Holly, Jolly Christmas Bread

It's that time of the year again to celebrate the joy of Christmas!  It's hard not to get into the mood when it's so heavily commercialized.  But i am not one who will complain; besides the true meaning of christmas beautiful decorations, christmas carols, holiday season and all makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside :)

So, it goes without saying that some of my mood flows into my breads and bakes.  They get dressed for Christmas too :)

I twigged a corn bread recipe to create this Persimmon Bread since persimmons are in season and cheap.  This is my first time using persimmons in bread; i was curious how it would turn out.  I am really happy with the results.  I never imagined it would be so soft :)

The corn bread recipe was from  My Mind Patch which i got to know from Veronica's blog, one of those in my 'go to' blog list when i am in need of inspirations.  Those in my list have lots of stuff which are practical and simple plus a good mix of day to day stuff and stuff for special occasions.

Credits to My Mind Patch for the inspiration.  If you have not visited her, do drop by as she has a treasure trove there. 

In the mood for Christmas, i filled the bread with some pistachios, almonds and cranberries then braided it to make it look like a Christmas wreath and topped it with shredded persimmons for decoration .

On my second bake of the same recipe, i turned them into mini loaves.  Filled them with some cheddar cheese, cranberries and sprinkled some sugar on top before braiding it to have a nice pattern on top.

Filled with  cheese, cranberries and a sprinkle of sugar; simple filling that everyone can make yet tasty. 

Recipe
Inspired By : My Mind Patch

Ingredients

Bread Dough

• 60g cold whole milk
• 100g skinned persimmon

• 1/2 of small size beaten egg (Around 15g)
• 15g condensed milk
• 35g raw sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 30g cold unsalted butter

• 230-250g bread flour
• 20g cake flour
• 3/4 tsp instant dry yeast

Filling

Wreath

• 1/2 cup cranberries
• 1/3 cup almonds
• 1/3 cup pistachios
• Shredded Persimmon

Mini Loaves

• 1 cup cranberries
• 4 slices of cheddar cheese
• Sugar

Method

1. Cut persimmon into small pieces then use a blender to puree it.
2. Add persimmon puree into milk to make up 150ml.
3. Stir condensed milk into the persimmon milk mixture.
4. Put milk, egg, sugar, salt and butter followed by flour and yeast into breadmaker.
5. Set to dough cycle and allow dough to rise until double the original size.
6. Punch down the dough to release trapped air.  
7. Follow shaping instructions below.
8. Cover and proof until almost double in size.
9. Preheat oven to 175 deg C.
10. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.
11. Remove  from oven and cool bread on a wire rack.

Shaping Steps

Wreath

1. Grease a 8-inch chiffon pan. Set aside.
2. Lightly flour the counter then using a rolling pin, roll the dough to a rectangle of about 18×12 inches.
3. Sprinkle cranberries and nuts on the dough, leaving a clean 1-inch border around the edges. 
4. Start by rolling the longest side of the dough.  Using a sharp knife, cut the log into 3 strands lengthwise leaving 1-inch of the edge uncut.
5. Start braiding by lifting the left strand over the middle one then the right strand over the middle one. Repeat this motion until you reach the bottom of the dough. Press together to seal. 
6. Tansfer the dough to the prepared pan.
7. Press both ends together to create a ring.
8. Brush the wreath with the beaten egg.
9. Decorate wreath with some shredded persimmons.

Mini Loaves

1. Grease 4 mini loaf pans (6 x 3 inch). Set aside.
2. Lightly flour the counter then using a rolling pin, flatted dough into a disk.
3. Divide dough into 4 portions.  Roll dough into a ball and let it rest for 10 minutes.
4. Roll dough into a rectangle.
5. Assuming the diagram below is the bread dough, place the fillings (some cheese strips, then cranberries followed by cheese strips again then a sprinkle of sugar) and then cut strips on both sides (make sure equal number of strips are made).
   
   

   Strips	Place Fillings Here	Strips
   Strips		Strips
   Strips		Strips
   Strips		Strips
   Strips		Strips
   Strips		Strips
   Strips		Strips
   Strips		Strips

6. Pull left strip over to the center and seal with right strip.
7. Repeat the motion for all the strips.