Kringle - Estonian Cinnamon Braid Bread

Total Time: 50 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup milk, lukewarm
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 15 g fresh yeast (1 envelope active dry yeast)
• 1/8 cup butter, melted
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 4 -5 tablespoons sugar
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3 teaspoons ground almonds (optional)

Recipe

• 1 in a medium bowl stir fresh yeast with sugar.
• 2 stir in the lukewarm milk and then add the egg yolk and melted butter.
• 3 in a large bowl whisk together the flour and salt.
• 4 pour the milk mixture over the dry ingredients and start kneading it until it pulls away from the edges of the bowl.
• 5 give the dough the shape of a ball.
• 6 sprinkle oil a clean bowl, place the dough and cover with plastic wrap. let it rest for about 1 hour at room temperature (warm space) until doubled in size.
• 7 while the dough rises, whisk together the butter with sugar and cinnamon for the filling. set aside.
• 8 preheat the oven to 400 f (200 c).
• 9 line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• 10 on a floured surface, using a rolling pin roll the dough to a rectangle of about 18x12 inches.
• 11 spoon the cinnamon filling over top (keep about 1 tbsp of the filling for the end), spreading evenly, leaving a clean 1/2-inch border around the edges.
• 12 sprinkle the almonds over the cinnamon filling.
• 13 roll up the dough and using a sharp knife, cut the log in half length-wise leaving one edge uncut for about 1/2 inch.
• 14 start braiding the two pieces, trying to keep the open layers exposed so the cut ends remain on top (this is what makes this bread effect).
• 15 pinch the ends together and form a wreath.
• 16 transfer it to the prepared baking sheet.
• 17 brush the wreath with the left cinnamon filling.
• 18 bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. for the last 10 minutes you can reduce the oven temperature to 180 c (350 f).
• 19 serve it warm as it is or with your favorite topping.