This stunning holiday cranberry spiral bread is inspired by a Swedish tea ring but has a cranberry, ginger, and pecan fruit filling that will make your holiday table look spectacular.
This post was sponsored by Bi-Rite Market. I was compensated for this post and developing this recipe. However, all opinions below are my own.
I’ve been making this cranberry spiral fruit bread ring for years now in one version or another. It’s inspired by a traditional Swedish tea ring, a yeasted coffee cake that is often served during the winter months. Yet somehow, I have never actually gotten to share the recipe on my blog. So when I was approached to partner with my favorite local San Francisco grocer, Bi-Rite Market, I knew it was the recipe I wanted to share! I’ve been shopping at Bi-Rite Market for the past 15 years, ever since I moved two blocks away from them, and they always have the best seasonal and local produce available.
This cranberry spiral bread is one of those stunning desserts that uses seasonal fresh cranberries in the filling along with crystallized ginger and chopped pecans. Rolled into a log, made into a ring, then cut partially into spiral disks, the sweet yeasted bread looks like a beautiful holiday wreath that you can eat!
How do you make this spiral bread ring?
The base of this recipe is similar to a cinnamon roll dough or my apricot blueberry braided bread, where you make an enriched yeasted dough, filled with sugar, flour, eggs, butter, yeast milk, water, and spices. Knead the dough and let it rise until double in size.
While the dough is rising, make the cranberry filling on the stove by cooking cranberries, sugar, and orange juice. Once cooked, add in some chopped pecans and chopped crystallized ginger.
Once the dough has risen, roll it into a large rectangle, spread the filling over it, and roll the dough into a log, like you would to make cinnamon rolls. But instead of slicing into discs to make cinnamon rolls, bring the ends together to form a ring.
Place the ring on a sheet of greased parchment paper in a baking sheet. Cut the dough with scissors partially, all the way around the ring. Then twist each disk slightly so it lies flat to show off the spiral! Cover with plastic wrap and let rise again.
Brush with an egg wash, then bake. Once baked and cooled, drizzle vanilla glaze over the ring and serve.
Can I use store-bought or homemade cranberry sauce for the filling?
I don’t recommend using canned cranberry sauce for the filling as the canned cranberry sauce will most likely melt in the baking of the bread.
Depending on how chunky and thick your homemade cranberry sauce is, you might be able to use it as filling. The thicker the cranberry sauce, the better. Just use 1 1/2 cups of the homemade cranberry sauce and add in the chopped pecans and chopped crystallized sugar.
Keep in mind that most homemade sauce will be a little thinner so there might be more leakage in the filling when you bake the bread. If you wish, you can compensate for this by cooking the cranberry sauce for a little bit on the stovetop to thicken it. Try cooking it for 10 minutes, then cool it and check the consistency. It should be thick, like jam or preserves.
Can you use frozen cranberries or dried cranberries?
You can use frozen cranberries like you would fresh cranberries but I wouldn’t recommend dried cranberries. You want more moisture in the filling.
Can you hand knead the dough if you don’t have a stand mixer?
Yes! You can do this the old-fashioned way and make the dough by hand. Just mix all the dough ingredients together in a large bowl with a wooden spoon as instructed. Once a cohesive dough forms, scrape it onto a clean surface and knead the dough by hand for 6 to 7 minutes or until the dough is smooth and uniform in texture. Let rise and proceed with the recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Just use the same amount of rapid rise or instant yeast as you would the active dry yeast. Keep in mind that this recipe is designed for active dry yeast, so the rapid rise or instant yeast will work faster. Keep an eye on the dough, rolling it out when the dough has doubled in size and baking the bread ring when it is puffy and doubled in size.
This bread ring is best eaten the day it is baked. But the bread will keep for two days at room temperature. Just store it under a cake dome or in an airtight container. Keep in mind that the longer the bread sits out, the more dry and stale it becomes.
Yes. You can freeze this bread. Just keep in mind that the icing on the bread might dissolve in the freezing and thawing. So if you plan on freezing the bread to serve later, I recommend you freeze the bread without icing it first, thaw it out before serving and ice it the day you serve it.
To freeze, just wrap the bread in plastic wrap and then slip the bread into an extra large resealable freezer bag. The frozen bread will keep for up to 2 months.
If you like this cranberry spiral bread, check out these other sweet yeasted breads
- Fig Rosemary Focaccia with Honey Lemon Glaze
- Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls
- Sourdough Banana Bread
- Pistachio and Rosemary Cinnamon Rolls
- Pumpkin Chocolate Monkey Bread
- Easy Kouign Amann
- Fried Apple Fritters
- Pumpkin Spice Morning Buns
And check out these other cranberry recipes
- Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cranberry Filling
- Apple Cranberry Pie with Almond Butter Crust
- Apple Pear Cobbler with Cranberries
Cranberry Spiral Bread with Ginger and Pecans
Ingredients
Dough
- 1/2 cup milk whole preferred but any percentage will work
- 6 tablespoons water
- 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar, divided 75 g
- 2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast 7 g or 1 package
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 490 g
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon orange zest from about 1/2 large orange
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Filling
- 1 1/2 cups cranberries 145 g, fresh cranberries preferred but frozen will work
- 1/3 cup white sugar 65 g
- 1/3 cup orange juice from about 1/2 large orange
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans 50 g
- 2 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger
- 1 teaspoon orange zest from about 1/2 large orange
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
To finish
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon water
Glaze
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted 230 g
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 to 5 tablespoons milk whole preferred but any percentage will work
Instructions
- Make the dough by first warming the milk and water in a small saucepan until lukewarm, about 100°F. Stir in a 1/2 teaspoon of the brown sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over the liquid stir to dissolve. Set aside for about 5 minutes or so, until you see the top of the liquid start to bubble.
- Place the flour, remaining brown sugar, melted butter, egg, orange zest, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on slow speed to combine.
- Drizzle the yeasty liquid into the bowl with the mixer still turned on to slow. Continue adding the liquid until completely added. Mix until a dough forms. Change from the paddle attachment to the dough hook attachment. Knead with the dough hook for 5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and uniform.
- Spray a bowl with cooking oil, then take the dough and stretch it out so it is a smooth ball. Place the rough side of the ball of dough into the bottom of the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and put in a warm area to rise. Let the dough rise until double in size, about 60 to 90 minutes.
- While the dough is rising, make the filling. Place the cranberries, sugar, and orange juice in a medium saucepan. Cook on medium heat until the cranberries have popped and a thick sauce has formed. Stir in the chopped pecans, crystallized ginger, orange zest, cinnamon and cloves. Set aside to cool while the dough rises.
- Once the dough has risen, assemble the bread ring by dumping the dough onto a clean surface and rolling it out into a 12 x 15 inch rectangle.
- Spread the cranberry sauce over the dough, trying to spread it out as much as possible to the edges. Roll out the dough into a log form the long side, creating a 15-inch long log.
- Spray a piece of parchment paper with cooking oil and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Move the dough onto the parchment paper and form a circle with the log. Brush the ends of the log with water and then pinch the ends of the log together to form a full circle.
- Using a pair of kitchen scissors, make a cut in the ring about 2/3 through, leaving 1/3 of the center part of the ring untouched. Make another cut about 1 inch apart, repeating all the way around the ring. Twist and turn each cut out piece slightly so it lays flat on the baking sheet to reveal some of the spiral. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise again for about 30 to 45 minutes or until puffy and almost double in size.
- While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 350°F. One the dough has risen, remove the plastic wrap. Beat the egg yolk with the water and brush over the top of the bread. Bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top of the bread is a deep golden brown. If you have an instant read thermometer, the dough internal temperature should read 190°F.
- Let the dough rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then slide it onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Once the bread has cooled completely make the glaze by combining the confectioner’s sugar, vanilla extract and 3 tablespoons of milk. The glaze should be thin and drizzly. If it is too thick, add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time until you have the right consistency. Drizzle the glaze over the bread with a spoon, or use a plastic squeeze bottle or icing bag with a plain tip if you want to be more precise. Let the glaze dry and harden then serve.
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