Braided Fruit Wreath Food

CHRISTMAS BRAID

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 3 cups flour and yeast. In a saucepan, heat milk, sugar, butter and salt to 120°-130°; add to flour mixture. Add egg. Beat on low speed with electric mixture for 30 seconds; increase speed to medium and continue beating for 3 minutes. Stir in raisins, candied fruit, nuts an enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours. Divide dough in thirds, then divide each into thirds again. Roll each piece into a 15-in. rope. Place 3 ropes 1 in. apart on greased baking sheet. Begin braiding loosely in the middle and work toward the ends. Pinch ends together and tuck under. Repeat with remaining ropes. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30-40 minutes. Combine egg yolk and water; brush over braids. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until browned. Cool on wire racks.

BRAIDED ORANGE WREATH

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a small saucepan, heat milk and butter to 120°-130°. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Add the eggs, orange juice and zest; beat until blended. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide dough into thirds. Shape each into a 30-in. rope. Braid the ropes; shape into a wreath and pinch ends to seal. Place on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes., Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool., In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, orange juice and zest; drizzle over bread. Sprinkle with cranberries.

HOLIDAY BERRY MERINGUE WREATH

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 225 degrees F. Line the back of a baking sheet with parchment. Use a 12-inch bowl as a stencil: Flip it upside down and trace a 12-inch circle onto the parchment. Use a 9-inch bowl to trace a circle inside the 12- inch one. This is the outline of your wreath.
• For the wreath: Combine the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in the very clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until thick and opaque, about 1 minute more. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, and beat until stiff, shiny peaks form, 13 to 15 minutes.
• Build the wreath: Using the template on the parchment as your guide, drop dollops of meringue in a line along the inside of the 12-inch circle. Use a rubber spatula to help clean off your spoon between dollops. Following the 9-inch circle and slightly overlapping the outer ring of meringue, make an inner ring of meringue dollops to fill in the rest of the template. Flatten the meringue slightly with the back of the spoon, making sure to keep a lot of peaks. Bake the meringue until it is dry, crisp, and pearly white on the outside, about 2 hours. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the cranberry sauce: Bring the cranberries, sugar and lemon juice to a simmer in medium saucepan and cook until the cranberries are soft and just begin to burst and the sugar is completely dissolved, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool completely. Gently fold in the raspberries and pomegranate seeds. Whip the heavy cream in a medium bowl until soft peaks form.
• Before serving, spread the whipped cream on the meringue. Spoon over the cranberry sauce and sprinkle with mint leaves.

CHRISTMAS WREATH BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the butter, milk powder, sugar, egg, salt and 3 cups flour. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky). , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , Punch dough down. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into an 18x12-in. rectangle. Brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with chopped almonds and cinnamon to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal., Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet; pinch ends together to form a ring. With scissors, cut from outside edge to two-thirds of the way toward center of ring at 1-in. intervals. Separate strips slightly; twist to allow filling to show. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes., Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Combine confectioners' sugar, water and extract; drizzle over warm bread.

BRAIDED BREAD WREATH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment and sprinkle with a thin layer of cornmeal.
• On a floured work surface, roll out the 3 dough portions into 3 long ropes. Line the 3 ropes up next to each other with the top ends overlapping and the bottom ends about 3 inches apart. Pinch the top ends. Braid the ropes together; pull the left section over to the center, then hold the old center section with your left hand and pull it to the side. Finally, bring the right section over the center. Repeat the process, alternating sides, until the entire length of bread is braided. Join both ends to form a round wreath.
• Transfer the dough wreath to the parchment lined sheet pan. Dust with flour, and cover with a kitchen towel. Let proof in a warm spot for 45 minutes.
• In a small bowl mix together the olive oil, garlic, paprika, Italian seasoning, and cheese. Set aside. Beat the egg with the water in a small bowl, and set aside
• Bake the bread wreath in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Remove the bread from the oven, and brush it with the olive oil mixture. Put it back in the oven, and bake it for an additional 20 minutes. In the last 10 minutes of baking, coat the entire wreath with the egg wash and sprinkle with coarse salt. Remove from the oven and serve hot.

PIZZA WREATH

Steps:

• Set a pizza stone or an inverted baking sheet on a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Invert another baking sheet and line it with parchment paper; set aside.
• Add 1 tablespoon of the oil, then the garlic and onion to a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, 1/2 cup basil leaves, 1 teaspoon salt and few grinds of black pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the sauce, uncovered, until the flavors are concentrated and the sauce has thickened, about 25 minutes.
• While the sauce cooks, add the remaining tablespoon oil to a small saute pan over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned in spots and completlety cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat to cool.
• Roll out and stretch the dough into two 12-inch rounds on a lightly floured surface. Use a 3-inch round biscuit or cookie cutter and punch a hole in the center of each round to make rings. (Set aside the holes.)
• Put one of the rings onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Spoon all but 1 tablespoon of the sauce on one dough ring in an even layer.Sprinkle over the sausage, pepperoni and all but 1 tablespoon of the mozzarella, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edges. Gently place the other dough ring directly on top, and pinch the edges to seal in the filling.
• Use a paring knife, cut 1- to 1 1/2-inch-wide strips into the wreath all around, like rays of the sun. (Be careful not to cut all the way through to the center; the wreath should stay intact and hold its shape once it is baked. You should have about 24 strips total.) Gently turn each strip twice to create a twist, then press the edges down on the parchment. Repeat this motion until all of the strips have been twisted.
• To make a bow, roll out and stretch the two dough cut-out holes into 6-inch long rectangles. Top one with the remaining tomato sauce and mozzarella. Place the other dough rectangle directly on top and press to seal the edges. Twist the dough with both hands in opposite directions for one full turn to form a bow that will hold its shape. Press the edges down to seal and set the bow on the prepared baking sheet next to the wreath.
• In a small bowl, whisk the egg with a few drops of water. Use a pastry brush to brush the bow and wreath with the egg wash, and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Place the baking sheet with the wreath on top of the preheated stone and bake until the bow is cooked through and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove the bow and continue to bake the wreath until golden brown, firm to the touch and cooked through, about 25 minutes more. Chop the remaining cup fresh basil. Position the bow on the bottom of the wreath, sprinkle basil all over the wreath and top with a pinch of crushed red chile flakes.

FIVE-MINUTE FUDGE WREATH

Steps:

• Place a heavy pot on the stove and preheat it over low heat. Add chips and milk and stir until chips are melted and milk combined. Save the empty condensed milk can. Stir in vanilla and remove fudge from heat. Add nuts and currants and stir in immediately.
• Cover empty condensed milk can with plastic food wrap and center it in the greased cake pan. Spoon fudge into pan around can, making sure to recenter can if it drifts.
• The fudge will set up almost immediately. Garnish can only be added in the first minute or 2 the fudge is in the pan, so work quickly. Decorate your wreath with "holly" made from cut candied red and green cherries. A wreath left plain can be garnished with a pretty fabric bow when serving. Chill covered in the refrigerator and slice fudge very thin when ready to serve, a little goes a long way.

PUFF PASTRY BRAID

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment.
• Lay out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface. Imagine the pastry has 3 equal sections. Add the hazelnut spread to the center section and, using a knife, cover the center section with the spread, leaving a 1/2-inch border at the top and bottom. Sprinkle the peanuts over the chocolate hazelnut spread.
• Using a sharp knife, cut the 2 outside sections into six 1-inch horizontal strips just to the center section.
• Fold the 1/2-inch borders at the top and bottom inwards, over the edges of the chocolate filling. Next, starting at one end, begin folding the pastry strips over the filling, alternating the sides to create a braid appearance. Put the braid on the parchment-lined sheet pan.
• Brush the pastry braid with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the sea salt. Bake until golden and cooked through, 28 to 30 minutes.
• While the pastry bakes, make the icing by whisking the powdered sugar, vanilla and milk in a bowl until smooth. Set aside.
• Allow the pastry to cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Drizzle over the icing, slice and serve.

BRAIDED BREAD WREATH

Steps:

• Unroll bread dough. Cut into three equal pieces. Roll each piece into an 18 to 20 inch long strip. Braid strips. Join ends to form wreath and place on ungreased baking sheet.
• Combine 1 Tbsp. milk and egg (reserve 1 Tbsp. milk for glaze). Whisk thoroughly. Brush on top of wreath. Sprinkle tinted sugar and cinnamon on top. Set aside in a warm, draft-free place. Let proof until approximately doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake wreath 45 minutes (should sound hollow and be golden brown).
• Mix reserved milk, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Fill decorating bag or sandwich bag approximately 1/3 full. Snip off end of bag. Starting at inside edge, pipe a continuous line from inside to outside all around wreath. Repeat if necessary until glaze is gone or desired coverage is achieved.
• Divide ready to spread frosting into two bowls. Tint one green and one red. With green: fill bag. Cut bag tip into a point (or use a leaf decorating tip). Pipe clusters of three leaves (base of leaves joined in center, points of leaves facing out) randomly around top of wreath. With red: fill bag. Snip off end. Pipe three small red berries in centers of leaf clusters. Snip off more of bag to make enlarge hole. Pipe a bow where the ends of the bread dough was joined.