Twisted Berry Bread

To make the dough, in the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the warm milk, yeast and the 1 Tbs. granulated sugar. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

Add the melted butter, the remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar and the egg to the bowl, then add the flour and salt. Fit the mixer with the dough hook and beat on low speed until the dough starts to form, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium-low and beat until the dough becomes elastic and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, 8 to 10 minutes.

Brush the bottom and sides of a 5 1/2-quart (5.5-l) Dutch oven with room-temperature butter.

Shape the dough into a ball and place in the prepared pot. Cover the pot with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Gently punch down the dough, then turn it out onto a floured surface. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and shape each into a ball.

Roll out 1 dough ball into a 12-inch (30-cm) round and transfer to a sheet of parchment paper. Lightly brush the dough with melted butter, then spread one-third of the berry jam evenly on the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch (12-mm) border uncovered. Roll out a second dough ball into a 12-inch (30-cm) round and place on top of the round with the jam. Brush with melted butter and spread with half the remaining jam. Repeat with a third dough ball and the remaining jam, then roll out the fourth dough round and place it on top. Trim the edges of the dough to form a neat circle.

Place a 3-inch (7.5-cm) cookie cutter in the center of the stacked dough rounds and press down to make an imprint, then keep the cutter in place to use as a guide. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into quarters, starting from the edge of the cookie cutter and going toward the outer edge of the dough. Cut each quarter in half, then cut each of those sections in half again to create a total of 16 strips.

Working with 2 dough strips at a time, twist the strips away from each other 3 times, then pinch the ends together to create a point of the star. Repeat with the remaining dough strips to create an 8-point star. Remove the cookie cutter.

With the bread still on the parchment, carefully transfer the parchment and bread to the Dutch oven. Cover the pot loosely with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm spot until you see the bread puff up a bit, 20 to 30 minutes.

Preheat an oven to 350°F (180°C).

Gently lift the corners of the star and cut the parchment paper around the star, so that only the bottom of the star is lined with parchment. Brush the dough with the egg wash, making sure to get in all the crevices. If the corners of the star start to unstick, pinch them together and seal with the egg wash.

Bake until the bread is nicely golden brown, about 25 minutes. If it starts to brown too quickly, cover with aluminum foil during the last 10 minutes of baking. Transfer the Dutch oven to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Dust the bread lightly with confectioners’ sugar just before serving. Serves 8.

Williams Sonoma Test Kitchen