Berry Braided Bread
This BERRY BRAIDED BREAD is the perfect way to start your summer mornings!
If it wasn’t for the heat, summer would be my very favorite time of the year. School is out. Our schedule doesn’t include much more than days spent by the pool, nights spent around the fire pit, with a football practice or two thrown in.
In other words, summer for us is all about relaxing. That and sleeping in. We are not a family that enjoys early mornings. But we do enjoy our breakfast, and in the summer that usually means something covered in berries. We love our berries almost as much as we enjoy sleeping in. We add them to our french toast, we cover our pancakes with them, and while we enjoy a muffin or two, our new favorite way to eat our berries is in this cinnamon and berry braided bread.
I loaded my braided bread with raspberries and blackberries, but you could use pretty much use any berry you like. I’ve got plans to make a loaf stuffed with Nutella and strawberries next; that’s going to be AMAZING!
**The instructions may sound difficult, but it really isn’t much different than making cinnamon rolls. Instead, it’s just in one large roll. Prep time includes rising time.
If you don’t have a cast-iron skillet, you could bake your bread in a round cake pan.
berry braided bread
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups flour
- 1 envelope active dry yeast
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup milk warmed to 110 degrees
- 2 Tbsp butter melted
- 1 egg
- for the filling -
- 4 Tbsp butter very soft
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup of raspberries
- 1 cup of blackberries
- powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- whisk together the flour, yeast, sugar, cinnamon, and salt - set aside
- whisk together the milk, butter, and egg
- pour the wet ingredients over the dry, stir to combine
- on a well floured surface knead the dough (or use the dough hook of a stand mixer) until you have a soft, smooth ball
- place the ball in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour - or until doubled
- while the dough is rising, cream together the butter sugar, and cinnamon for the filling
- once risen, roll the dough into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick
- spread the filling over the dough, leaving a small border around the edges
- gently press berries into the filling, and roll dough from the long side (similar to cinnamon rolls).
- cut the dough down the center, stopping about 1 inch from the end, forming a v (you want the two ropes connected at the top)
- flip both sides of the 'V" so the cut side faces up, and then braid until you reach the end
- press to seal the end, form into a circle, and carefully place in a well greased cast iron skillet
- cover and let rise 30 minutes
- bake your braided bread at 375 degrees for 25 minutes
- cool slightly, and then dust with powdered sugar
