Ingredients
BREAD
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
2 cup milk, scalded
2 env active yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 eggs, lightly beaten
8 cup unsifted flour
FRUIT NUT FILLING
1 red and green candied cherries, dra, ined
1 tube (3/4 oz) white decorator frost, ing
1 apricot glaze
FRUIT NUT FILLING
1 1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 1/2 cup chopped mixed candied fruit
1 1/2 cup sliced almonds
APRICOT GLAZE
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup apricot preserves
Directions
In large bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat margarine, sugar and
salt. Add milk, beating until margarine is melted. Sprinkle yeast
over water, stir until dissolved. Add to margarine mixture with eggs.
With mixer at low speed add 4 cups of the flour, 1 cup at a time,
beating until well mixed. Stir in remaining flour with wooden spoon.
On lightly floured surface knead 8 to 10 minutes or until smooth and
elastic. Place dough in greased bowl; turn to grease top. Cover with
towel; let rise in warm place 2 hours or until doubled in bulk. Punch
down dough; form into ball; cut into quarters. Set 2 quarters aside;
cover with towel. Use reserved quarters to make two Fruit Nut Loaves.
(Instructions at end of this recipe.)
On lightly floured surface roll out one quarter into rectangle 15x12
inches. Cut into 2 triangles each with a base of 10 inches, a height
of 12 inches and 15 inch sides. Place one triangle on large greased
cookie sheet. Reshape into triangle if necessary. Spread 1 cup of
Fruit Nut Filling over dough on cookie sheet to within 1/2 inch of
edge; moisten edges with water. Place second dough triangle over
fruit filled one pressing to seal edges. Roll out second quarter of
dough to 1/2 inch thickness. With 2 1/2 inch doughnut cutter cut 17
circles; remove centers. Overlap cut circles on tree triangle. Roll
out scraps of dough to 1/2 inch thickness; cut one 2 inch square.
Place on center of base of triangle to form "trunk" of tree. Cut one
3 inch star; place on top of tree. Cover; allow to rise in warm place
1 hour or until almost doubled in bulk. Bake in 350-F oven 35 minutes
or until golden brown. Remove from oven. Place cherries in center of
circles. While warm, brush lightly with glaze. Decorate tree with
decorator frosting. Makes one tree and 2 loaves.
Fruit-Nut Filling: In small saucepan stir together all ingredients.
Stirring constantly, bring to boil over medium heat and boil 1 minute.
Cool.
Apricot Glaze: In small saucepan stir together the corn syrup and
preserves. Stirring constantly, bring to boil over medium heat and
boil 1 minute.
Fruit Nut Loaves: Grease two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 3-inch loaf pans. Roll
out each quarter of reserved dough into 15 by 9-inch rectangle.
Spread 1 cup of Fruit Nut Filling over each rectangle of dough to
within 1/2 inch of edge, roll each rectangle up from short side.
Press ends to seal; fold ends under; place seam side down into
prepared pan. Cover; let rise about 1 hour or until doubled. Bake in
350-F oven 40 to 45 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped.
Remove from oven. While still warm, brush with Apricot Glaze.
Source: Mom's old magazine clippings- 1940's to 1970's Green Bay Press
Gazette (newspaper), December 13, 1978
Servings: 2 servings
Christmas Tree Bread Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Bread; Breads; Christmas; Holiday
The History of Recipes
Written cooking instructions as a concept can be traced way back into the distant past, in fact as far as pharonic Egypt, and possibly even further. Interesting though that maybe, in the main part, these early recipes were just simple hieroglyphic instructions for food preparation.
In an interesting twist, the most ancient recipe discovered, according to experts are some ancient tablets in ancient Sumerian describing the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making anyone who drank it feel `wonderful`. As we move into The time of the roman empire around 25BC a man called Apicius created some scripts showing how to cook the recipes prepared by the Romans. In his scrolls, Apicius describes how the meals of wealthy Romans were separated into hors d`oeuvres, main meal and dessert, known in latin as `Gustatio, Primae Mensae and Secundae Mensae`. Aspicius informs us how the ancient cooks made use of a wide range of spices, including a few that are still present in modern kitchens like bay, mint and asafoetida. In the 15th century, knights returning from the crusades brought back many new foods and herbs from the holy lands, including basil and coriander. The introduction of these new tastes caused an explosion in publications on food, the majority of which are kept safe in private collections. When we get to the 1900s, cooking books are starting to become popular mostly as a result of better eduction, people having more leisure time and disposable income. The arrival of TV brings us celebrity TV chefs and the demand for the accompanying recipe books. And that pretty much brings us to the present day and the invention of the internet, allowing us all to search through massive numbers of recipes just like those on this web site. |
We hope you enjoy this Christmas Tree Bread recipe.
