Ingredients
Dough
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons lukewarm water
- 2 cups flour
- 1/4 cup butter at room temp
- 1/4 cup nonfat evaporated milk
- 1/4 cup potato flour or instant mashed potato flakes
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
Filling and Top
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 4 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- zest from 1 clementine or small orange
- white sugar pearls for decoration along the top, if desired
- confectioners sugar for dusting along the top, if desired
Directions
- Combine and knead/mix all the dough ingredients to form a soft, smooth dough. I use the dough hook for a few minutes with the KitchenAid mixer.
- Put the dough ball into a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise for about an hour until it doubles in size.
- Divide the dough into 4 equal portions, shape each into a ball, cover, and let rest for 15 minutes.
- In a small bowl melt 2 tablespoons butter then beat an egg into it.
- In another small bowl stir sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg until fully combined.
- Preheat the oven to 400.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll one of the dough balls into a 10 inch circle. Place the circle of dough onto a large piece of parchment paper.
- Brush the circle of dough with the egg/butter mixture then evenly sprinkle with 1/3 of the cinnamon/sugar/nutmeg mixture. Sprinkle 1/3 of the clementine zest atop the cinnamon/sugar.
- Roll out another ball of dough into a circle the same size and place it on top of the previous circle of dough. Repeat the layering process from the step above, leaving the top circle of dough bare.
- Place a 2-3 inch round cookie/biscuit cutter or shape in the center of the dough layers.
- Slice the circle into 16 equal strips, from the cutter to the edge, through all the layers.
- Using two hands, pick up two adjacent strips and twist them away from each other twice so that the top side is facing up again. Repeat with the remaining strips of dough so that you end up with eight pairs of strips. Pinch the pairs of strips together to create a star-like shape with eight points. Remove the cutter.
- Transfer the star on the parchment to a baking sheet. Cover and let it rise until it becomes noticeably puffy, about 45 minutes.
- Brush the star with a thin coat of the beaten egg and butter mixture. Decorate with sugar pearls if you’ve got em. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until it’s golden with dark brown cinnamon streaks; the center should be about 200 degrees.
- Remove the loaf from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Dust with confectioners sugar if desired.
This is a slightly adapted version of a King Arthur recipe that I found on pastryaffair.com.