This extremely soft wool roll bread is the latest trend in baking. A pillowy yeast dough is cut and rolled up in an attractive fashion that ends up looking like yarn or a ball of wool. It’s so simple yet delicious and pairs perfectly either with something sweet or savoury.
The time around Easter and Christmas is my favourite to bake some amazing stuff. These holidays are not just about chocolate but also about yeast bakes. And so is this wool roll bread. I find it perfect either for Easter or for Christmas. Well, you can make it any day of the year. Wink. But for holidays it’s more special. Especially with a lovely filling.
This pillow-soft bread is a new internet sensation. In fact, it’s gone viral on social media in just a couple of weeks. The worldwide lockdown has been a very creative period. Everything started with the sourdough starter boom (I can proudly say my starter is already 3 years old) or dalgona coffee (not too sure about it), then pizza babka, creative jelly cakes (for instance this apple cinnamon cheesecake) and now, that the yeast is available again, the wool roll bread. I kind of like this lockdown. Wink.
I love to create cute desserts and treats on special occasions. For instance, in the last couple of years, I created these too-cute-to-eat carrot croissants, fun bunny dip bread or chick deviled eggs. For more inspiration check out this delicious marzipan tart or an egg stuffed meatloaf. Easter holidays wouldn’t be the same without a table full of delicious food. Wink.
The original video for this wool roll bread seems to come from the Malaysian blog Apron. There were thousands of feedbacks in just a couple of weeks and they were all amazing. Or maybe the idea belongs to another Vietnamese video from last year. Either way, the recipe is so simple yet so creative. Just like the name says, it looks like a yarn of wool. Wink. Last week, my mother called me and asked me if I’d heard of this wool bread before. Omg, she saw it before me. Of course, I checked it out immediately. So beautiful. I had to try it out.
Additionally, in the original recipe, the wool roll bread is stuffed with cranberries. I decided on keeping it pure and simple. However, you can fill it with anything you like. For instance, different nuts, dry fruits, spices or creams are just some examples. Another thing that didn’t work exactly like, in the original recipe, was the amount of dough didn’t fit my springform. Therefore, I used one additional small form for the last piece of dough.
Tips for a great result
It looks like a lot of people are “afraid” of using yeast. Totally overreacted. When mixing milk and yeast, make sure the milk is not too warm or it will “kill” the yeast. If you drop some milk on your wrist (the best spot to check the temperature) and if it feels a bit warmer than your body temperature yet not too hot, that should be just the right thing.
When picking a whipping cream, skip the low-fat one and reach directly for the “fattest” one possible. I bought the whipping cream for pastry chefs with 35% fat. You want the cream to be creamy and not watery.
The last important thing is rest. The dough must rest, in order to result so amazingly. In fact, it has to rest three times. Two times for at least one hour and in between one more time for only 15 minutes. This creates the fluffy and spongy texture of the wool roll bread.
Ingredients for wool roll bread ( Ø 20-25 cm):
- 80 ml lukewarm milk
- 3 g dry yeast
- 300 g white flour
- 5 g salt
- 30 g sugar
- 100 ml whipping cream (min 35% fat, room temperature)
- 1 egg (55 g) (room temperature)
- 3 Tbsp of milk
To begin, in a cup or small bowl, combine lukewarm milk and dry yeast. Quickly stir it and let it sit in a draft-free place until frothy. Then, in a larger bowl add flour, salt and sugar. Give it a stir and pour in the whipping cream and the egg.
Once the yeast has activated, add it to the flour and mix (using a mixer with hook attachments or knead it by hand) until well amalgamated and smooth. After the dough is not that sticky anymore yet nice elastic, give it a couple of stretches and knead it for a minute. Form a ball, place it back in the bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel and put to proof (best in a draft-free place, for instance, oven) for one hour or until doubled in size.
Furthermore, remove the bowl from the oven, flip it on the clean kitchen counter and cut it into 5 pieces. Slightly oil your palms with olive oil, shortly knead the first piece of the dough and then roll it into a ball. Repeat with the rest of the dough, then cover with cling film foil and let it rest for 15 minutes.
In the meantime, line the bottom of the springform or baking pan with parchment paper and grease it with some butter (sides included). At this point, take one piece of dough (keep the rest covered), slightly flatten it down and then roll it out into an oval shape about 3 mm thick.
More, using a dough scraper or a knife cut 2 mm thick “strips or threads or fringes” going from the middle (I imagined a line going crosswise the oval shape) lengthwise up through the dough. For a real banal example, look at your palm, which has almost an oval shape, your fingers are the (a bit too thick) fringes. Just to get the idea.
Now, roll up the dough, starting at the unsliced side of it, finishing with the fringes facing up. Place each rolled-up log in the greased form lining on the wall (following the shape of the baking form), with the ends close to each other. If you have some dough leftover, just as I had, use an additional form to bake a small bread.
Cover with the foil again and place back in the oven (light on) for at least 1 hour or until doubled in size. Once the rolls are puffy and have spread all around the form, remove them from the oven. Then, preheat the oven to 170º C and gently brush the rolls (always following the direction of the fringes) with milk.
Finally, place the baking pan or the springform in the oven and bake for 19-22 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven, let it cool for 20 minutes on a wire rack and then remove it from the form. Let it cool completely before tearing it apart.
Make this wool roll bread on Easter Sunday or Monday. It makes a wonderful breakfast or an afternoon treat. I wish you all a happy Easter and a lovely springtime.
Enjoy!
