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Savory Bread Wreath

The Savory Bread Wreath is a tasty, eye-catching Christmas recipe with a filling of diced ham and Emmental.
Recipe Savory Bread Wreath
  • Difficulty Medium
  • Preparation 30 minutes
  • Cooking 40 minutes
  • Servings for 6 people

The Savory Bread Wreath is a really clever recipe for decorating the Christmas table with flavor and simplicity. Ideal as a Christmas Appetizer, this Savory Wreath holds a rich filling of diced ham and Emmental, which adds a gooey touch to the dish and makes it hard to resist.

As we’ll see, the Savory Christmas Wreath Recipe is really simple: it starts with a basic dough, enriched with grated Parmigiano and pepper, which needs the usual 2 rises to get the right flavor and a soft, airy crumb. The filling can then be customized to your liking, depending on the ingredients you have on hand, creating countless variations of this tasty Savory Christmas Wreath.

We suggest decorating the Bread Wreath with a few sprigs of rosemary, a colorful ribbon or some red berries: the classic “wow effect” when you bring it to the table is guaranteed.

If you’re looking for more tempting Christmas Appetizers, we suggest browsing our collections of the Best Christmas Appetizers, the Must-Try Salmon Appetizers and, for a fully veggie option, take a look at our Must-Try Plant-Based Christmas Appetizers. If instead you want to try more tasty Savory Yeast Bake Recipes, we recommend the Savory Vegetable Loaf, the Clean-Out-the-Fridge Savory Ring and the Savory Panettone.

Now let’s tie on our aprons and get our hands in the dough: today we’re making a rich, tasty Savory Bread Wreath together.

Ingredients for 6 people

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Method

  1. To make the Savory Bread Wreath, start with the bread dough: dissolve the fresh yeast in a splash of room-temperature milk, then add it to the flour along with the Parmigiano, pepper and oil. Start kneading and add the milk a little at a time to work it in. Finally, add the salt and work the dough until you have a smooth, even ball. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover it well with plastic wrap and let it rise for an hour in the oven, turned off with the light on.
  2. Meanwhile, cut the Emmental into cubes about the same size as the ham and, once the dough has risen, transfer it to the pastry board and roll it out with a rolling pin: you’ll need a rectangle 20 cm (8 inches) high and 50-60 cm (20-24 inches) long.
  3. Scatter the ham and Emmental cubes over the dough, pressing lightly so they stick to it, then roll the dough up on itself along the long side and pinch the seam closed well. Cut the roll in half lengthwise, leaving one end joined for at least 3-4 cm (1 1/4-1 1/2 inches). Twist the two strands together and join the two ends to form your wreath.
    Savory Bread Wreath, step 3: rolling the dough around the ham and Emmental
    Savory Bread Wreath, step 3: twisting the dough into a wreath
  4. At this point, gently transfer the wreath to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, brush it with extra virgin olive oil, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for another hour. After the second rise, brush the surface of the wreath with the egg yolk and milk mixture and bake it in a preheated conventional oven at 190 °C (375 °F) for 20-25 minutes.
  5. When your Savory Bread Wreath is nicely golden, take it out of the oven and let it cool slightly before transferring it to a serving plate and bringing it to the table. Finally, remember to download our App with exclusive content and fewer ads!

Variations and Alternatives

The Savory Bread Wreath is a very practical recipe that you can fill with whatever ingredients you have on hand. You can use salami, pancetta, speck, browned sausage and even cotechino (a large Italian pork sausage) instead of the ham, and you can vary the cheeses inside, choosing from gorgonzola, smoked provola, ricotta, stracchino, Gouda and fontina. Another tasty variation uses anchovies, black olives and oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, but in this case watch the saltiness of the dough so you get a balanced flavor.

Tips

We recommend kneading the dough on the pastry board for at least 10-15 minutes: this will build a good gluten network that helps it rise and gives you a soft, airy dough.

Storage

The Savory Bread Wreath keeps in the fridge, in an airtight container, for 2-3 days. When you’re ready to eat it, you can warm it up in the oven for a few minutes, or take it out of the fridge about an hour before eating so you can enjoy it at room temperature.

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