Cinnamon Star Bread

Ingredients

Dough:

• 2 cups (241g) All-purpose flour
   
• ¼ cup (46g) potato flour or ½ cup (46g) dried potato flakes
   
• ¼ cup (28g) Baker's Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk
   
• ¾ cup + 2-4 tbsp (198g to 227g) lukewarm water, enough to make a soft, smooth dough
   
• 4 tbsp (57g) unsalted butter, room temperature
   
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
   
• 2 tsp instant yeast
   
• 2 tbsp (25g) sugar
   
• 1 tsp (6g) salt

Filling:

• 1 large egg, beaten
   
• ½ cup (99g) sugar
   
• 2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

1. Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess.
    
2. Next, sift the flour, potato flour, and dry milk through a strainer; this is an important step to prevent lumps in the dough. (If you're using instant mashed potatoes rather than potato flour you can skip this sifting step.)
    
3. To make the dough: Combine all of the dough ingredients and mix and knead — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — to make a soft, smooth dough.
    
4. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rise for 60 minutes, until it's nearly doubled in bulk
    
5. Prepare a baking tray with a piece of parchment paper.
    
6. To shape the loaf: Divide the dough into four equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball, cover the balls, and allow them to rest for 15 minutes.
    
7. Using a silicone mat with measurements, roll a the ball out to 10". Then transfer the flat dough to the parchment paper.
   • TIP: the dough will stick to the silicone mat, so use the mat to lift the dough and then slowly peel the dough onto the parchment paper.
      
8. Brush a thin coat of beaten egg on the surface, then evenly sprinkle with 1/3 of the cinnamon sugar, leaving 1/4" of bare dough around the perimeter.
    
9. Roll out a second circle the same size as the first, and place it on top of the filling-covered circle. Repeat the layering process — egg, cinnamon sugar, dough circle — leaving the top circle bare.
   • TIP: again, use the mat between each step to align the edge of your dough to the previous layer, and then peel off the mat onto the stack of layers.
      
10. Place a 2 1/2" to 3" round cutter in the center of the dough circle as a guide (I used a 1/2 cup measuring cup). With a bench knife or sharp knife, cut the circle into 16 equal strips, from the cutter to the edge, through all the layers.
    • TIP 1: I pressed the measuring cup slightly to make an indentation so that I didn't need to keep it in place to see where the circle was.
    • TIP 2: I used a clean ruler to ensure my lines were nice and straight. The more even the segments, the better the result will be. If you don't have a ruler, you can even use the silicone mat (just don't cut it) or the edge of a piece of parchment paper.
       
11. Using two hands, pick up two adjacent strips and twist them away from each other twice so that the top side is facing up again. Repeat with the remaining strips of dough so that you end up with eight pairs of strips.
     
12. Pinch the pairs of strips together to create a star-like shape with eight points. Remove the cutter if you haven't already.
     
13. Cover the star and let it rise until it becomes noticeably puffy, about 45 minutes.
     
14. While the star is rising, preheat the oven to 400°F.
     
15. Brush the star with a thin coat of the beaten egg. Bake it for 12 to 15 minutes, until it's nicely golden with dark brown cinnamon streaks; the center should register 200°F on a digital thermometer.
     
16. Remove the loaf from the oven and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve warm or at room temperature.
     
17. Store any leftover bread, well wrapped in plastic, at room temperature for several days. Freeze for longer storage. To reheat bread for serving, place it on a baking sheet and tent it loosely with aluminum foil. Place in a preheated 350°F oven, and warm for about 15 minutes, or until it's as hot as you like.