Christmas Wreath Brioche by Chef Aileen Asilom

Ingredients for Christmas Wreath Brioche:

• 250g URC Universal Bread Flour
• 250g URC Continental All Purpose Flour
• 50g Custard Powder
• 170g Fresh Milk
• 50g Water
• 75g Eggs
• 10g Instant dry yeast
• 8g Salt 
• 130g White Sugar
• 100g Butter
• 10g Vanilla
• 100g Raisins

Ingredients for Christmas Wreath Brioche Cheesecake Center:

• 150g Cream cheese
• 50g Whipping cream
• 80g White Sugar
• 50g Egg
• 100g URC Daisy Cake Flour
• 100g Raisins
• 5g Vanilla Extract

Procedure in Baking Christmas Wreath Brioche:

1. In a bowl, combine all ingredients except flour. Mix well to fully dissolve ingredients and to hydrate the yeast.
2. Add the URC Continental All Purpose Flour and URC Universal Hard Flour to the mixture to create a dough. Knead the dough for 5 minutes.
3. Cover and ferment for an hour. Fold and then ferment for another hour.
4. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. First piece should be around 290g . Divide the other 3 pieces in equal parts. Shape the large dough into a ball. Shape the three smaller dough pieces into blunt cylinders. Cover and rest for 20 minutes.
5. Flatten the large dough ball and place it into a baking paper, lined in a 7 inch cake tin. Roll out the three smaller dough pieces to around 60cm. Braid them together. Lay the braid on top of the flat dough piece. Try to get it as close to the sides of the tin as possible.
6. For the cream cheese filling, in a stand mixer, mix the cream cheese until smooth. Then add sugar, and continue mixing. Add the whipping cream, continue mixing at low speed. Add in the egg consecutively while mixing. Then lastly, pour the URC Daisy Cake Flour along with the vanilla extract. 
7. Fill up the dough with the cream cheese filling. Cover & ferment for 1 and a half hours. During the final hour of fermentation, you can preheat your oven to 160C or 320F. (NOTE: Use a thick tray as your base to help bake the bottom of the braided bread.)
8. Brush with the egg yolk & milk glaze. Bake for around 50 minutes or until the inner temperature reads above 92C (197F). Brush the edge with oil as soon as it comes out of the oven. Set in the tin for 10 minutes before removing. Finally, put the raisins on top of the brioche for finishing touches.