Tea Ring Coffee Bread

Make the Dough:

1. Heat the milk, add the butter and sugar, then the yeast and egg:

   Pour milk into a small saucepan and heat on medium heat until steamy (but not boiling). Remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and sugar until the butter has melted and the sugar dissolved. Pour into a mixing bowl. Mix in yeast mixture and the egg.
2. Add the spices, then gradually add the flour:

   Mix in the salt and cardamom. Slowly add in 2 cups of the flour. After the first two cups, gradually add more flour until a soft dough starts to form into a ball and pull away from the sides of the bowl.
3. Knead the dough:

   Turn out onto a floured surface and knead dough for 7 to 10 minutes until smooth, OR use a dough hook in a stand-up mixer and knead the dough for 7 to 10 minutes, adding more flour as needed to keep the dough from being too sticky. Note: the dough should remain soft, so take care not to add too much flour.
4. Let the dough rise and double in size:

   Place the dough in an oiled bowl, covered with a clean tea towel or with plastic wrap. Let rise for an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
5. Make 2 simple braids, or form 1 filled wreath:

   At this point, you can make a simple braided bread if you want (2 loaves), by punching the dough down, dividing the dough in half, and then dividing each half into three equal parts, rolling the dough pieces into ropes, braiding them, and tucking the ends under.

   Or you can get more fancy, which is what we’ve done here, with a filling, and forming the dough into a wreath shape. The following directions are for the wreath form.

To Shape the Wreath:

1. Divide and flatten the dough into 2 rectangles:

   Press the dough down to deflate it a bit. Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Take one part (saving the other for wreath number 2) and use your fingers to spread it into an 8-inch by 16-inch rectangle on a lightly floured, clean, flat surface.

   If you are having difficulty getting the dough to keep its shape, just do what you can and let it sit for 5 minutes before trying again. Like pizza dough, the dough needs time to relax while you are forming it.

   Brush the dough with melted butter, leaving at least a half-inch border on the edges so the dough will stick together when rolled.
2. Make the filling and fill the dough:

   Mix together the brown and white sugar and the cinnamon and sprinkle the dough with half of mixture (saving the other half for the second batch of dough).

   Sprinkle on more fillings, as you like, such as raisins, slivered almonds, or almond paste. You could even sprinkle on some cream cheese for a creamier filling.
3. Carefully roll the dough and form a ring:

   Carefully roll the dough up lengthwise, with the seam on the bottom. Carefully transfer to a greased baking sheet. Form a circle with the dough on the baking sheet, connecting the ends together to make a ring.

4. Cut the dough and shape the wreath:

   Using scissors, cut most of the way through the dough, cutting on a slant. Work your way around the dough circle. After each cut, pull out the dough segment either to the right or to the left, alternating as you go around the circle. The dough circle will look like a wreath when you are done.

5. Let the shaped dough rise:

   Cover the wreaths lightly with plastic wrap and set in a warm area for a second rise. Let rise for about 40 minutes to an hour; the dough should again puff up in size.

Bake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Brush the dough with egg wash and bake:

   Whisk together the egg yolks and cream. Use a pastry brush to brush over the dough. Bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes. After the first 15 minutes of baking, if the top is getting well browned, tent with some aluminum foil.

3. Cool, then drizzle with optional glaze:

   Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

   Meanwhile, whisk together the powdered sugar and water to create a final glaze (optional). Add more water if the glaze is too thick to drizzle, add more powdered sugar if the glaze is too runny. Drizzle the glaze in a back and forth motion over the pastry.