PrintableWren: [Recipe link](http://marysebakes.blogspot.com/2018/07/bacon-herb-and-cheese-star-bread.html?m=1)
Recipe:
**Ingredients:**
*For the dough:*
– ¾ cup + 3 tablespoons milk
– 1 packet active dry yeast
– ¼ tsp sugar
– 4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
– 271 g all-purpose flour
– 1 tsp sea salt
*For the filling:*
– 5 strips bacon
– 4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
– 1 tbsp solidified reserved bacon grease
– ¼ tsp garlic powder
– 1/2 tsp ground thyme
– 1 tsp dried oregano leaves
– 1 tsp dried basil leaves
– ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
– 1 egg, beaten
– ½ cup grated Italian cheese mix
– 1 tsp sea salt
**Instructions:**
1. Cook bacon strips until very crispy then using tongs transfer bacon to a paper towel lined plate to cool. Pour bacon grease from pan into a freezer-safe bowl and set in freezer to cool until solid (10-15 minutes).
2. While bacon is cooking, put milk in microwave for 30 seconds, stir, then check temperature and return to microwave for 15 second bursts as needed until milk reaches 38 degrees C (100 F) – roughly body temperature. This took me 1:15 but may vary for you. Once milk has reached correct temperature add yeast and sugar and give it a little whisking then let it sit undisturbed for 10 minutes.
3. After 10 minutes, milk mixture should be frothy on top. Add remaining dough ingredients and mix until all ingredients combined. Add to bowl of stand mixer and use dough hook on low for 7-8 minutes until dough looks smooth and elastic (or kneed by hand for about 10 minutes).
4. Pour a bit of olive oil (or other oil) into a large bowl and grease bottom and sides of bowl, then transfer dough to greased bowl. Cover with cling wrap and let sit for 1 hour.
In a small bowl, combine butter and bacon grease, then mix in garlic powder and herbs (thyme through to parsley). Set aside.
5. Crumble the crispy bacon into small pieces and set aside.
6. Preheat oven to 400 and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
7. Once the dough has finished proofing for 1 hour, punch the air out of it. Lightly grease your counter and then divide dough into 4 equal parts.
8. Take one of the 4 pieces and use your fingers to gently press the dough out into a large circle, then use a rolling pin to transfer the dough to your prepared baking sheet (gently roll the dough into the rolling pin, and then unroll it onto the baking sheet).
9. Using a pastry brush, apply beaten egg to dough, leaving a 2 inch border where no egg is applied.
10. Take 1/3 of the butter mixture and use your fingers to gently spread it over the area where you applied the egg. Sprinkle 1/3 of the crumbled bacon over this area, and then 1/3 of the cheese.
11. Repeat steps 9-11 with remaining dough and filling, with the 4th piece of dough acting as the top of your bread so there will not be any filling on it.
12. Place a 2 inch wide circular cookie cutter in the middle of your bread (but don’t push down on it) as a guide to keep the center intact. Start by cutting the bread into 4, then cut each of those in half which will give you 8, then in half once more to get to 16 pieces with all of them still connected at the center.
In pairs of two, you’re going to twist the pieces away from each other and then connect them at the ends and tuck the end under slightly. I found this easiest to do using one hand to gently lift up one piece and then use both hands to twist it a few times, then use both hands to pick up the second piece of the pair and twist in the opposite direction.
13. Once all strands have been twisted and connected into pairs, let the bread rest for 15 minutes.
14. Apply egg wash over the whole bread, then sprinkle with sea salt.
15. Bake for 15-17 minutes until golden, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Edited to include recipe in comment 🙂
SchmoosMom: Ooh, I made the cinnamon roll version of this! It was a King Arthur Flour bake-along! Their blog has lots of photos to assist with assembly, if anyone is confused. It ended up being simpler to do than read about. Once you start, it comes together. It is a lot of fun to make!
[Bakealong](https://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2017/11/01/cinnamon-star-bread-bakealong/) for anyone that needs it.
littlewhitehiker: Nicely done. Looks beautiful and tasty.
slemoore: awesome presentation!
WickedWenchOfTheWest: This looks awesome, saved!
Considering the current temperatures, and that I don’t have AC, I won’t be making this any time soon, but I *definitely* want to give it a whirl in the late autumn/winter.
Cheers! 🙂
wheresthatbeef: Not typically a baker, but I’m going to give this a try this weekend. You mentioned the 4th section of reserved dough being the top of your bread. How does this work? Do you cover each of the breads and push down to seal on the non-egg washed area just before step 12? Does this produce 3 total loaves that look like the picture? Sorry if these are dumb questions, like I said I don’t often bake.
makemeking706: This post should be in gif form. There is so much karma to be had.
Vanessa-Balvin: It’s really awesome… thanks for sharing
jim-heep: 👍
Positivechocobear: Looks yummy. Nice.