Spinach Pull-Apart Christmas Bread with wheat flour is a healthy, delicious and festive recipe to add zing to your Christmas celebrations. A guilt-free recipe!
So, what say? Ready to bake this awesome looking healthy bread this Christmas?
This twisted bread recipe, after the Christmas cake, is perhaps one of the best Christmas baking Recipe.
Looking for an easy Christmas recipe? Then try these Christmas Chocolate Truffles recipe. An easy recipe without any baking involved.
I was overjoyed with the looks of this bread. So much festive! Isn’t it? I actually waited for one full year to bake this beauty. Must be wondering why so? Actually, I wanted to bake this last Christmas but somehow couldn’t due to time constraints. Anything symbolic to a particular event/festival lifts your mood and spirits then only. Be it Edible Chocolate Diyas on Diwali, Vegan Eggs on Easter or Thandai Pannacotta on Holi or tricolour treats on our National festivals, looks good around that particular time only. Once it is over, the craze also fades. The same thing happened to me and then I decided to wait for next Christmas and here I am.
This Christmas tree pull-apart bread is a simple bread with a spinach-corn filling that gives this bread this beautiful tree-like look. Though the recipe is fully mine but yes design credits lay somewhere else. When I saw this eye-catching pic of Christmas tree bread here, I immediately decided to try it out. And I am glad I did.
How To Make
For this bread, I made the dough using both wheat flour and semolina and followed my Garlic Rolls recipe only. And for the filling, I followed spinach corn mix from Baked Spinach Corn In White Sauce Recipe.
And then combining these two recipes, gave the dough shape of triangles, stuffed filling, little bit twisting here n there and my Christmas tree bread got ready. Step by step photos will further clarify the process.
Tips For The Perfect Outcome
- You may use any flour or combination of different flours. Except for the quantity of liquid, everything will remain the same.
- Crush corns otherwise it becomes difficult to twist the bread.
- Let the filling cool completely before filling it.
- Dust a lot of flour on the kitchen platform before you start rolling the dough so that it is easier to lift it once rolled.
- Ensure that your triangle fits in your baking tray otherwise do the adjustments.
- Once you cut the triangles, put it on the baking tray and then proceed with other steps like spreading the filling, etc. This is because once the filling is spread it becomes difficult to lift it and there are chances that it tears in between only.
Step By Step Recipe
A. For The Bread
- Take wheat flour, semolina, salt, instant yeast, and sugar in a big bowl and whisk nicely. I used my food processor for kneading. You may do likewise or manually whichever is convenient to you.
- Add lukewarm water and knead till the dough gets smooth and shiny.
- Cover and proof it for an hour or till double in volume. As shown below.
- Divide it into 2 parts.
- Keep one part covered in the refrigerator. Dust dry flour on the kitchen platform and roll the other part of 1/2” thickness. (mine is a thinner one)
- Turn it into a rectangle by removing the uneven edges.
- Now, cut a triangle from the centre, as shown below.
- Take the remaining triangles on either side and combine to give another triangle.
- Sprinkle semolina on the baking tray or use parchment paper. Keep one triangle on the baking tray.
- Attach a little dough at the bottom representing the trunk of the tree.
- Spread the filling. Also, it’s better to grate cheese on this.
- Cover with another triangle.
- Make 2 straight slits in the centre. Just a slit and not cuts as we want the triangles combined only.
- Now, starting from any one side, make horizontal cuts, from the centre to the edge.
- Twist each slit once or twice (depending upon its length) so that spinach shows up randomly.
- Repeat the same on the other side also.
- Once your tree is ready, cover it with a kitchen napkin and leave for 20 to 30 minutes for second proofing.
- Preheat the oven at 200 degrees C. If baking in microwave convection, the way I did, then it will take just 3 to 4 minutes. If using OTG then preheat for 10 minutes.
- Brush the dough shaped tree with milk and bake for 20 to 22 minutes till golden brown.
- Take it out, very carefully place it on a wire rack. Brush with butter.
- You may decorate it with bell peppers, but this is entirely optional.
- Serve with love.
B. For The Filling
- Chop spinach finely after washing it thoroughly.
- In a wok, add oil, saute crushed garlic and then add chopped spinach.
- Cook it on high flame till it becomes dry and all the moisture evaporates. Keep the flame high only and keep tossing in between.
- Mix in boiled corn kernels, though optional.
- Add salt, pepper and mayonnaise or white sauce to give it a dip like consistency. Keep the consistency thick only as we have to sandwich it between two triangles.
- Let the filling cool down completely before spreading it on the dough.
FAQs
Q) What else can I use in place of spinach?
For the filling, instead of spinach, you may use Pesto sauce or any other green vegetable too.
Q) Can I make it ahead of serving time?
- Yes. If making it ahead of serving time then cover the bread with a damp cloth after brushing the butter. This keeps the bread soft.
- Once completely cool, keep it in an airtight container.
- Warm it lightly in the microwave before serving.
Q) New to bread baking?
If you are new to bread baking and not confident of using yeast then I would advise you to go through the following 2 posts as it will take away all your fears and give you confidence. All About The Yeast and Basic Steps In Bread Making.
Let’s Connect
I hope you have liked this recipe for Christmas Tree Bread and will surely try it out for your loved ones.
Thank you for reading this post. If you have liked this recipe then do let me know by leaving a comment below. Your feedback fuels my enthusiasm. You may share this post with your dear ones by clicking on the little buttons below. You may follow me on Facebook Pinterest Instagram for the latest recipe updates. Thank you!
Pull-Apart Christmas Bread
Ingredients
My 1 Cup measures 240 ml
For Spinach Filling
- 500 g Spinach
- 1/4 Cup Corn Kernels
- 2 Tbsp Mayonnaise or White Sauce
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Crushed Garlic
ForThe Bread
- 1 Cup 130 g Wheat Flour
- 1 Cup 140 g Fine Semolina
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 3/4 tsp Brown Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Instant Yeast
- 1 Cup Lukewarm Water
- 1 Tbsp Oil
- 1 Tbsp Milk For Brushing Before Baking
- 1 Tbsp Butter For Brushing After Baking
Assembly
- 100 g Pizza Cheese
Instructions
For The Filling
- Chop spinach finely after washing it thoroughly.
- In a wok, add oil, saute crushed garlic and then add chopped spinach.
- Cook it on high flame till it becomes dry and all the moisture evaporates. Keep the flame high only and keep tossing in between.
- Add boiled corn kernels, though optional. Add salt and pepper.
- Add mayonnaise or white sauce to give it a dip like consistency. Keep the consistency thick only as we have to sandwich it between two triangles.
For The Bread
- Take wheat flour, semolina, salt, instant yeast, and brown sugar in a big bowl and whisk nicely.
- Knead it with lukewarm water. Having lukewarm water is very important. It should be such wherein you can put your fingers comfortably.Too hot water will kill the yeast and if not warm then yeast will not activate.
- Add oil and continue kneading. Put the dough on your kitchen counter and knead for another 4 to 5 minutes. Stretch the dough using the heel of your hands, fold it, then again stretch. Soon the dough will be smooth and shiny.
- Grease the bowl liberally, put the dough in it, invert the dough so that the top also gets oily. Cover it with a plate or lid and let it rise for an hour or so till doubles in volume. Time is just a rough guide and will depend on the weather. If too cold then it may take even longer. So, instead of time, watch your dough.
- When the dough has risen, punch it to release the gases. Knead it lightly for few seconds.
- .Divide it into 2 parts. Keep one part covered in the refrigerator and work with the other.
Making Spinach Bread
- Sprinkle dry flour on the kitchen platform and roll the other part.
- Turn it into a rectangle by removing the uneven edges.
- Now, cut a triangle from the centre, as shown in the detailed recipe with pics.
- Take the remaining triangles on either side and combine to give another triangle.
- Sprinkle semolina on the baking tray or use parchment paper. Keep one triangle on the baking tray.
- Attach a little dough at the bottom representing the trunk of the tree.
- Spread the filling.
- Cover with another triangle.
- Make 2 straight slits in the centre. Just a slit and not cuts as we want the traingles combined only.
- Now, starting from any one side, make horizontal cuts, from the centre to the edge and twist it once or twice (depending upon its length) so that spinach shows up randomly.
- Similarly, do it on the other side too.
- Once your tree is ready, cover it with a cloth and leave for 20 to 30 minutes for second proofing.
- Preheat the oven at 200 degrees C for 10 minutes.
- Brush the dough shaped tree with milk and bake for 20 to 22 minutes till golden brown.
- Take it out, very carefully place it on wire rack. Brush with butter.
- Serve with love. If making it ahead of serving time then cover the brad with a damp cloth after brushing the butter. This keeps the bread soft.
Notes
- Use warm water only for kneading otherwise the yeast will not activate and consequently, your dough will not rise.
- To replace instant yeast with active dry yeast, use 2/3 tsp. As 1 TSP INSTANT YEAST = 1.25 TSP ACTIVE DRY YEAST.
- Rising time depends on the quantity of yeast and on the weather conditions. During summers it may rise in 45 minutes to 1 hour. Whereas in winters it may take even up to 2 hours.
- When dividing the dough into 2 parts, it’s better to roll a log and cut with pizza cutter. Do not tear it with hands as it may destroy the gluten developed during rising.
- If you want to use just half the dough, then after deflating and dividing, pack the remaining half in cling film, place it in an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator up to 24 hours.
- Fine semolina, also known as Chiroti Rawa, works best for this recipe. If you do not have this then grind the normal semolina in grinder for a minute or so and your fine semolina will be ready.
- We need 2 triangles more or less of the same size for making 1 Christmas bread. So tear off excess dough.
- Spreading Semolina on the baking tray facilitates lifting of the bread. White sauce can be made using wheat flour.
