According to Sara Sabo, “It is a lot of work but the Swedish tomte that lives under the floorboards helps, and you better do your part or the Jul goat will butt you. This is the day all distant relatives and many friends decide they want to be Swedish.” With that kind of intro, wouldn’t you be intrigued? Sara sent me her 40-year-old recipe for making this cardamom spiced yeast bread and I’ve now made three batches (with some recipe tweaking on my part). By the way, this pastry wreath is known both as a “tea ring” or a “coffee bread.” It has neither tea nor coffee in it, but is a lovely pastry to eat accompanied by either coffee or tea. Sara tells me that the bread is typically braided and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, but she likes to roll it up like a jelly roll and form it into a wreath. Cardamom is the essential spice in the dough, but pretty much anything goes for the filling. She recommends raisins, cinnamon sugar, and sliced almonds. Little dabs of almond paste in the filling is lovely as well. I made the bread both ways, simply braided, and stuffed and formed into a wreath, and all of the loaves were great. You can get creative with this one. Sara has made it with a cream cheese filling too, with a little sugar, egg yolk, and a dash of vanilla, then added some diced apples or peaches. For a multi-day bake, shape the dough a day ahead and do the second proofing in the fridge overnight. Cover your proofing dough with greased plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. Alternately, you can freeze your shaped, unproofed loaf 1 month in advance. Make sure it’s well sealed from the elements, and let thaw and rise on your counter at room temperature before baking.

Adaptations to Try

Here are some variations suggested by our wonderful readers!

Make the tea ring without the frosting glazeUse pearl sugar with the egg washSprinkle red hot candies on the glazeAdd lemon zest and a hint of lemon extract in the dough, dried blueberries and cranberries in the filling, and another hint of lemon in the icing.For a festive look, decorate with green and red maraschino cherries, alternating them around the top of the ring before icingUse cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice in the dough instead of cardamomTry a raspberry cream cheese fillingFill with cinnamon and sugar

Shaping the Tea Loaves

If you want to make a braided loaf, you can do so pretty easily. If you’ve ever braided, hair, it’s a similar process. First divide your dough into 3 equal parts. Shape each into a long rope. Then, lay the 3 strands side by side. Pinch the 3 of them together on top. Next, take the right strand and move it over the middle strand. It now becomes the middle strand! Then, take the left strand and move it over the middle strand. Now it becomes the middle strand. Repeat, alternating from right to left strands until the whole thing is braided. Then, pinch together the other end. Voila! You have a braided loaf. Adjust the strands and tuck the end under, if you wish. At this point, you can leave it as a long loaf or tuck the braided loaf end to end to make a braided ring. Then, leave the loaves covered in a warm place to rise for at least 45 minutes before baking. Are you a visual person? A video might help. If you’re short on time or energy, just shape them into long oblongs or pop the dough into 2 greased and floured loaf pans and let rise that way. Bake them like you would any other loaves of bread.

More Recipes Perfect for Afternoon Coffee

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars with Streusel Topping Classic Coffee Cake Fresh Apple Bundt Cake Plum Walnut Skillet Cake Blueberry Buckle

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup (100g) white sugar

1/2 cup (113g) butter

2 packets (14g) active yeast, dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water

About 4 cups (560g) all-purpose flour

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

For the filling (if making a wreath):

2 tablespoons melted butter

1/4 cup (54g) packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon white sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup golden raisins, optional

1/2 cup slivered almonds, optional

1/4 cup almond paste, optional

For the egg glaze:

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons cream

For the (optional) sugar glaze:

1 cup (115g) powdered sugar

1 tablespoon water

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. 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. 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. Repeat the steps with the rest of the dough, to form a second wreath. 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.