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