This Christmas Star Bread recipe with a unique chocolate chestnut filling will quickly become your favorite holiday bread. It’s both flavorful and impressive!
Holiday yeast bread recipes not only produce a stunning centerpiece for your Christmas table, but they are so much fun to make!
Whether you create a braided sweet dough and bake it as a loaf, twist it and configure it into a holiday wreath bread or simply transform it into a Christmas star twisted bread, it can be filled with your favorite spread, filling, nut butter or jam.
This festive holiday bread recipe is basically a pull-apart cinnamon bread, with a rich and creamy chocolate chestnut filling. It tastes like a dark chocolate brioche, only it’s better! Best served when slightly warm.
Mise en place
As you can well imagine, there are three parts to this homemade dessert bread recipe: the sweet dough, the filling, and the egg wash.
The sweet dough
If you already have a favorite sweet yeast dough you like to work with, go ahead and use it. If not, I humbly suggest following the step-by-step photo tutorial on this cinnamon bread recipe.
The only variation I made was to add orange zest to the dough.
We need to stack three layers of dough to form the star bread. So, once your ball of dough is kneaded, weigh it. Then divide by three to get the weight for each smaller individual ball of dough.
For example, my ball of dough weighed 1277 grams. I divided that number by three and I made three balls of dough weighing approximately 425 grams each. If you don’t have a scale, simply eyeball it and portion it into three equal parts.
Place the three balls of dough in a large enough bowl allowing them to double in size. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let rise for about 1½ hours or until double in size. Brush a thin layer of oil to both the bowl and the dough to prevent it from drying out.
The filling
While the dough is rising, let’s prepare the chocolate chestnut filling.
I will refer you to the step by step process of this recent post on how to make a chestnut purée.
When you get to the step of processing the chestnuts in the blender, do not use the cooking liquid.
Puree the chestnuts, then add ¼ cup of honey, ¼ cup espresso, ¼ cup of evaporated milk, 2 tablespoons of rum, 1 teaspoon of room temperature butter, 2 teaspoons cocoa powder, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon, the zest of a grated orange, and a pinch of salt.
Blend until smooth. If too thick, add a few tablespoons of the leftover liquid from boiling the chestnuts.
Add 4 ounces of melted and slightly cooled dark chocolate.
Blend again until it becomes a thick paste that is smooth and creamy.
Taste and if necessary, adjust the level of sweetness.
Set aside.
The egg wash
Whisk together 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of milk. Set aside.
Stacking the star bread
Preheat oven to 375° F (190°C).
On a very lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, with a floured rolling pin, roll out one ball of dough until you get a 12-inch circle.
Brush 1 tablespoon of room temperature butter over the entire surface of the dough.
Spread about 1 cup of the chocolate chestnut filling over the brushed butter.
Slide the parchment paper with this first layer of star bread on a very large baking sheet.
On another lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, with a floured rolling pin, roll out the second ball of dough to a 12-inch circle.
Gently remove from the parchment paper. Transfer and place it directly on top of the first layer.
Brush with 1 tablespoon of room temperature butter and spread another 1 cup of the filling over the top.
Finally, use the same parchment paper and roll out the final ball of dough. Remember to lightly flour both the rolling pin and the parchment paper.
Once again, gently transfer and place it directly on top of the second layer.
Slicing the star bread
Place a glass, cup, or round cookie cutter, with a diameter of 3 inches, on the center of the dough.
Use a very sharp knife, a bench scraper, or a pizza cutter, to cut the dough from the edge to the center into 16 even strips.
More specifically, begin by cutting the dough into 4 equal parts like in the photo above.
Working with each section, first cut in half; then cut each of these newly formed sections in half one more time.
Repeat with the other three sections.
Once this process is complete, you will create 16 equal strips of dough.
Twisting the strips of dough
With your fingers, pick up two side by side strips of dough. Gently make two complete twists away from each other. That is to say, you are twisting one strip in a clockwise direction, and the other counterclockwise.
Press the ends together.
Continue until you have formed 8 points.
Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in a draft-free space until almost double in size for 25- 30 minutes.
Baking the star bread
With a pastry brush, lightly brush the entire surface of the bread with egg wash. If desired, sprinkle with 1-2 tablespoons of turbinado sugar.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown on top.
Transfer with parchment paper to a wire rack to cool down. After a few minutes, remove the parchment paper.
Variations
- Sprinkle ½ cup of chopped nuts over the top of the chestnut filling.
- Feel free to use dark or semi-sweet chocolate.
Tips
- Always test your yeast to make sure it is still active.
- When kneading the yeast dough in the stand mixer, it should pull away from the bowl. If not add 1-2 tablespoons of flour.
- The texture of the chestnut filling should be thick and creamy. If too thick, add a few tablespoons of the leftover liquid from boiling the chestnuts.
- Roll out one ball at a time while leaving the rest of the balls covered in plastic wrap to prevent the dough from drying out.
- Brushing the surface of the bread with egg wash ensures a golden shiny crust.
- Use a very large baking sheet as the bread needs plenty of room to rise properly.
- As every oven heats up differently, place a piece of foil loosely over the top of the bread if it is browning too quickly. Also, consider lowering the oven to 350° F (175° C).
- Best served the day it is made.
- The leftover chocolate spread can be used as a decadent breakfast spread. Refrigerate and use within 3 days.
More yeast bread recipes
If you enjoy breakfast bread recipes made with yeast, you are going to love this family recipe for Panettone. It’s truly the perfect Italian Christmas bread! Another great idea for Christmas morning breakfast would be these sweet rolls. Using buttermilk makes for a soft and tender dough. Another family favorite is these hot cross buns. They are great for Easter and anytime during the year!
Recipe inspiration
Like so many of you, making star bread out of yeast dough has been on my bucket list ever since I got over my fear of working with yeast.
When I came across my friend’s post on IG, on how to make a cinnamon star bread, I knew I had to try it!
The only thing left was deciding on the filling.
Ultimately, since I plan to serve this on Christmas morning, I decided to use a mixture of chestnuts and chocolate.
I was very happy with the results, but I am already thinking of different flavor combinations to make it a little better
Isn’t it fun to experiment with recipes!
THANKS SO MUCH for following and being part of the She Loves Biscotti community where you will find Simple & Tasty Family-Friendly Recipes with an Italian Twist.
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Ciao for now,
Maria
★★★★★ If you have made this yeast bread recipe with chestnut filling, I would love to hear about it in the comments below and be sure to rate the recipe!
Star Bread Recipe with Chestnut Filling
Ingredients
The sweet dough:
- 4½ cups flour separated 1½ and 3 cups ( OR 215 and 425 grams)
- 2¼ teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup mashed potato (russet) cooked
- ⅓ cup butter cut up
- ¼ cup sugar granulated
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 zest of orange organic
Chocolate chestnut filling:
chestnut filling - ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup espresso
- ¼ cup evaporated milk 2%
- 2 tablespoons rum
- 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon butter room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
- zest of organic orange
- pinch salt
- 4 ounces chocolate dark, melted, slightly cooled
To brush the dough:
- 2 tablespoons butter room temperature
Egg wash:
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar optional, for sprinkling
Instructions
The sweet dough:
- In a large mixing bowl (of a stand mixer) combine 1½ cups of flour with yeast. Set aside.
- Combine milk, potato, butter, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat on medium heat until butter starts to melt.
- Remove from heat and add the orange zest.
- Add to flour mixture and mix on low speed for about one minute.
- Add eggs and continue beating until well incorporated (2-3 minutes). Scrape down sides of bowl.
- Switch to dough hook.
- Add the rest of the flour (3 cups) and mix for about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Alternately, you can knead by hand. See note.
- Divide the dough into 3 equal balls.
- Place the balls of dough in a lightly greased bowl. Make sure to turn the dough in order to completely coat it with the grease.
- Cover with plastic wrap.
- Let rise for about 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
- While waiting, make the filling.
Chocolate chestnut filling:
- When processing the pureed chestnuts in the blender, do not add the cooking liquid. Puree the chestnuts, then add the honey, espresso, evaporated milk, rum, cocoa, room temperature butter, vanilla extract, cinnamon, orange zest and a pinch of salt.
- Blend until smooth. If too thick, add a few tablespoons of the leftover liquid from boiling the chestnuts.
- Add 4 ounces of melted and slightly cooled dark chocolate.
- Blend again until it becomes a thick paste that is smooth and creamy.
- Taste and if necessary, adjust the level of sweetness.
Stacking the star bread:
- Preheat oven to 375° F (190°C).
- On a very lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, with a floured rolling pin, roll out one ball of dough until you get a 12-inch circle.
- Brush 1 tablespoon of room temperature butter over the entire surface of the dough.
- Spread about 1 cup of the chocolate chestnut filling over the entire surface of the dough.
- Slide the parchment paper with the first layer of the star bread on a large baking sheet.
- On another lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, with a floured rolling pin, roll out the second ball of dough to a 12-inch circle.
- Gently remove from the parchment paper. Transfer and place it directly on top of the first layer.
- Brush with 1 tablespoon of room temperature butter and spread another 1 cup of the filling over the top.
- Finally, use the same parchment paper and roll out the final ball of dough. Remember to lightly flour both the rolling pin and the parchment paper.
- Once again, gently transfer and place it directly on top of the second layer.
Slicing the star bread:
- Place a glass, cup, or round cookie cutter, with a diameter of 3 inches, on the center of the dough.
- Use a very sharp knife, a bench scraper or a pizza cutter, to cut the dough from the edge to the center into 16 even strips.
- More specifically, begin by cutting the dough into 4 equal parts like in the photo above.
- Working with each section, first cut in half; then cut each of these newly formed sections in half one more time.
- Repeat with the other three sections.
- Once this process is complete, you will create 16 equal strips of dough.
Twisting the strips of dough:
- With your fingers, pick up two side by side strips of dough. Gently make two complete twists away from each other. That is to say, you are twisting one strip in a clockwise direction, and the other counterclockwise.
- Press the ends together. Continue until you have formed 8 points.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in a draft-free space until almost double in size for 25- 30 minutes.
Baking the bread:
- With a pastry brush, lightly brush the entire surface of the bread with egg wash. If desired, sprinkle with 1-2 tablespoons of turbinado sugar.
- Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown on top.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool down.
Notes
- Always test your yeast to make sure it is still active.
- When kneading the yeast dough in the stand mixer, it should pull away from the bowl. If not add 1-2 tablespoons of flour.
- The texture of the chestnut filling should be thick and creamy. If too thick, add a few tablespoons of the leftover liquid from boiling the chestnuts. If too thin, add a little almond flour.
- Roll out one ball at a time while leaving the rest of the balls covered in plastic wrap to prevent the dough from drying out.
- Brushing the surface of the bread with egg wash ensures a golden shiny crust.
- Use a very large baking sheet as the bread needs plenty of room to rise properly.
- As every oven heats up differently, place a piece of foil loosely over the top of the bread if it is browning too quickly. Also consider lowering the oven to 350° F (175° C).
- Best served the day it is made.
- The leftover chocolate spread can be used as a decadent breakfast spread. Refrigerate and use within 3 days.
Nutrition
Lucy Ford
Hi Maria. I made this today. What a a triumph! Incredibly light and flavoursome. I have some leftover filling which I’ll use tomorrow in a braided bread or scroll. Rather than making my own chestnut filling I brought a jar of it instead which was fine.
Maria
I am so thrilled to read this! How wonderful Lucy! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment.
val
Such an impressive dessert! Looks delicious!
Maria
Thanks so much Val! Hope you get a chance to try it!