Matcha Christmas Tree Bread

Everyone loves playing with dough. It's the best part of bread baking and the creativity is endless. It's even better when it tastes good and adds fun to a party. My dough rose so well, it came out an "obese" Christmas tree, as my son called it. Next time, I'll have to make the branches thinner.

• Ready In: 4 hrs 30 mins
• Serves: 8
• Yields: 1 bread

Ingredients

• 1  cup water
• 4  teaspoons  oil, 56g (half vegetable oil and half butter)
• 3  cups bread flour, 360g (up to half can be wholewheat flour)
• 3  teaspoons  japanese  green tea powder (matcha)
• 1 3⁄4 teaspoons salt
• 2  teaspoons sugar
• 2 1⁄2 teaspoons  yeast
• 1⁄2 cup dried cranberries, chopped
• 6  plum tomatoes, halved

Directions

1. Put into the bread machine the water, oil, flour, tea powder, salt, sugar, yeast, and dried cranberries. Use the dough cycle.
2. Form the resulting dough into a tall triangle lying down on a floured pan. With scissors, cut 5 branches on each side. Pat flour on each branch and twist and swirl it outward.
3. For the top end, pinch to form a tree top. For the lower end, tuck all the leftover dough under the tree trunk.
4. Cut small openings and insert tomato halves.
5. Place in a warm place until doubled in size. Spray with water and bake at 180degrees 20-30min. (Or until the color is right and inside measures 80 degrees Celsius.).