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Salty Christmas tree


Bread Christmas tree

The savory Christmas tree is an original recipe, perfect for the holiday season, easy to prepare even with ready-made pizza dough.

Today we are preparing a very easy and impressive appetizer if served during the Christmas holidays : the savory Christmas tree. This delicious dish is made up of many small and soft bread rolls cooked in the oven, arranged close together to form a real breadfruit: a convivial recipe perfect for sharing an aperitif with your friends or family.

The best way to enjoy this dish is to tear off balls of bread and dip them in a fantastic tomato and basil sauce . As for the filling, you can range from mozzarella cherries to the classic combination of ham and cheese. Try it too, this recipe is very simple but with guaranteed results!

Roll out bread dough
Roll out bread dough

Ingredients

For the breadfruit

  • Flour 00 – 500 g
  • Water – 250 g
  • Brewer's yeast – 1 sachet
  • Sugar – 1 teaspoon
  • Salt – 10 g
  • Extra virgin olive oil – 2 tablespoons
  • Mozzarella – 30
  • Milk – to taste

To complete

  • Extra virgin olive oil – 2 tablespoons
  • Chopped parsley – 1 tbsp

Preparation

How to prepare the savory breadfruit recipe for Christmas

1

Let's start preparing the bread. Dissolve the yeast in warm water together with a teaspoon of sugar which will help leavening in the cold season.

2

Combine the flour in a bowl and pour the water into the center. Start kneading with a spoon and as soon as the dough takes consistency add the oil and salt . Finish working it on the pastry board until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous dough.

3

Put it back in the bowl, cover with cling film and let it rise in the oven with the light on for a couple of hours or until it has doubled in size.

4

Using a rolling pin, roll it out until it is no more than half a centimeter thick . Using a pastry cutter, cut out many squares of 5-6 cm on each side. Place the chosen filling in the center (we used mozzarella cherries) and close.

5

Make up your tree on a baking tray lined with baking paper: place 6 balls of dough, then 5, positioning them in layers and so on up to the tip. For the trunk, use two or four depending on how many you have obtained. Leave at least one finger between one ball of bread and the next.

6

Cover and let rise for at least 30 minutes.

7

Brush the tree with milk and bake in the oven at 180°C for 25-30 minutes . Serve warm or cold after brushing the surface with oil flavored with chopped parsley .

As mentioned, the filling is your choice. The mozzarella should be dabbed well with kitchen paper before being used for the filling. Alternatively you can use provola with cooked ham or smoked scamorza . Clearly the sandwiches can be left empty and enjoyed together with cured meats or cheeses or dipped in a delicious accompanying sauce like the one we suggest just below.

Furthermore, to speed up the recipe, you can replace the homemade pizza dough with other ready-made doughs such as puff pastry, brisée or pizza dough as seen in this video .

The idea of ​​preparing a puff pastry Christmas tree is also excellent, perfect as an appetizer.

How to make the accompanying sauce

Tomato puree
Tomato puree

Ingredients

  • 3 cans of peeled tomatoes
  • 1 shallot
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • fresh basil to taste
  • extra virgin olive oil to taste
  • salt to taste
  • pepper to taste
  • sugar to taste

Preparation

  1. In a saucepan, fry the poached garlic with the finely chopped shallot and two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
  2. Once the shallot is well browned, add the tomatoes and also add salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar.
  3. Cook, waiting at least 20 minutes, and once the sauce is ready, remove the garlic and season it with a few leaves of fresh basil . Finally, let it rest in the fridge until it has cooled.

Conservation

This Christmas dish can be kept in a cool, dry place for a maximum of 1-2 days , later the bread will lose its softness. The sauce, however, can be stored in the fridge for about 3-4 days , well covered in cling film.

Read also
Christmas appetizers: the best recipes to bring to the table during the holidays

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