High Altitude Cardamom Almond Star Bread

This beautiful cardamom scented high altitude star bread is filled with butter and sweet almond filling, twisted into a star shape, and then baked until golden brown. If you’re looking for an alternative to cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning, this gorgeous star bread will impress everyone.

Looking for more Christmas baking inspiration? You might also love these apple butter cinnamon rolls, old fashioned sour cream cake doughnuts, and cranberry orange muffins.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Like Cinnamon Rolls, but Fancier. If you can make cinnamon rolls, you can make star bread! It’s really quite easy to layer and twist the dough, and the final presentation is a show stopper.

Completely Customizable. Be sure to see the recipe variations section below for lots of ideas for different flavors and fillings.

Perfect for Christmas Morning. Everyone loves the aroma of hot, sweet, yeasty bread on Christmas morning, and this recipe won’t disappoint.

High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

Dough

• Butter. Unsalted butter adds richness and flavor.
• Milk. Adds moisture, and makes a very tender, flavorful dough.
• Yeast. You can use either instant/rapid-rise yeast or active dry yeast. I’ve included instructions for both in my recipe. The yeast is what makes the bread rise.
• Sugar. Adds sweetness, as well as feeds the yeast to help the bread rise.
• Bread Flour. Bread flour has more protein than all-purpose flour, and the protein helps with gluten development. The gluten gives the bread a soft, chewy texture, rather than cakey or crumbly.
• Salt. A pinch of coarse Kosher salt balances the sweetness.
• Cardamom. Complements the flavor of the almond pastry filling.
• Vanilla + Almond Extracts. Flavor.
• Egg. Adds richness and moisture.

Filling

• Butter. You’ll be filling each layer of dough with butter, to add moisture and rich buttery flavor.
• Almond Pastry Filling. Be sure to use “almond cake and pastry filling“, not almond paste, for this star bread recipe. The almond filling is sweet and spreadable, and adds delicious flavor to this Christmas bread.

Other

• Egg White. Brushed over the dough before it bakes, it gives the bread a pretty golden brown color.
• Sugar. For a bit of sparkle on top of the baked bread.

Instructions

Make the dough.

• Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the milk and stir. Warm the mixture just until it reaches between 110-115 degrees F.

TIP: If the liquid gets too hot, let it sit for a few minutes until it cools down to the correct temperature. It’s important that you check the temperature – if it’s too cold, it won’t activate the yeast, and if it’s too hot, it will kill the yeast.

• Remove the milk from the heat, and stir in the yeast and 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Let stand for about 5 minutes until bubbly. If you’re using instant yeast, you can skip this step, and just proceed to the next step of mixing everything together.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the warm milk mixture with all but 1/2 cup of the flour, along with the rest of the sugar, salt, cardamom, extracts and egg.
• Knead the dough for 10 minutes with the dough hook on low speed, very gradually adding the last 1/2 cup of flour, as needed. Don’t use more than a total of 2 3/4 cups flour, or your bread will be too dense.

• Lightly grease a large bowl with non-stick baking spray or oil, and scrape the dough into the bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in size.

TIP: If your oven has a bread-proofing setting, you can use that to proof your dough. If not, let your oven preheat to the lowest setting, turn the oven off, and then set your dough inside to rise.

• After the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into 4 equal sections, shape each into a ball, then roll each ball out into a circle measuring about 10 inches in diameter.

Layer and fill the dough, then shape the star bread.

• Line a large baking sheet with a piece of parchment baking paper.
• Place 1 circle of dough on the baking sheet, and spread the dough with 1 tablespoon of soft butter. Spread with about 1/3 cup of the almond filling.
• Repeat layering the dough, butter and almond filling, until you have 4 layers of dough with 3 layers of filling. The last layer of dough placed on top will not have any filling on top of it. Note: You may not use all of the almond filling, so you’ll have a small amount leftover for another project.
• Use a pair of scissors to trim the edges so you have a a fairly even circle.

• Now place a small bowl or other round object measuring about 3 inches in diameter to mark the center of the bread. When you cut the dough, you will not be cutting into the center circle.
• Use a pair of scissors to make 16 even cuts around the dough, stopping at the edge of the center circle, as shown in this post’s photos.

• Take 2 cut strips, and twist them away from each other, then press the ends together. Do this with the remaining strips of dough to form 8 points.
• Let the dough rest for 20 minutes while you preheat the oven.

TIP: The points of your star bread may spread out as the bread bakes. After baking mine for about 15 minutes, I took the bread out of the oven, pinched the points together again where they had started to spread out, and then finished baking the bread. This kept the points perfectly shaped!

Bake

• Preheat the oven to 325 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
• After the shaped bread has rested for 20 minutes, it’s ready to bake. Lightly brush the top of the dough with the beaten egg white, then sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar.
• Bake for about 30-35 minutes, until golden brown and the center is baked through.
• Cool for about 15 minutes, then enjoy the bread while it’s warm and soft.

Recipe Variations

• Cinnamon-Sugar. Fill each layer with butter, sprinkled with cinnamon and brown sugar, for a cinnamon roll flavored bread.
• Apple Butter or Pumpkin Butter. Use store bought or homemade apple butter or pumpkin butter, filling each layer with about 1/4 cup.
• Nutella. Nutella, or chocolate hazelnut spread, is a delicious alternative to the almond pastry filling.
• Nuts. For a little crunch and texture, add a handful of chopped walnuts, pecans, or even raisins.
• Vanilla Icing. Make a simple powdered sugar icing with 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, and several tablespoons of milk. Whisk until smooth and drizzle. You can either drizzle the icing over the bread, or serve it in on the side for dipping.
• Savory Version. For a more savory Christmas star bread, add some garlic and herbs to the dough. Fill each layer with pesto and mozzarella cheese, and maybe even some pepperoni. Serve with a marinara dipping sauce.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make the dough by hand if I don’t have a stand mixer?

Yes, absolutely. You’ll need to knead the dough for about 10 minutes with a mixer, but for 20 minutes by hand. Be sure not to add too much flour, or your bread will be dense.

Can I use almond paste instead of almond pastry filling?

No, almond paste is too dry and crumbly for this recipe.

How long does this bread stay soft and fresh?

Just like cinnamon rolls, and most homemade yeast breads, star bread is best eaten hot from the oven, or on the same day it’s baked.

What’s the best way to reheat leftover bread?

Warm pieces in the microwave for 30-60 seconds at 50% power.

What can I substitute for the egg?

I haven’t tried this recipe with an egg substitute.

Can I use non-dairy milk instead of whole milk or buttermilk?

While I haven’t tested it, I imagine it would work just fine.

Can I use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour?

You can, although I prefer bread flour in yeast dough, as it gives the bread a better chew and tender texture.

Can I make the dough at night and bake the bread in the morning?

For a little less prep work in the morning, make the dough and let it rise at night. After rising, place the bowl of dough, still covered, in the refrigerator to rest overnight. In the morning, proceed with the recipe as instructed. You may need to let the cold dough warm up and rest a little bit before you roll out the four circles.

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