Raspberry Compote 300 g Raspberries 100 ml Sugar 180ml Bo-plaas Muscato Frizzante Whipped feta:
200 g soft feta
125 g smooth cottage cheese
30 ml olive oil
½ lemon juice and zest Pull apart bread Ingredients
10 g Instant dry yeast
240ml milk, lukewarm
30ml sugar
545g Bread flour
a few turns of freshly ground black pepper
5 ml salt
2 eggs, at room temperature
90g unsalted butter, at room temperature Method
Compote: Place all the ingredients in a sauce pan and boil until thick, let cool down.
Whipped Feta: Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.
Bread: In the bowl combine the flour, salt, sugar, and black pepper. Mix briefly to combine.
Add the yeast and mix through.
Add the eggs and milk and knead until lightly combined. It may look slightly dry but do not worry - it will mix together nicely in the next steps. If it is not coming together, add extra milk a teaspoon at a time. Increase the mixer speed to medium, and mix for another 10 minutes, until the dough is soft and smooth.
Shape the dough into a ball, transfer to an oiled bowl, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Place in a warm spot until doubled in size, approximately 1 - 1 ½ hours, or overnight in the fridge.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Weigh the dough and divide into four pieces, then shape each into a ball, cover and leave to sit for 5 minutes.
Roll the first piece of dough into a 25cm circle, and place on a parchment paper lined and lightly floured baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough until you have four 25 cm circles, making sure each is lightly dusted with flour before placing the next circle on top to ensure that they do not stick (alternatively layer a piece of parchment paper between each circle) Place the first circle on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Top with 30 ml of the Raspberry Compote and Whipped feta, and spread over the surface, leaving about 1.5 cm border clear at the edges.
Top with a second circle of dough, smoothing down gently, and repeat the layering process with the Raspberry and feta (leaving a border). Top with the third piece of dough, then add a final layer of Raspberry compote and feta before topping with the final dough circle (the top does not get raspberries and feta on it).
Place a 7 cm cookie cutter or glass in the middle of the stacked dough circle. Using a sharp knife, cut into 16 pieces, working from the cookie cutter outward (the cookie cutter is there to leave an uncut circle of dough in the centre). I find this easiest by making four cuts - top, bottom, left and right, and then dividing each of those sections into four by cutting in half and each in half again.
Once you are finished making your cuts you should have a circle of dough in the middle and 16 strips of dough around the outside. Remove the cookie cutter and brush a thin layer of egg wash on the 1 cm border around the outside.
Take two strips, and twist them away from each other twice, then pinch the ends together into a point. Repeat with the remaining pairs of dough until you have an 8-point star. Pinch the points together again if needed.
Lightly cover the bread with plastic wrap and leave to rise until puffy, approximately 30 minutes. While the bread is rising, preheat the oven to 180°C.
Brush the surface of the star bread with egg wash and sprinkle with ground pistachio nuts . Bake the star bread for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden brown and sound hollow when you knock on it.
Let cool down and serve with extra Raspberry compote and whipped feta
