Rizdvyanyi Vinok – Ukrainian Christmas Wreath Bread
There is nothing quite like pulling a golden, fruit-studded Christmas wreath from the oven on a cold December morning. This festive sweet bread fills your whole kitchen with the warm scent of orange zest, vanilla, and dried fruit, and its braided ring shape makes it the centerpiece of any holiday table. Tender enriched dough is rolled around a sticky filling of apricot jam, candied peel, and a generous mix of dried figs, raisins, cherries, and cranberries, then shaped into a wreath and baked until burnished and glossy. You will love how impressive it looks for how forgiving it actually is to make.
Sweet braided breads like this one have deep roots in Ukrainian and broader Central European Christmas tradition. Long, slow-rising enriched doughs studded with dried fruit and nuts were baked for the most important feast days of the year, when butter, eggs, and dried fruit were precious treats saved for celebration. The ring or wreath shape is symbolic too, echoing the evergreen wreaths hung at Christmas and representing the unbroken circle of family gathered around the table. Every household has its own version, and over generations the recipe travels and adapts, picking up local fruit and a little extra orange.
The secret to a light, airy crumb is patience with the dough. Make sure your milk is warm but never hot when you add it to the yeast, around 100°F, so you wake the yeast up without killing it. Give the dough a full hour in a warm, draft-free spot to double, and do not rush the second proof after shaping. Soaking the dried fruit in boiling water plumps it up and keeps it from drawing moisture out of the dough, while the apricot jam glues the filling in place and adds a glistening sweetness throughout.
Tips & Substitutions
- Dried fruit: Use any mix you love. Chopped dates, dried apricots, or golden raisins all work beautifully in place of figs and cherries.
- Citrus: No orange on hand? Lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice give a brighter, equally fragrant result.
- Jam: Swap apricot jam for peach, fig, or even orange marmalade to echo the citrus notes.
- Nuts: Add a handful of toasted chopped walnuts or pecans to the filling for crunch.
- Glaze: Instead of just a dusting of powdered sugar, drizzle with a simple icing of powdered sugar and orange juice once cooled.
- Make ahead: The shaped wreath can be refrigerated overnight on the second rise and baked fresh in the morning.
Let the wreath cool under a clean kitchen towel before you dust it with powdered sugar and scatter fresh currants over the top for a jewel-like finish. Serve it in generous slices with coffee or tea, or alongside hot mulled wine on Christmas Eve. Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, it stays soft for up to three days, and any slices that start to dry out make wonderful French toast. You can also wrap the cooled wreath tightly and freeze it for up to a month, thawing at room temperature whenever a holiday craving strikes.
Part of Ukrainian cuisine — 301 more recipes in the section.
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Ingredients
Instructions
Prepare the dough. Sift the flour through a sieve. Add the salt and pour in the dry yeast. Stir lightly to combine and set aside.
Pour the milk into a cup and warm it in the microwave to about 100°F (40°C). Crack 1 egg into a deep bowl. Add the sugar and vanilla sugar and whisk together. Pour in the warm milk and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Place the butter in a small cup and melt it. Pour the milk-and-egg mixture into the flour and stir. Add the melted butter. Knead the dough by hand. Lightly grease the dough and the bowl with a little vegetable oil, cover with plastic wrap, and set in a warm place to rise.
Place the dried fruit in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Do not soak the candied peel. Using a grater, zest the orange. Drain the water from the dried fruit. Chop the figs into cubes. Cut the orange in half and squeeze the juice over the dried fruit, then stir to combine.
After about an hour of rising, the dough will have doubled in size. Drain off any excess juice from the dried fruit and pat them dry with a paper towel. Add the orange zest and candied peel to the dried fruit and stir. The filling is ready.
Dust your work surface with flour. Roll the dough out into a rectangular sheet about 0.5 cm (1/4 inch) thick. Brush the well-rolled dough with apricot jam. Spread the filling evenly over the surface, leaving a small strip along one edge free of fruit. Roll the dough with the filling into a log and pinch the seam closed.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a small cup in the center and arrange the log around it, seam side down. Join and pinch the ends together. Beat an egg and brush it over the dough for a golden crust after baking.
Score the bread with a knife and let it proof again. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350-375°F (180-190°C) and bake the wreath for 35 minutes. Your Christmas wreath is ready. Cover it with a clean towel and let it cool. Decorate with powdered sugar and fresh currants before serving.
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