Swedish Tea Ring

I started making Swedish tea ring when the kids were young. Soon it became a tradition every year for Christmas. It’s such a pretty bread with a touch of sweetness. And the date filling reminds me of my grandma!

If you enjoy making special foods for the holidays, check out my other posts for Spicy Holiday Corn Casserole, Thanksgiving Pilgrim Hats, and Quick Holiday Sweet Bread.

In case you don’t have experience with yeast breads, don’t worry! I’ll walk you through the steps.

Making the Yeast Dough for Swedish Tea Ring

The first step is to heat the water, milk, sugar, and butter. Heat it, but

don’t let it boil.

Then cool the liquids to lukewarm, or between 105 and 115 degrees Fahrenheit. If you don’t have a thermometer, think of this temperature as warm but not hot–like the temperature you would want a baby’s bottle to be.

Then, sprinkle the yeast on top of the liquids and wait 10 minutes, until it looks bubbly, as in the picture below:

The next tricky part about yeast bread dough is knowing how much flour to add. I advise you to use the recipe amount of flour as a guideline only. Go by the feel of the dough to know when you’ve added enough.

You might be using a mixer with a dough hook to mix and then knead. That’s what I do. But if you don’t have a mixer, do it the old-fashioned way and knead by hand on a floured board. It only takes a few more minutes.

In the following two photos, the dough is too sticky. See how it sits down in the bowl without forming a ball? And when you pinch it, it’s sticky. If you find your dough to be sticky like this, add 1/4 cup more flour at a time. See next set of pictures.

In the following two pictures, the dough forms a nice ball and isn’t sticky when you pinch it. This is what you want with a yeast dough!

You will use only half of the dough for this Swedish tea ring, so pack the other half in a piece of waxed paper sprayed with cooking spray, then into a freezer Ziploc bag. Use the remaining dough within a month.

Preparing the Filling

While the dough is rising, you can prepare your date filling, since it needs to cool before you spread it on the dough.

The recipe says to stir the dates, sugar, and water until they thicken. The picture on the left shows how thick you should expect the sauce to get.

After the date mixture is thick, add the chopped nuts.

Raisins make a suitable substitute for dates, or you could use a cinnamon sugar filling if you prefer as well.

Shaping the Swedish Tea Ring

After the dough has risen, press it into a 15X9-inch rectangle. Next, spread the cooled filling evenly on top, making to sure to cover the area as far to the right and left as possible.

You will then roll up the rectangle, beginning with the long edge.

Pinch the folded edge, and then form the dough into a ring. Make snips with a scissors 1 inch apart and 2/3 of the way through, all the way around the circle.

Next, twist each section slightly.

Before baking, the tea ring should look like this:

Cut a piece of tin foil to cover the edges of the tea ring, leaving the center uncovered:

Have the glaze mixed up and ready to pour on the bread when it is warm out of the oven.

Enjoy the Swedish tea ring, and make it a new tradition in your house!

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

Swedish Tea Ring

October 18, 2020

by pamnordbergblog

Cuisine American

Category Food Holiday Recipes

Persons

16

Serving Size

1 slice

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

2 hours

Total Time

2 hours, 30 minutes

Ingredients

• Dough:
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup butter
• 2 1/4 tsp (1 packet) yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 3 1/2-4 cups flour
• Filling:
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup unsweetened chopped dates
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• Glaze:
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 Tbsp milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Instructions

1. Dough:
2. Heat water, milk, sugar, and butter and cool to lukewarm, 105-115 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. Sprinkle yeast on top of liquid and wait 10 minutes until bubbles form.
4. Add salt and egg; stir.
5. Mix in flour until dough is not sticky. Knead until smooth and elastic, 1 minute with mixer or 5 minutes by hand on floured board.
6. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 1/2 hours.
7. Filling:
8. Chop walnuts and have them ready to stir in; set aside.
9. Heat dates, sugar, and water, stirring constantly until thickened.
10. Remove from heat and stir in nuts; cool.
11. Glaze:
12. Mix all ingredients thoroughly.
13. To Assemble Tea Ring:
14. When dough is done rising, roll out into 15×9-inch rectangle.
15. Spread filling evenly over dough.
16. Roll up, beginning with long edge.
17. Pinch edge after rolling up to seal it.
18. Form dough into a circular shape on parchment paper-covered cookie sheet.
19. With a kitchen shears, snip at 1-inch intervals, 2/3 of the way through the ring.
20. Turn each section on its side.
21. Cover edges only with tin foil
22. Bake @ 375 degrees 25-30 minutes.
23. Pour glaze over top while tea ring is still warm.
24. Garnish with maraschino cherries, if desired.

Nutrition Facts

Swedish Tea Ring

Serves: 16

Amount Per Serving: 1 slice
Calories		253
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 6g		9.2%
	Saturated Fat 3g	15%
	Trans Fat
Cholesterol 24mg		8%
Sodium 150mg		6.3%
Total Carbohydrate 47g		15.7%
	Dietary Fiber 1.5g	4%
	Sugars 21g
Protein 4.5g

Vitamin A 45 IU		Vitamin C
Calcium 23mg		Iron 23mg

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Nord Hill Passions and Pursuits

Tags

appetizer,

bread,

Christmas,

dessert,

picnic,

potluck,

sweet bread,

Thanksgiving,

yeast bread

https://nordhillpassionsandpursuits.com/swedish-tea-ring/