Cheese star bread – the most delicious cheese loaf. Perfect for a cosy Christmas – or for the brunch table all year round.
This cheese star bread is a real treat, and it tastes every bit as good as it looks. It is the classic version of the star bread many people know from Christmas – but here in a savoury version, where the sweet butter-and-sugar filling has been swapped for creamy garlic cream cheese and two kinds of grated cheese.
The dough is a soft, airy yeast dough which, once risen, is divided into four and rolled out into flat circles. You then spread each layer with garlic cream cheese, sprinkle over the grated cheese, stack the layers and cut them into the classic strips that are twisted into a beautiful star. It is easier than it looks, and of course I have made a video showing you how – you will find it just above the recipe.
This cheese bread works brilliantly for everything from Christmas breakfast and brunch to relaxed get-togethers with friends and family, and alongside soups and salads – and it can easily be made the day before and gently warmed through. A flavourful, soft and cheesy favourite that is sure to be a hit at the table.
Choosing the cheese – use what you love, or what is in the fridge
In this recipe I have used a flavourful combination of garlic cream cheese and two kinds of grated cheese – gouda and mature havarti – which gives a rich, creamy and well-rounded flavour. But you can easily adapt the recipe to what you fancy, or whatever happens to be in your fridge.
If you are not keen on garlic cream cheese, or you simply want to try something different, you can just as well use a herb-and-pepper cream cheese, a chilli cream cheese or a more neutral plain cream cheese – all of them work very well.
You can play around with the grated cheeses too. Try mozzarella, parmesan, vesterhavsost (a mature Danish hard cheese) or whatever you have to hand. The main thing is to strike a good balance between flavour and texture – and to use what you find delicious yourself.
Cheese star bread
Ingredients
- 25 g fresh yeast
- 200 ml lukewarm milk
- 1 tbsp honey or sugar
- 1 egg
- 440 g plain flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 75 g softened butter
Filling and topping
- 150 g garlic cream cheese
- 80 g mature havarti, finely grated
- 50 g gouda, finely grated
- Beaten egg, for brushing
- Sesame seeds and poppy seeds
Method
- Dissolve the yeast in the milk, then add the honey and the egg.
- Mix the flour and salt, add it a little at a time, and knead the dough in a stand mixer until all the flour has been worked into the dough.
- Then add the butter, cut into cubes, and knead the dough thoroughly until it comes away from the sides of the bowl. This takes 5-8 minutes depending on the strength of your mixer.Grease your hands with a little oil or dampen them with a little water, shape the dough into a ball and return it to the bowl. Cover with cling film and a tea towel, and leave the dough to rise in a warm place for about an hour.
- Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and shape them into balls. Gently press each ball flat, then roll them out on a lightly floured surface into circles about 30 cm in diameter.
- Spread 3 of the circles with cream cheese – leave the last one plain.
- Place one of the cream cheese circles on a sheet of baking parchment and scatter half of the havarti over it. Place the next cream cheese circle on top and sprinkle it with the gouda. Now place the last cream cheese circle on top and sprinkle it with the remaining havarti. All the cream cheese circles should be placed cream cheese side up. Finish with the plain circle and press the circles gently together.*I only move the circle to a baking tray once it has been cut and is ready to be shaped into a star – I simply slide the baking parchment onto the tray with a pizza peel. If that sounds like a hassle, you can assemble it on the baking tray from the start – on baking parchment, of course.
- Place a plate about 28 cm in diameter on top of the dough and trim away the excess dough, so you have a neat round circle.The dough trimmings can be twisted into 2-3 little swirls.
- Set a glass about 6-7 cm in diameter in the centre of the circle, and cut the dough into 16 equal strips – working outwards from the glass.The easiest way is to first cut the dough into 4 equal sections, divide each of these in 2, and then divide those in 2 again. Then remove the glass.
- Slide the baking parchment with the dough onto a baking tray – if you haven’t already assembled the dough on it.
- Now lift 2 "strips", one in each hand, and twist them 3 times – away from each other. Pinch the two ends firmly together through all the layers so they seal tightly at the tip. Continue all the way round until the bread looks like a star.See the video above the recipe if you need to.
- Lay a lightly damp tea towel over the top and leave the bread to prove for about 30 minutes.
- Brush the star bread with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame and poppy seeds.
- Bake the star bread in a preheated conventional oven (top and bottom heat) at 200°C for about 16-18 minutes.
- Let it cool slightly before serving.
Nutrition
Premium
Hejsa, kan man mon lave den kun med hvidløgs osten og ikke den revne ost?
Hej Hannah
Ja sagtens da – så kan du bruge lidt ekstra:)
Warm wishes, Dianna
5 ⭐️ til dette umådelig lækre stjernebrød. Nemt at bage og alle var VILDT begejstret
Hej Marianne
Det var da en vidunderlig besked at læse – tusind tusind tak for de søde ord:)
Warm wishes, Dianna