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Cinnamon sugar star bread is beautifully festive for the holidays! Surprisingly simple to make at home, this yeasted star bread filled with cinnamon-sugar is buttery bliss, a beautiful twisted bread for your holiday table. Recipe yields one star bread.
It was love at first sight for me with this cinnamon sugar star bread. Featured on the King Arthur Flour blog last month, I was mesmerized by the star pattern and set aside the first available Saturday morning to bake this showstopper.
I like this bread unadorned, dusted with powdered sugar for a snowy effect. It’s also lovely served up warm with your favorite jam, a side of whipped honey butter, or a drizzle of sweet vanilla glaze!
Love Nutella? Try my chocolate hazelnut star bread next!
How to Make Star Bread
The dough – I use my basic sweet yeast dough recipe for this star bread. It’s simple to make in a stand mixer and is ready to use after a 40 minute rise.
Roll the dough – Once the dough rises, turn out onto a lightly floured board and divide into 4 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and let rest for 5 minutes, then roll each piece out into a 10 inch circle.
Add the filling – Brush one of the circles with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Stack the second circle on top of the first, and repeat with the filling. Repeat process with remaining circles, leaving the top circle bare (the stack will have 4 layers of dough, and 3 layers of cinnamon-sugar filling).
Shape the bread – Place a 2-inch round cutter or bowl in the center of the dough and press gently to make an indent for the center of the star. Use a sharp knife to cut the circle into 4 equal sections, from the imprint in the center to the edge, cutting through all the layers. Wipe knife clean and cut each section into 4 equal strips, for a total of 16 strips.
Using both hands, pick up 2 adjacent dough strips and twist them away from each other twice, then press the ends together firmly. Repeat with remaining strips of dough, for a total of 8 points.
Bake star bread – Let the shaped bread rest until puffy, about 25 minutes. Brush gently with melted butter and bake until golden.
More holiday bread recipes you’ll love:
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Cinnamon Sugar Star Bread
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes (includes rise time)
- Yield: 1 star loaf, 8 to 10 servings
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Surprisingly simple to make, this cinnamon sugar star bread is buttery bliss, a beautiful twisted bread for your holiday table.
Ingredients
Dough
- 3 1/2 cups (490 g) flour, divided
- 1 package (7 g) instant yeast
- 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup (240 g) low-fat milk
- 1/4 cup (56 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
Filling
- 3 Tbsp (42 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
- 2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Combine 2 cups (280 g) flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a large mixer bowl; mix on low speed until incorporated. Heat milk in a microwave-safe measuring cup for 45 seconds to 1 minute, until very warm (120-130°F). Add warm milk, butter, and egg to flour mixture and mix until combined; mix in remaining 1 1/2 cups (210 g) flour. Switch out the flat beater for a dough hook, and knead dough for 4 minutes until smooth and elastic. The dough is ready when it feels tacky but doesn’t stick to your fingers (if necessary, add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time while kneading).
- Place dough in a large bowl coated with nonstick spray and cover with plastic. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 40 minutes. To check if dough has doubled, lightly flour two fingers and press them down into center of dough. If indentations remain, gently press down dough; cover and let rest 5 minutes.
- Turn dough out on a lightly floured board and divide into four equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball, and let rest for 5 minutes. Roll one piece of dough out into a 10-inch circle, and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush with melted butter, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, and sprinkle dough evenly with 1/3 of the cinnamon-sugar.
- Roll out the second piece of dough into a 10-inch circle, and stack on top of the first piece of dough. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar; repeat process with remaining dough, leaving the top circle bare.
- Place a 2-inch round cutter in the center of the dough; press gently to leave an imprint. Use a sharp knife to cut the circle into 4 equal sections, from the imprint in the center to the edge, cutting through all the layers. Cut each section into 4 equal strips, for a total of 16 strips.
- Using both hands, pick up 2 adjacent dough strips and twist them away from each other twice. Pinch the ends of the strips together firmly. Repeat with remaining strips of dough, for a total of 8 points. Cover the star loosely with plastic and let rise in a warm place until puffy, about 25 minutes. While the star rises, preheat oven to 375°F.
- Brush star with remaining melted butter and bake for about 25 minutes, until golden. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes before dusting with powdered sugar and serving.
Notes
Adapted from King Arthur Flour
This bread was easy to make and made a beautiful presentation. Everyone loved it for breakfast this morning. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks so much, Diane! Happy New Year!
This is a phenomenal recipe! Very easy to follow and the result is gorgeous. I’ll be making 8 more of these for the upcoming holidays.
So happy to hear that, thank you so much Bethany! 🙂
Tastes delicious and it was easier to make than I thought. I’m making my second one now! Definitely a keeper. Try it!!!!
Do you think I could make the dough and let it rise in the refrigerator overnight and make the bread in the morning.?
I’ve made your bread twice and it came out beautifully both times!
Thank you!
Hi Denise! That should work fine, I would just use softened butter for the filling (instead of melted butter) so that the filling doesn’t leak out of the bread overnight. Happy baking! 🙂
A really great, dependable recipe! Thank you for sharing. The instructions are simple and clear, and the product was so pretty and tasty:)
So happy to hear that, thank you JJ! 🙂
Did you use active dry yeast or instant? I want to try this and I’ll let you know how it turns out:)
Hi JJ, I use 1 package (7 grams) instant yeast. Happy baking!
Alright, thank you!
I wanted to make one of these for so long but was always afraid because it looked so intimidating. Finally took a chance and IT WAS SO EASY!
The dough is so easy to work with and it just looks so dreamy.
I’m currently making this for the 3rd time in 2 months because I will find any excuse to make it.
Your star bread is gorgeous, thank you so much for tagging me and baking this recipe! 🙂
can this bread be made up to the baking step and refrigerated overnight? Bake off in the morning?
Hi Daisy, I think if you made it ahead and refrigerated overnight, the filling might run out. You can bake the bread the night before and rewarm in the morning just before serving.
thank you for getting back to me. I’ll do the recipe 1st thing in the a.m.
It’ s for brunch
Gorgeous!! Can I make this non dairy and use almond milk instead?
Hi Eve, I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure.. the dough may be less tender. If you test it out, let us know!
This looks fabulous! If I were to prep it to bake in the morning, when would be a good time to pop it in the fridge to overnight?
Hi Janelle, you can make the bread completely in advance and freeze it (well wrapped) for up to a month. This is recommended so that the filling doesn’t leak out like it might if you made it in stages. Before you plan to serve, thaw the bread (still wrapped) at room temperature for several hours or overnight, then reheat in a 350 degree oven until warmed through. Hope that helps! ?