Cheddar Apple Star Bread
Star bread with ANY filling is delicious… but my goodness this apple butter + aged cheddar version is my favorite yet. The apple butter is super easy to make, and for this one I used a small batch recipe from Love and Olive Oil. I also used Cabot’s 18-Month Aged Seriously Sharp cheddar, which is HEAVEN! The holiday season is never complete for me until I’ve made a star bread. Hope you enjoy this one as much as I did!
For the dough:
500g all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
12g salt
7g (1 packet) yeast
190g warm milk
20g (1 tbsp) honey
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 eggs (beaten)
Filling:
Approx. 1 batch of apple butter made in advance
4-6oz shredded sharp cheddar (ideally Cabot’s 18-Month Aged Seriously Sharp)
In a small bowl or measuring cup mix the yeast, honey & warm milk. Whisk thoroughly and let it sit until foamy (about 5-10 minutes). If you’re using instant yeast, skip the activation step with the warm milk and just mix the yeast straight into the flour. You may still want to dissolve the honey in the warm milk, though.
Meanwhile, whisk together the salt and the flour, followed by adding the olive oil and beaten eggs.
When the yeast mixture is foamy, add it to all the other ingredients and give everything a good mix. You can either knead it using the dough hook & stand mixer, or knead by hand until you have a nice smooth ball.
Let it rise in a lightly oiled bowl (covered) for 1 hour or until doubled in size. While the dough rests, shred 4-6oz of cheddar and set aside in the fridge. Let your apple butter come up to room temperature.
5. When the dough has doubled in size, gently deflate it. Flour a work surface divide the dough into three equal portions. Cover two while you begin to roll out the first piece.
6. Roll the first third of dough until you have a disc that is about 14-15 inches across. If it’s tough, just keep at it! Eventually you’ll get there. Transfer it to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread the apple butter across this first piece of rolled dough (see image below).
7. Roll the second piece of dough out until you have a similarly sized disc, then lay it on top of the first piece (on top of the apple butter). Sprinkle the shredded cheese onto this second disc of dough.
8. Repeat the rolling process with the third and final piece of dough. Place it on top of the existing stack (your stack should now be: dough, apple butter, dough, shredded cheddar, dough).
9. Place a cup in the center of the top dough disc to mark where to make cuts (see images below). Do not cut into the dough that is underneath the small cup.
10. The star will have 8 “arms” total, but each arm needs two pieces to twist together. So you will make 16 cuts TOTAL all the way through the dough (I find scissors the easiest tool for this part).
11. Take each set of 2, and twist the pieces away from each other turning them 1.5-2 times around and then connect them to each other. (This video is very helpful, starting at the 5 min mark).
12. After completing the twisting, your star bread should look something like the above image! 8 “arms” total, each arm consisting of 2 pieces twisted together. Let it rest for about 20 minutes while the oven pre-heats to 375F.
13. Bake for 30 minutes or so, until the star has puffed up and is golden brown all over. Let the star cool before tearing a piece off (this is the hardest part!).
Enjoy! Star bread is best the day it’s made. But you can also slice it up and keep it in a sealed container at room temperature for 2-3 days. If you make this, I’d love to see! Tag @nokneadtoworry on Instagram.
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