PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — If you feel like you’ve gotten pretty good at baking during the pandemic, here’s a holiday recipe to test your skills.

Local baker and former contestant of “The Great American Baking Show” Marissa Troeschel shared a ginger spiced star bread recipe with AM Extra.

Check out Marissa’s Instagram @restingbakeface for a how-to video.

Ginger Spiced Star Bread  

Dough

2 cup (240) all purpose flour
1/2 cup (45g) instant potato flakes
3/4 cup milk (preferably whole), slightly warmed 
2-4 tbsp warm water
4 tbsp (57g) unsalted butter, softened 
1 tsp vanilla extract 
2 tsp instant yeast 
1 tsp salt 

Filling

1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup (100g) sugar
1.5 tsp ground ginger
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
Pinch of nutmeg

To make the dough:

Combine all the dough ingredients in a bowl.  Mix and knead, by hand or with a stand mixer, until you have a soft smooth dough.  I start out with 2 tbsp of the warm water and then add more if needed.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour, or until it’s almost doubled in size.

After 1 hour, turn dough out onto the counter and divide into 4 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball by rolling on the counter under the palm of your hand.  Cover the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes.

While the dough is resting, in a small bowl mix your spices and sugar.  In a separate bowl, beat your egg.  Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface, roll one piece of dough into a ten inch circle. Place on the circle on the parchment, brush with a thin coat of beaten egg and sprinkle with 1/3 of the sugar-spice mix.  Leave about a 1/4″ of dough around the outside of the circle bare. 

Rollout the second circle, same size as the first and place it on top of the filling covered circle.  Repeat the process – egg, sugar-spice mix, dough circle.  Leave the last circle bare. Save your egg!  You’ll need it later.

Place a 2.5″ to 3″ round cutter in the center of the dough circle as your guide.  This can be anything – an upside down glass, the lid to a jar, a biscuit cutter, etc.  With a sharp knife, cut the circle into 16 equal strips, from the cutter in the middle of the circle out to the edge.  Cut through all the layers.

Using your hands, pick up two adjacent strips and twist them away from each other twice. Repeat with the remaining strips of dough so you end up with 8 pairs. Remove your cutter from the center of the dough and pinch the ends of each pair together to create a star like shape with eight points.

Cover the bread and let rise for 45 minutes, until puffy.  While the bread is rising, preheat the oven to 400°F. Brush the bread with a thin coat of the beaten egg.  Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.

Remove the bread from the oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving.  Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm or at room temp.  This freezes great! Make it in advance, unwrap and warm in the oven just before serving.