This post is sponsored by BILLA Bulgaria
Homemade breads are so tasty and flavourful! The so called Star Bread is the literal “star” among all of them, with its impressive look.
In this post you will learn how to prepare homemade star bread with cinnamon and walnut filling. You will also find other sweet and savoury variations that you can try.
What ingredients you need
For the dough you need a combination of whole grain and all-purpose flour. This makes the bread healthier but also crispy and with nice wheat taste.
In addition for the dough I used extra virgin olive oil and oat milk. This is a classic dough with yeast so you would also need some sugar, salt and an egg.
The filling is made with butter, cinnamon, coconut sugar and walnuts.
You will find the whole list of ingredients and their quantities in the recipe card below. The great thing about this bread is that you can substitute some of the ingredients with others, according to your taste.
Where did I buy the ingredients
Most of the ingredients for this recipe I bought from BILLA Bulgaria. I like the products of the BILLA brand due to their high quality at good prices. Also with my new loyalty card I get lots of benefits in the stores, such as permanently low prices of specific products, weekly discounts, birthday discount, offers from partners and more.
The old loyalty cards are valid until March 31st. But if you get your new BILLA card now, you can immediately start enjoying all the benefits!
How to make the dough
It is very easy to make the dough: you just need to mix all the ingredients and knead shortly with your hands, just to get them combined. Then leave the dough at a warm place for 1,5 to 2 hours to proof.
How to shape the bread
The star bread looks very complicated but in fact this form is very easy to create.
You need to make three equal circles by dividing the dough in three and rolling them up with a rolling pin. Then you have to spread the cinnamon walnut filling onto the first and the second circles and stack the three of them one on top of another.
Place a big round cookie cutter in the middle of the circles and make 16 strands using a sharp knife. Then twist two by two the strands, sealing their ends together, to form 8 strands.
Check the video and the images to see more clearly how it is made!
Recipe variations
The star bread can be made in different variations, including savoury! Here are few possible options:
- Make the dough with all-purpose flour only or use spelt/ einkorn instead of wheat flour
- Skip the walnuts or substitute them by other nuts
- Use your favourite marmalade for filling
- Chocolate spread is another good filling idea
- For savoury bread use only 2 tsp sugar in the dough
- Any kind of pesto would be a great savoury filling
- You can also use grated cheese or sliced mozzarella
I hope you would like this recipe as much as we did at home! The cinnamon walnut roll is not too sweet and it has a wonderful nutty taste: perfect for breakfast or afternoon snack!
Here are few more delicious cinnamon rolls that you might love:
- Red Velvet Cinnamon Rolls (no yeast)
- Chocolate Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls with Sour Cream Glaze
- Cinnamon Christmas Bread Roll with Dried Fruits
Cinnamon Walnut Star Bread
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 2 cups/ 240 g whole grain wheat flour
- 2 cups /240 g all purpose flour
- ⅞ cup/ 200 ml lukewarm milk, I used oat milk
- 4 tbsp/ 55 g melted butter
- 1 egg
- 3,5 tsp /11 g instant yeast, 1,5 packages
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp sugar
For the filling:
- 3 tbsp/ 40 g butter, melted
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ cup/ 100 g coconut sugar or brown cane sugar
- ½ cup/ 50 g ground walnuts
- powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
Dough:
- In a large mixing bowl combine the two kinds of flour and salt. Mix well.
- In a small bowl combine sugar, yeast and oat milk. Stir and set aside for 5 minutes.
- Add the yeast mixture, the melted butter and the egg to the flour. Start mixing with a wooden spoon. Knead with your hands for few seconds, to form a dough.
- Leave the dough in the bowl and cover it with a sheet of baking paper or plastic wrap Wrap the bowl around with 1-2 kitchen towels. Leave it in a warm place for 1,5 -2 h, until it doubles its size.
Cinnamon Walnut Filling:
- In a bowl combine melted butter, coconut sugar, cinnamon and ground walnuts. Mix very well.
To assemble:
- Line a large baking tin with a sheet of parchment paper.
- Divide the dough into three equal pieces. Knead one piece with your hands shortly and extend it on another sheet of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin roll it out into a circle shape: the easiest way to do it is to roll from the center to the sides.
- Place the circle on the prepared sheet and spread half of the filing on top.
- Roll out the same way the remaining 2 pieces of dough. Place the second on top of the first one and spread on top the second half of the filling. Top with the last dough circle. Make sure they are all aligned well.
- Place a cookie cutter in the middle of the circles. Use a sharp knife to cut the circle first into 4 parts (starting from the circle to the sides), then into 8 and finally into 16 strips. Be careful not to cut the paper underneath.
- With both your hands take two strips one next to another and twist them to the opposite sides at 360º. Press the ends together very well, to create a point. You can brush them with some water to seal them easily.
- Continue the same way with the rest of the strips to create the 8 points of the star.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
- Serve the bread warm, sprinkled with icing sugar.
Notes
- The Star Bread is best consumed on the same day but you can store it for up to 3 days in airtight container or covered with plastic wrap.
- You can use any milk for this recipe: dairy or non dairy.
- If you decide to make it with just all-purpose flour, consider decreasing the milk quantity to about ⅔ cup / 180 ml or less.
- You can use any kind of nuts for the filling or just skip the nuts.
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