When I was young, my grandma used to make "Christmas Trees" of sweet yeast dough filled with candied fruit. She somehow shaped the dough into a tree shape and all was iced in green glaze. It was our traditional Christmas breakfast treat, as she passed them out to all of her kids every year. With that in mind, but not coming up with a clever way to shape the tree, I went another route that requires just a few, simple steps that I could envision.
After making 20 hamburger buns/sandwich rolls with the first half of the ready-to-shape dough, I divided the remaining into two equal pieces...Each about the same amount used for one loaf of bread.
I rolled each piece of the dough thin, about 21-24 inches long by about 8 inches high. I spread on brown sugar, and sprinkled with cinnamon. Then I scattered candied/glazed fruit across the dough, before rolling it, as for cinnamon rolls.
After sealing the loose edge to the roll, the best I could (not perfect), I placed the roll on a parchment-lined pizza pan. I formed a circle, stretching as I did so, and sealing the ends together.
I cut in from the outside of the ring at 1 1/4" intervals, leaving about 1/2 to 3/4 inch section at the inside, so that the circle wouldn't break. I then stretched and pivoted each sliced section so that it faced slightly upward.
I repeated this with the other reserved piece of dough, and covered the wreaths to let them rise for 1 hour.
I baked them at 350 degrees, on convection, since I had 2 racks baking at once, for about 13 - 15 minutes, until the internal temperature was 195 - 200 degrees.
A little glaze drizzled over, and festive sprinkles applied, and the wreaths are ready for tomorrow's party.
And this project has joined another party!... This one's at LifeinGraceblog.com:
Christmas Breads, Breakfasts and Beverages::It’s a Party!
