Maple Pecan Bread Wreath

This Maple Pecan Wreath Bread is made up of soft and fluffy yeast dough with a cinnamon pecan filling, all topped with a sweet maple glaze.

The smell of fresh baked bread is one of the best smells in the world. There’s nothing quite like it.

The smell can bring you back to your grandmother’s kitchen and all those memories you had as a little kid eating breakfast with her on Sundays morning. This recipe has that same nostalgic feel, but also has a delicious twist with maple syrup and pecans!

It’s that time of year when the smell of cinnamon and pumpkin spice is in the air, there is a definite hunger for fall flavours that can’t be quenched. I’ve got just the recipe with this Maple Pecan Bread Wreath!

What you will Love About this Recipe

• Soft and fluffy
• Fast and easy due to using fast-acting yeast
• Warming spices, maple and pecans make it a fall favourite!
• No pumpkin spice in sight.
• Tasty for breakfast, brunch or dessert
• Excellent recipe for all sorts of occasions.

Holiday Bread Wreath

Bread braids are usually associated with festive holiday menus. They can be made to look really beautiful and impressive, but they’re also a great way to stretch a dough recipe for a large group of people.

You can make this bread wreath look extra festive by adding some dried cranberries into the dough. You could also experiment with other dried fruits or nuts.

You could make it even more festive by colouring the glaze red or green.

Easter Braid Wreath

If you want to make this bread wreath for Easter, you can use the same recipe but put some coloured boiled eggs in the center. You could also use dried cranberries or other edible flowers to give the bread wreath some colour.

You could make it even more festive by colouring the glaze with pastel colours.

How to Make a Beautiful Braided Bread

While this recipe requires slightly more work than your average sweet quick bread, it’s no more difficult to make. In fact, if you’ve ever made a challah or brioche, this will feel like a breeze.

The basic idea is to cut strips from the dough and braid them together. Some people think that braiding is difficult and discouraging, but it is actually quite simple. The only trick is: don’t be too loose about the braiding.

The tighter you can twist, the two lengths the better. But don’t worry if you think your braiding is too sloppy, your bread will still taste great.

How to Store this Maple Pecan Bread Wreath

This bread is best when served the same day. That said, if you do have leftovers it does store well enough.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days to prevent it from drying out. Do not store in the refrigerator, it will quickly dry out.

How to Freeze Braided Bread

This bread may also be frozen for up to 2 months.

To freeze, wrap the bread tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and place in a heavy-duty freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.

More Variations of this Bread Wreath

This recipe is pretty easy to modify with different flavour combinations. Try some of these:

• Swap the butter for Nutella and omit the pecans (or leave them in!) for a Chocolate cinnamon bread wreath.
• Swap the butter for fruit preserves – you could try raspberry, strawberry, peach etc…
• Use apple pie filling for an apple bread wreath.
• Make it savoury! Try using pesto, or garlic and butter.

The possibilities are endless, if you try something new and love it, please share in the comments!

About the Ingredients for the Maple Pecan Bread Wreath

Flour – Spoon and level your flour when measuring or else you could end up with a dense bread. You can substitute with All purpose flour but the texture won’t be as nice.

Yeast – We use fast-acting dry yeast

Milk – Must be at room temperature.

Maple Syrup – Real maple syrup only.

Egg – Should also be at room temperature.

Butter – Unsalted is best but you can use salted if that is all you have on hand.

Salt – Brings out all the flavours.

Pecans – You can also use walnuts instead if you prefer.

Sugar – We use a little brown sugar to sweeten the filling without making it as wet as using only maple syrup would do.

Cinnamon – Ground cinnamon.

Looking for more Fall Dessert Recipes?

Check out some of my favourite desserts for fall:

A delicious apple dump cake recipe that is easy to prepare and makes a great fall dessert served warm with ice cream and caramel sauce!

An easy recipe for Baked Pumpkin Donuts that results in soft fluffy and flavourful cake donuts without yeast in just 30 minutes.

These Apple Pie Cupcakes feature a decadent vanilla cinnamon cupcake filled with apple pie filling and topped with vanilla cinnamon buttercream and even more apple filling! These cupcakes are bursting with all the flavours of a delicious apple pie!

How to Make Maple Pecan Wreath Bread

Yields: 12 Servings | Prep time: 25 Mins | Cook time: 35 mins

Ingredients:

For the Dough:

• 3 cups Bread flour
• 1 package (0.25 oz) fast-acting dry yeast
• 3/4 cup milk, lukewarm
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/3 teaspoon salt

For the Filling

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

For the Maple Glaze

• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon milk
• maple syrup for brushing

Directions:

1. In a large bowl or a bowl of a stand mixer, combine the warm milk, maple syrup, and yeast. Whisk to dissolve the yeast.

Leave for 5-10 minutes until foamy.

2. Add in the egg and salt. Add one cup of flour and melted butter. Slowly add the remaining flour.

Knead the dough with the hook or by hand for 5-8 minutes until smooth.  

3. Place the dough in a greased bowl.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until almost doubled in size, about 1-2 hours.

4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

5. While the dough is rising, make the filling by whisking together the butter, maple syrup, light brown sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Set aside.

6. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead for a short while. Roll the dough out to a large rectangle.

Spread the butter mixture, leaving the dough bare around the edges.

Sprinkle the chopped pecans over the dough.

7. Roll up the dough tightly to form a log.

Using a sharp knife, cut the log lengthwise, leaving the last inch of the dough intact on one end.

8. Twist the two strands around themselves, then form a wreath.

Pinch ends to seal.

9. Carefully transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover the wreath loosely with plastic, then let it stand until soft and nearly doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.

10. Preheat oven to 350°F.

11. Bake the wreath for 30-35 minutes until golden brown. If the top starts to colour too much before the loaf is done, you can loosely cover it with a sheet of tin foil.

12. When the bread is done, remove it from the oven and brush it with maple syrup to give it a good shine, then leave to cool.

13. For the glaze, whisk the ingredients together until smooth.

14. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled wreath.

Enjoy!