Cheesy Caprese Christmas Wreath Bread

If I had to take a guess, I’d imagine that your life is a complete wreck right now.

Between last-minute gift shopping, marathon cookie baking, and drinking at lunch (it’s going to be everyday, trust me), it’s teeing up to be a messy week. So rather than drive yourself crazy over how you’re ever going to do it all, let me step in. Because if you plan on making this cheesy caprese Christmas wreath bread, life just got much easier.

This appetizer is essentially pizza pull-apart bread, but with a fancier name. There’s homemade bread, homemade sauce (or store-bought, if you must), cheese, and fresh basil, all wrapped and woven into a wreath-like design that everyone will be drooling over. And while it might seem like an overly involved appetizer for this particular time of year, feat not! This is a totally manageable app to put together.

All you need is a dash of patience, a pinch of care, and Peapod.

Grocery stores are ruthless right now, so I’m skipping the chaos and using Peapod instead. A pioneer internet grocer, Peapod has been delivering fresh, quality produce since 1989, and its service just keeps getting better. I love that Peapod customizes my user experience, with features like past purchases that allow me to repeat past orders with just a single click. Then there’s the order genius, which pre-populates my cart with the foods I order most frequently — No unnecessary searching, no wasted time. Whenever I order from Peapod I know I’m receiving high quality food that’s going to be delivered fast, on schedule, and with a smile. It’s a great resource not just for the holidays, but everyday life.

So seeing as we’re all a bit crazed right now, why not lighten your load? Enter the below giveaway to win a $120 Peapod gift card, and experience food shopping from home! It’s easy, simple, and makes recipes like this a breeze to execute.

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With your Peapod-delivered ingredients this recipe is practically effortless, so don’t even THINK about not making it. To streamline this post I skipped step-by-step photos, but the gist is identical to those seen here — Roll out your homemade dough, then smother it in tomato sauce. Add shredded mozzarella, fresh basil, and something sharp on top (I used pecorino!), then roll everything into a tight, fat log. Once your log is assembled use a pizza cutter to slice it length-wise, so that the filling becomes exposed. Loosely twist the two cut halves together, then pinch the ends to make a wreath. The process is a bit messy, and you might need to twist more than once to assemble it right. But once you do?

BEAUTY!!

Even before baking you already know this app is a stunner.

Like I said this is basically posh pizza bread, so trust that the taste is one you can count on — Cheesy, saucy, crispy, doughy, delicious. Add extra sauce on the side for dunking, and sprinkle it with extra cheese too! All in all this is a delicious, crowd-pleasing app that’s perfectly festive for Christmas.

And when you use Peapod to make it happen, it tastes even better 🙂 xo

Cheesy Caprese Christmas Wreath Bread

Yield: 8 - 10 servings

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 30 - 35 mins

Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes

Print Recipe

Ingredients:

• BREAD:
• 3/4 cup skim milk
• 1/2 cup salted butter
• 2 tbsps granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 packet instant yeast (should be 2 tsps worth)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder (optional)
• 1/2 tsp onion powder (optional)
• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour, sifted + more for rolling
• extra virgin olive oil to coat
• parchment paper for lining

• FILLING:
• 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce + more for serving (you can use from a jar, or follow this recipe)
• 1 1/2 – 2 cups part skim shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 cup sharp grated cheese (parmesan, asiago, or pecorino are all great)
• 3 tbsps shredded basil

Directions:

1. Begin by preparing the dough. In a small saucepan warm the milk over a low flame, then add in the butter to melt, stirring occasionally. Once melted, transfer to large mixing bowl and add the sugar and salt. Let this mixture cool slightly, then add in the eggs and whisk until smooth. Lastly incorporate the yeast, garlic & onion powders (if using!), and flour, stirring until the dough takes shape. Knead the dough inside the mixing bowl for several minutes, then cover bowl with saran wrap and allow dough to rise until approximately double in size, about 30 minutes. The dough is ready when you can press your finger into it and the indentation remains.
2. Once the dough has risen, turn the dough ball onto a heavily floured work surface. Using a rolling-pin roll out the dough into an evenly thin sheet — It will be pretty large, don’t worry! Next, use a serving spoon to coat the dough with tomato sauce, then sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese, grated cheese, and shredded basil, leaving a 1/2″ border around the edges — It should look like a pizza when you’re done.
3. Pre-heat oven to 350F. Line a large, flat baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. When ready, roll the dough into a tight, fat log. Take your time here, and don’t worry if some of the filling seeps out the ends. Once rolled, use a pizza cutter to cut the log length-wise, then carefully turn the halves so the cut sides are facing up. Loosely twist each halve around the other, keeping the cut sides upward at all times. This can get sloppy, and it can LOOK sloppy too — Don’t be discouraged! If you have to twist and untwist it a few times to get it decent, that’s totally normal. When you’re happy with your twisted rope, seal the two ends together to make a wreath, then transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet.
5. Use a pastry brush to coat the wreath in a gentle film of EVOO (about 2 tbsps worth), then bake on oven middle rack for 30 – 35 minutes until browned and crisp. Cool slightly, then immediately serve with extra tomato sauce for dipping!

Editor’s Note: I’ve partnered with Peapod to create this content. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. #ad

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