Holiday Rosemary Bread Wreath
Get ready to impress with my Holiday Rosemary Bread Wreath! This edible masterpiece features soft, pillowy warm rolls shaped into a festive wreath. It’s not just a showstopper on table—it’s a delicious, edible centerpiece that’s surprisingly easy to make. Perfect for adding a touch of holiday magic to your meal!
Imagine your holiday table—whether it’s Christmas, Thanksgiving, or a festive family meal during the holiday season—featuring this beautiful wreath as the stunning centerpiece. Is there anything better than homemade bread?
This is one of my oldie-but-goodie recipes that I just added some extra text and info.
Making a Bread Wreath – Step by Step
This is such an easy bread recipe and creating a wreath shape is simple. Arrange 27 dinner rolls or soft buns to form the wreath. Making the bread rolls is just as easy.
The dough makes more rolls than my wreath’s size because I didn’t have a large enough flat baking tray. If you have one, feel free to make a bigger wreath!
Step 1 – Add instant yeast, sugar and water to a small bowl and mix. Let stand for 10 minutes until foamy.
Step 2 – In medium bowl, whisk together warm milk, 4 tablespoons butter, salt and eggs. Set aside.
Step 3 – To a large bowl add the flour and 3 teaspoons rosemary (or your favorite fresh herbs).
Step 4 – Add the wet ingredient into the flour and mix until well combined.
Step 5 – Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 to 10 minutes until elastic and smooth.
Step 6 – Coat the bowl lightly with oil and place the dough in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for 1 1/4 hours until doubled in size.
Step 7 – Shape the dough into small rolls.
Step 8 – Grease a large flat baking sheet, 16 x 14-inches (41 x 35 cm). Place a 3-inch (8 cm) metal cookie cutter (ovenproof) in the center of the baking sheet. Divide the bread dough into 27, 1.3 ounce (37 grams dough balls. Weighing them is the best way to make them all the same size. You can freeze the rest of the dough or make a bigger wreath.
Start in the center, place 9 rolls, leaving a 1 inch gap between the cookie cutter and rolls and place them in a circle. Place the remaining 18 rolls around the first circle, almost touching. Place a towel over the wreath and leave in a warm place for 1 hour until the rolls have doubled in size. Brush the top of the rolls liberally with 4 tablespoons melted butter (or egg wash to make them shiny) and sprinkle with the rest of the rosemary and Parmesan cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
Herb Bread Rolls
I chose fresh, fragrant rosemary for this recipe, but you can use any herbs you like, such as thyme or basil. To make the rolls even tastier, brush melted butter mixed with chopped garlic over the tops as soon as they come out of the oven. Sprinkling sesame seeds on top is another delicious option!
Make-Ahead Holiday Bread Wreath
Prepare the dough a day in advance to allow the flavors to develop fully. After the first rise and kneading, place the dough in a large bowl, ensuring there is enough space for it to rise further. Cover the bowl tightly with a lid or plastic wrap.
When you’re ready to bake, let the dough sit at room temperature for about an hour. Then, shape it into rolls and cover them for another hour to allow the second rise before baking.
Serving a Holiday Rosemary Bread Wreath
This is the perfect time of year for entertaining, and this pull-apart bread makes an excellent addition to your dinner table as a stunning centerpiece. It’s ideal for your Christmas party, holiday parties, serving a crowd, or any special occasion. Pair it with my Bacon Sage Butter for dipping, or keep it simple with plain olive oil. For another crowd-pleasing recipe, try my popular Pull-Apart Sausage Roll Wreath.
Leftover Bread Rolls
These rolls are delicious the next day, perfect for making sandwiches with Christmas or holiday meal leftovers. Simply store any unused rolls in a sealed container or wrap them tightly in foil to keep them fresh.
If you’ve made this Holiday Rosemary Bread Wreath, or any other recipe, leave a comment below. I love to hear from my readers!
Holiday Rosemary Bread Wreath
Warm rosemary bread rolls are formed into a wreath shape then baked.
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons water warmed to 100– 115 °F (38 - 46°C)
- 1 1/4 cups (296 ml) warm milk
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 3 cups (384 grams) all-purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons Parmesan grated
Instructions
- Add the yeast, sugar and water to a small bowl and mix. Let stand for 10 minutes until foamy.
- In medium bowl, whisk together milk, 4 tablespoons butter, salt and eggs. Set aside.
- To a large bowl add the flour and 3 teaspoons rosemary. Add the wet mix and yeast to the flour and mix until well combined.
- Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 5 to 10 minutes until elastic and smooth.
- Coat a bowl lightly with oil and place the dough in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for 1 1/4 hours until doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C.
- Grease a large flat baking sheet, 16 x 14 inches.
- Place a 3 inch metal cookie cutter in the center of the baking sheet.
- Divide the dough into 27, 1.3 ounce balls. You can freeze the rest of the dough or make more rolls.
- Start in the center, place 9 rolls, leaving a 1 inch gap between the cookie cutter and rolls and place them in a circle.
- Place the remaining 18 rolls around the first circle, almost touching. Place a towel over the wreath and leave in a warm place for 1 hour until the rolls have doubled in size.
- Brush the wreath liberally with 4 tablespoons melted butter and sprinkle with the rest of the rosemary and parmesan cheese.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
Notes
Dough makes 32 rolls but only 27 will be needed for the wreath. You can freeze the rest.
Nutrition Information
Yield
20Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 131Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gCholesterol 32mgSodium 126mgCarbohydrates 17gFiber 1g
This nutrition calculation is provided by Nutronix that is only a guideline and not intended for any particular diet.
12 Comments on “Holiday Rosemary Bread Wreath”
Can I use a lactose free milk & butter please.
Yes, you can use lactose-free ingredients without any measurement adjustments. Enjoy.
Could this dough be made ahead of time and the uncooked rolls refrigerated until closer to the time they’re needed?
Hi Wendi, yes. Once you have shaped the rolls, add them to a baking dish in an even layer. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. When you are ready bake, form them into the wreath on the baking sheet and allow to come to room temperature for 30-60 minutes before baking.
This baked wreath is brilliant and so delicious looking; lovely work here!
Mmm… i love rosemary bread! And the presentation is just stunning – such a genius way to serve this over the holidays!
Looks gorgeous Janette! Will definitely make it for the holidays!
Wow, Janette, those look so fluffy and light. And I love how easy the wreath is to make – genius to just place the rolls around a cookie cutter.
Mmm – I can almost smell these on my Christmas table!
Such an amazing loaf of bread, this looks wonderful and the flavours look so delicious.
I can almost smell the rosemary!!! This look so gorgeous. love how you photographed it too!
What a lovely idea for serving bread. I imagine the smell is wonderful. I do like a bread that you can easily break in to individual pieces, so much easier and convenient.
This is absolutely gorgeous! I have to make this, I just hope I can make it look as pretty as you do.