Sunflower Bread

Shaping bread is a labor of love that has countless possibilities.  A quick search on YouTube brings up “about 138,000 results,” and I bet there are even more if we were to look at cookbooks, magazines, and blogs!  The results, however, are priceless as friends and family enjoy the gift you baked for them.  In this post, I will share how to make a sunflower bread with a little bit of sweet surprise.Any bread recipe with about 5 cups of flour will work for this technique, but if you want to make the bread shown in this post, double the Twisted Sweet Bread recipe.  I love the subtle spices, the contrasting colors, the bites of sweet Nutella, and the orange glaze.  This recipe works beautifully in a 16-inch camp Dutch oven.

After the dough has doubled in size and is ready to be shaped, divide it in half.  (I strongly recommend using a digital scale throughout this process to make sure the portion sizes are evenly distributed.)  Cover one part with a damp towel and set it aside.

Step One:  Stack the outer section of the sunflower

Divide the remaining piece into five equal pieces.  Roll each into a ball.   Shape four pieces into a round circle that is about 9-inches in diameter and the fifth piece into a round that is about 10-inches in diameter.  Smear a thin layer of Nutella on the four smaller circles and then make a stack.  Lay the fifth layer on top (it won’t have any Nutella).  

Step Two:  Create the outer “petals” of the sunflower

Using a very sharp knife, make four long cuts in the shape of a star with each end of the cuts about 1/2 an inch from the edge of the stacked dough. Make sure that each cut goes through all five layers of dough.  Using the tip of the knife, gently slip the tip of the knife beneath the bottom layer of a triangle then pull it up and flip it out and over the edge of the circle.  Repeat for all eight sections.  The center of the petals should be about 5 1/2 inches in diameter.

Step Three:  Create inner “petals”

Take the remaining section of dough and slice off 1/4th of the dough.  Shape into a ball.  Set aside and cover with damp towel.  This will be the center of the sunflower

Divide the remaining dough into five equal pieces and shape into a ball.  Roll each ball into a circle that is about 5 1/2 inches in diameter.  Brush melted butter between each layer and make a stack.  Place the stack inside the outer petals and make four cuts as you did for the outer layer of petals.  Orient the base of each triangle in between the outer “petals” so that when you flip out the triangle, each inner “petal” will lay between the outer “petals.

Place the remaining ball into the center of the flower.

Cover and let the dough rest for about an hour or until it has doubled in size.

Step Four:  Egg wash and seeds

Beat an egg with a splash of water until it is creamy yellow.  Using a pastry brush, carefully brush egg wash on the dough.  Sprinkle a thick layer of poppy seeds over the center ball.  Sprinkle sesame seeds over the petals.  

Step Five:  Bake and Glaze

Bake according to the directions.  Add glaze while bread is warm.

Enjoy!