Bread Wreath with Honey Butter

This bread wreath is always a stunner at dinner parties, and would make a beautiful addition to any table. It also happens to be delicious and wholesome, full of good things like buttermilk, honey, and butter.

I first came across this recipe in Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois’ Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day. The wreath is created by forming the dough into a ring and then cutting it with a pair of kitchen scissors at a sharp angle. It is super easy and makes for an impressive presentation. For a great step-by-step visual of how to do this, check out their post here.

You can use this wreath technique using any dough recipe, but my favorite is this easy Whole Wheat Honey Rolls recipe. This wholesome bread bakes up tender and soft. The best part of this bread though is the honey butter that you should make to go with it. Honey butter is actually the real party trick here. It is dead simple – literally, you just mix together softened butter and honey – but the result is pure, homey, bliss.

Enjoy this bread wreath, friends! Pass it around while it’s still warm, let people rip a hunk off for themselves, and don’t forget to slather it in honey butter goodness.

Honey-Wheat Bread Wreath with Honey Butter
This beautiful bread wreath makes for an impressive touch to any table, and is much easier than it looks. It also happens to be delicious and wholesome, full of good things like buttermilk, honey, and butter. (Adapted from A Taste of Home’s Whole Wheat Honey Rolls and Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day’s Holiday Wreath Bread.)

Prep Time: 25 minutes + 1 hour 30 minutes rising time
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes

Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients:
2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
2 cups warm buttermilk (110° to 115°)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup honey
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour + about 1/2 cup for kneading

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm buttermilk. Add the butter, honey, whole wheat flour, salt and baking soda. Beat until smooth. Stir in all-purpose flour to form a soft dough (if it is looking too soft to knead, add more flour).
2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
3. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and stretch the dough into a ring. Place the ring on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Let rest for about 30 minutes while you preheat the oven to 450°.
4. Right before baking, sprinkle the dough with flour. Using kitchen scissors, snip the wreath at a sharp angle, almost to the bottom of the ring to form points. The points should still be connected to the ring since you’re not cutting clean through. Now lay the points out so that they are fanned out a bit.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

For the Honey Butter:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup honey
fleur de sel or sea salt

Mix the butter and honey until smooth. Place in a ramekin or serving bowl and sprinkle with fleur de sel. Watch people swoon as they slather it on their warm bread and inhale.