Almond Cranberry Tea Ring

My sister-in-law gave me this recipe and asked me to make it for our family Christmas Eve gathering. I made a few adaptions and ended up making it three times for various gatherings in December where it was well-received.

A tea ring is a fun and attractive method of shaping bread dough. You fill and roll the dough similar to cinnamon buns,but instead of cutting the buns and placing individually in a baking dish, they are shaped into a ring. This recipe makes two medium size tea rings, but I've also used all the dough to make one large size tea ring.

This tea ring can also be filled with raisins, walnuts, cinnamon, or other ingredients instead of almonds and craisins.

Almond Cranberry Tea Ring

1 T yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup warm milk
1/4 cup sugar or honey
1/3 cup soft butter
1 tsp salt
1 egg
3-4 cups flour (I used half whole wheat flour and half white.)
Topping ingredients: brown sugar, craisins, sliced almonds, and glaze

Combine all ingredients except flour and topping ingredients. Slowly mix in flour to make a soft dough. Knead five minutes. Place in greased bowl. Cover and allow to rise until double (about 1 hour.) You may place though dough in the fridge to rise slowly for up to three days before shaping and baking.

Divide dough in half. Roll half the dough to form a 15x9 inch rectangle. Spread with brown sugar, craisins, and sliced almonds. Roll up tightly from long edge. Place on a greased baking sheet and pinch edges of dough together to make a ring. Cut 2/3 of a way through the ring at one-inch intervals. Turn each slice onto its side. Allow to rise until double (about 40 minutes.) Repeat with second half of dough.

Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes. I found that it browned quickly so half-way through the baking time I covered it with foil. After cooling, drizzle with glaze made with 1/2 cup confectionery sugar, 1/2 tsp almond flavoring, and 1 T milk.

Serve. You may find yourself with a new holiday tradition like I did.

Did you make a successful holiday bread this year?