The days around Easter are not only here to munch on chocolate Easter bunnies, but also the time for loads of Easter (yeast) bakes. This year with COVID, nationwide lockdown, and stuff like that there are even more good reasons to spend some time at home baking. If you choose the right bake, you can do everything while working from home and in between Zoom calls ;P

We always have some kind of braided (yeast) loaf for Easter. The holiday would not be the same without it. Easter is a very relaxed holiday in our house and always starts with a long breakfast or brunch. This year everything will be a bit smaller due to the restrictions we still have here in Germany, but we will definitely stick to our traditions and bake something nice for Easter Sunday ;)
Normally we would make a classic Sweet Braided Loaf aka. Hefezopf for breakfast/brunch – sometimes with, sometimes without raisins. To switch things up we sometimes have a Braided Loaf with Nuts or a Braided Loaf with Poppy Seeds – all of them are really delicious! This year we will try something new – something not so “classic” but still within the “theme” ;) Nothing braided this time. This bread/cake here is called Wool Roll Bread and looks similar to… you guessed right – a ball of wool :P Several days ago I stumbled over a baking video on Youtube (I watch a lot of baking videos there) and thought “I have to try this one here!”
Well… and as you can see – I did ;)

INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
1/3 cup (80ml) lukewarm milk
1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups (325g) all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3.5 oz. (100g) heavy cream
1 medium egg
For the filling:
2 tbsp. milk
2 tbsp. sugar
1 oz. (30g) butter
3.5 oz. (100g) ground hazelnuts
some milk for brushing
80ml lauwarme Milch
1 1/2 TL Trockenhefe
325g Mehl (Type 550)
1 EL Zucker
1/2 TL Salz
100g Sahne
1 Ei (M)
Für die Füllung:
2 EL Milch
2 EL Zucker
30g Butter
100g Haselnüsse, gemahlen
etwas Milch zum Bestreichen

I already know the technique from croissants, where you cut a piece of dough several times and then roll it up, but the idea to make many more cuts so that it looks like a ball of wool… great idea! I wished I would have come up with it ;) YouTube is always a great source for baking inspiration! Even with all the annoying commercials in between ;P


In the recipe I used as a blueprint for my own recipe, the bread is filled with cranberries – I decided to go for something nutty instead. Basically, you can fill the rolls with anything you like. Dried fruits, nuts, poppy seeds… or maybe some Nutella? There are a lot of options. Make sure you are spreading the filling generously over the dough. The larger the area you have for the filling, the better it will be distributed in the bake later on. I placed the nut filling only in one spot and that’s where it stayed after baking – would have been nicer if you could see some kind of spiral there. Learn from my mistakes :P
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
2. While the dough is rising add the milk, sugar, and butter to a saucepan and gently heat up on the stove until the butter has melted. Add the ground hazelnuts and mix everything until you get a thick paste. Remove from the heat and let cool down. Line an 8 inches (20cm) springform tin with some baking parchment, grease lightly, and set aside.
3. When the dough has doubled in size, transfer to a floured surface and divide into 5 equal pieces, shape into balls and let rest covered another 10 minutes. Roll out to rectangles with 4×6 inches (10x15cm). Place 1/5 of the filling on the shorter side of the rectangle and cut several times into the dough opposite of the filling so it kind of looks like fringes. Roll up from the side where the filling is and place in the prepared springform tin and repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Place the rolled-up logs close to each other in a ring in the springform tin, cover with plastic wrap and let rise once more for 60-120 minutes until risen nicely.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Brush the risen bread carefully with some milk and bake for 18-20 minutes until nicely browned on top (it can still be light in color on the sides). Take out of the oven and let cool down on a wire rack, then remove from the tin.
2. Während der Teig aufgeht, die Milch mit Zucker und Butter in einen Topf geben und vorsichtig auf dem Herd erhitzen, bis die Butter geschmolzen ist. Die gemahlenen Haselnüsse hinzugeben und alles verrühren, bis eine zähe Masse entsteht. Vom Herd nehmen und abkühlen lassen. Eine 20cm (8inches) Springform mit etwas Backpapier auslegen, leicht einfetten und zur Seite stellen.
3. Wenn der Teig schön aufgegangen ist, den Teig auf eine bemehlte Fläche stürzen und in fünf gleich große Portionen aufteilen, zu Kugeln formen und noch einmal abgedeckt etwa 10 Minuten ruhen lassen. Die Kugeln dann zu Rechtecken mit etwa 10x15cm (4×6 inches) ausrollen. Etwa 1/5 der Haselnuss-Füllung auf der kürzeren Seite eines Rechtecks verstreichen und auf der gegenüberliegenden Seite den Teig einschneiden – sollte wie das Ende eines Fransenteppichs aussehen. Von der Seite mit der Füllung her aufrollen und die entstandene Rolle in die vorbereitete Form setzen. Mit den restlichen Teigstücken und der verbliebenen Füllung wiederholen. Die einzelnen Rollen sollten ringförmig in der Backform angeordnet sein. Die Form mit Klarsichtfolie abdecken und noch einmal 60-12 Minuten schön aufgehen lassen – der Teig sollte schön expandiert haben und in etwa bis zum Rand hochgekommen sein.
4. Den Backofen auf 180°C (350°F) vorheizen. Das aufgegangene Brot vorsichtig mit etwas Milch bepinseln und dann für 18-20 Minuten backen – die Oberfläche sollte eine schöne braune Färbung haben – am Rand darf es aber noch hell sein. Aus dem Ofen holen und auf einem Kuchengitter abkühlen lassen, dann aus der Form lösen.


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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
Print
Hazelnut Wool Roll Bread
- Prep Time: 00:20
- Cook Time: 00:20
- Total Time: 05:00
- Yield: 1 1x
- Category: Bread
- Cuisine: International
Description
Classic sweet yeast bread with a twist – this Wool Roll Bread is filled with a nice hazelnut paste. So good!
Ingredients
For the dough:
1/3 cup (80ml) lukewarm milk
1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups (325g) all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3.5 oz. (100g) heavy cream
1 medium egg
For the filling:
2 tbsp. milk
2 tbsp. sugar
1 oz. (30g) butter
3.5 oz. (100g) ground hazelnuts
some milk for brushing
Instructions
1. Mix the lukewarm milk with the dry yeast and let sit for about 5 minutes so it can bubble up a bit. Add the flour, sugar, salt, heavy cream, egg, and yeast milk to a large bowl and knead for about 8 minutes until you get a smooth but sticky dough that comes off easily from the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise for 60-120 minutes until almost doubled in size.
2. While the dough is rising add the milk, sugar, and butter to a saucepan and gently heat up on the stove until the butter has melted. Add the ground hazelnuts and mix everything until you get a thick paste. Remove from the heat and let cool down. Line an 8 inches (20cm) springform tin with some baking parchment, grease lightly, and set aside.
3. When the dough has doubled in size, transfer to a floured surface and divide into 5 equal pieces, shape into balls and let rest covered another 10 minutes. Roll out to rectangles with 4×6 inches (10x15cm). Place 1/5 of the filling on the shorter side of the rectangle and cut several times into the dough opposite of the filling so it kind of looks like fringes. Roll up from the side where the filling is and place in the prepared springform tin and repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Place the rolled-up logs close to each other in a ring in the springform tin, cover with plastic wrap and let rise once more for 60-120 minutes until risen nicely.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Brush the risen bread carefully with some milk and bake for 18-20 minutes until nicely browned on top (it can still be light in color on the sides). Take out of the oven and let cool down on a wire rack, then remove from the tin.
Notes
Enjoy baking!