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Happy Christmas! Nothing says Christmas or winter more than the smell of freshly baked bread. It’s honestly one of my favorite smells in the world because it wafts through the entire house and makes everything feel (and smell!) a little warmer and cozier!
My mom always baked fresh bread on the first snow day of the year, and I want to carry on that tradition with all of you! So today, we’re bringing the yummiest Christmas and winter bread recipes here, so you can enjoy the festivities all throughout the holiday season.
Sugared Holiday Bread
Thank you Pure Wow for the recipe!
Ingredients
Dough:
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3 + ½ cups all-purpose flour
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⅓ cup nonfat dairy milk
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1.3 cup granulated sugar
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2 tsp instant yeast
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1 tsp fine sea salt
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1 cup warm water
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½ cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
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1 large egg (room temperature)
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1 + ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
Finishing:
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1 Tbsp unsalted butter (room temperature)
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Pearl sugar or sanding sugar (as needed)
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Egg wash (as needed)
Directions
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, add the flour, dry milk, sugar, yeast, salt, water, butter, egg, and vanilla. Mix on low speed until the dough comes together — about 3 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and mix until smooth dough forms — about 4 more minutes.
2. Transfer the dough to a greased bowl. Cover it with greased plastic wrap and let it rise until it doubles in size for one to one and a half hours.
3. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with the unsalted butter. Then sprinkle the sugar all over the loaf pan.
4. Once the dough has risen, pour it into the prepared pan. Cover the pan with greased plastic wrap and let it continue to rise until it’s risen to just above the top edge of the pan. This should take 30 minutes to an hour.
5. Toward the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 375°F. Remove the plastic from the surface of the dough. Egg wash the bread and sprinkle it generously with more sugar.
6. Transfer the bread to the oven and bake until the loaf is deeply golden. Let it cool for 15 minutes inside the loaf pan, then gently unmold to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Christmas Tea Ring with Raspberry Cream Cheese Filling
Thank you Pinch of Yum for the recipe!
Ingredients
Brioche Dough:
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1 cup lukewarm water
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1 packet dry active yeast
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1 + ½ tsp salt
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4 large eggs (room temperature)
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¼ cup honey
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4 + ½ cup flour
Raspberry Cream Cheese Filling:
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8 oz. cream cheese
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1 cup fresh raspberries
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⅓ cup light brown sugar
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¼ cup chopped pecans
Glaze and Toppings:
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1 cup powdered sugar
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4 tsp milk
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Additional raspberries, sliced almonds, pecans, or sugar for topping
Directions
1. Mix the water, yeast, salt, eggs, honey, and butter together in a large bowl by hand. Stir in the flour until it’s just incorporated. It will be sticky but should come together to form a very soft dough. Set the dough aside in a warm place and let it rise for about two hours. Afterward, it’s going to be too sticky to handle, so it needs to chill in the fridge for a few hours, if not overnight.
2. Mix the filling ingredients together until they’re incorporated.
3. Split the dough in half and generously flour the outside of each half so you can handle it without it sticking. Gently roll or press on a well-floured surface to form a big rectangle about ¼-inch thick. Cut the dough to create straight edges. Let it sit for another 30 minutes or so.
4. For each tea ring, spread a thin layer of cream cheese mixture (about half per half the dough) onto the dough to the edges. Starting from the longer side, roll the dough up very gently to form a long log-shaped roll.
5. Pull the log gently to make it a little longer and thinner — this makes it easier to assemble in a circle. Cut the uneven ends off with a wet knife, so you have 2 clean ends that will stick together when it’s formed into a circle.
6. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet and form it into a circle, seam side down, gently pinching the cut ends together to secure the circle. Chill the dough in the freezer for 30 minutes or so.
7. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Remove the chilled dough and cut it into 1-inch sections around the circle, going almost all the way through, but not quite. Fan out each of the sections and push it flat.
8. Brush the loaf with 1 whisked egg yolk and 1 teaspoon of milk. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the inside is just barely cooked through.
9. Whisk the powdered sugar and the milk together. Drizzle over the still-warm tea ring. Sprinkle it with almonds, raspberries, or anything else you like. Serve immediately.
Eggnog Pull-Apart Bread
Thank you The Modern Proper for the recipe!
Ingredients
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2 cups eggnog
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½ cup vegetable oil
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½ cup sugar
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1 package active dry yeast
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4 + ½ cups all-purpose flour
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½ tsp baking powder
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½ tsp baking soda
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1 + ½ tsp salt
Filling:
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1 cup butter (softened)
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2 Tbsp cinnamon
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½ tsp nutmeg
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1 cup sugar
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¾ cup pecans (finely chopped)
Glaze:
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2 cups powdered sugar
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1 Tbsp eggnog
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2 tsp rum extract (optional)
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¼ cup pecans (finely chopped)
Directions
1. Heat the eggnog, vegetable oil, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Set aside and cool. Once the mixture has cooled to 100-110°F, sprinkle the yeast on the top and let it sit on the milk for 2 minutes.
2. Add 4 cups of flour and stir until just combined. Cover it with a clean kitchen towel and set it aside in a relatively warm place for one hour.
3. Remove the towel and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and remaining ½ cup of flour. Stir thoroughly to combine.
4. Heat the oven to 350°F. Remove the dough from the pan. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 30 x 10 inches.
5. In a small bowl, combine the softened butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar until a soft paste forms.
6. Evenly spread the filling to cover the entire surface of the dough. Sprinkle with ¾ cups chopped pecans and press them lightly into the butter mixture.
7. Using a sharp knife, trim the edges of the dough so that all 4 sides have straight edges. Slice the dough vertically into about 6 equally-sized strips. Stack the strips onto one another and then slice them again into 6 stacks, now squares.
8. Grease the bread pan. Layer the stacks of bread into the pan and place the bread on the rack in the center of the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Cover with foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes until the center is no longer mushy.
9. While the bread is breaking, whisk together the powdered sugar, eggnog, and rum extract until it’s very smooth. The icing should be thick, but still pourable.
10. After the bread is finished baking and still warm, generously drizzle the icing over the top. As it sits, the bread will absorb some of the icing’s moisture and flavor. Sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup of chopped pecans.
Mini Cranberry Pistachio and Chocolate Panettone
Thank you Pure Wow for the recipe!
Ingredients
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4 cups all-purpose flour
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1 cup warm water
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½ cup granulated sugar
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2 large eggs
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2 Tbsp unsalted butter (room temperature)
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1 Tbsp instant yeast
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2 tsp fine sea salt
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Zest from 2 oranges
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Seeds from 1 vanilla bean (halved and scraped)
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¾ cup dried cranberries
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4 oz. semisweet chocolate (chopped)
Directions
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, combine the all-purpose flour, water, granulated sugar, eggs, butter, instant yeast, sea salt, orange zest, and vanilla bean seeds. Mix on low speed for 3 minutes.
2. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 3 more minutes. Add the pistachios, cranberries, and chocolate. Mix until incorporated for 1 minute.
3. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for one and a half hours. It may not double in size, but it will look noticeably puffy.
4. Divide the dough into 12 even pieces and then roll each piece into a ball. Lightly grease 12 paper baking cups and place them on a baking sheet. Gently drop a ball of dough into each cup.
5. Cover the cups loosely with the plastic wrap and let them rise in a warm place until the dough reaches the top edge of the cup, about 1 hour. Toward the end of the rest time, preheat the oven to 400°F.
6. Bake for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 325°F and continue to bake until the panettone are deeply golden brown. Bake time should be 25-30 minutes.
Homemade Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread
Thank you Pinch of Yum for the recipe!
Ingredients
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1 package active dry yeast
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½ cup warm water
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2 cups milk (scalded and cooled to lukewarm)
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¾ cup sugar 1 tsp salt
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4 eggs (beaten)
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8-9 cups sifted white flour
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½ cup melted butter
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4 Tbsp solid butter
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2 Tbsp cinnamon
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1 + ½ cup sugar
Glaze:
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1 egg (beaten)
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1 cup powdered sugar
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2 Tbsp milk or cream
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½ tsp vanilla
Directions
1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water until it’s frothy. Transfer it to a bowl of a stand mixer. Add the yeast mix, milk, sugar, salt, eggs, and 2 cups of flour and mix at low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add 3 cups of the flour and mix at a slightly higher speed. The dough should be smooth and glossy in appearance. Add the melted butter and stir in well. Mix it again and stir in the remaining flour until stiff dough forms.
2. Turn out the dough onto a surface dusted with flour. Gently toss it around a few times, so it becomes lightly coated with flour. Place it back in the mixing bowl, cover, and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
3. Knead (with your mixer, if possible) until the dough is smooth and satiny. Place the dough in a lightly greased mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Let it rise in a warm place for about an hour until it’s doubled in bulk. It should be very soft and workable.
4. On a floured surface, divide the dough into 2 parts to make 2 loaves. For each loaf, take one part at a time and roll it into a large rectangle.
5. Mix the cinnamon sugar to cover it and roll it into a log, starting on the long side. Place the seam side down on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cut diagonal slices almost down to the bottom of the log. Arrange the cut sections so that they lean to alternating sides. Let it rise for about 20 minutes to puff up a little bit. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
6. Brush the loaves with the beaten egg. Bake for 20-30 minutes on a baking stone or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Remove it from the oven when it’s a light golden brown. Let it cool slightly.
7. Whisk the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla together to make the glaze. Pour over the loaf and let it set.
Gingerbread Loaf
Thank you The Modern Proper for the recipe!
Ingredients
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¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
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2 eggs
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½ cup vegetable oil
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1 orange (zested and juiced)
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1 + ½ cups white sugar
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1 + ¾ cups all-purpose flour
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1 tsp baking soda
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1 tsp salt
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1 tsp ground cinnamon
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¼ tsp ground cloves
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2 tsp ground ginger
Cream Cheese Frosting:
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½ tsp vanilla extract
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¼ tsp salt
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3 Tbsp heavy cream
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Candied ginger (roughly chopped)
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Orange zest (mixed with 1 tsp sugar)
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Dried cranberries (roughly chopped)
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch loaf pan.
2. Place the applesauce, eggs, oil, juice, and white sugar into the Vitamix container. Select ‘Variable 1’ and turn the machine on slowly to increase the speed variable to ‘5’. Blend for 10 seconds.
3. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger to the Vitamix. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for one hour, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
4. Rinse out the Vitamix container and pour in the powdered sugar, cream cheese, vanilla extract, salt, and heavy cream. Select ‘Variable 1’ and turn the machine on slowly to increase the speed to ‘Variable 5.’ Blend for 10 seconds, until the frosting comes together.
5. Let the gingerbread cool before frosting.
6. Sprinkle the frosting with candied ginger, candied orange zest, and dried cranberries.
Christmas Bread
Thank you Taste of Home for the recipe!
Ingredients
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1 package active dry yeast
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¾ cup warm water
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¾ cup evaporated milk
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⅓ cup sugar
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⅓ cup shortening
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½ tsp salt
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2 eggs
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4 – 4 + ½ cups all-purpose flour
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1 cup chopped mixed candied fruit
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1 cup confectioner’s sugar
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¼ tsp vanilla extract
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1-2 Tbsp milk
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Additional candied fruit (optional)
Directions
1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water. Add the evaporated milk, sugar, shortening, salt, eggs, and 2 cups of flour. Beat until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the mixed candied fruit and enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough.
2. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning it once to grease the top. Cover it and let it rise in a warm place until it’s doubled, about one hour and 15 minutes.
3. Punch the dough down and turn it onto a floured surface. Knead it for 3-4 minutes. Pat evenly into a greased 10-inch tube pan. Cover and let it rise in a warm place until it’s nearly doubled, about 45 minutes.
4. Bake at 375°F for 30-35 minutes, or until it’s golden brown. Remove it from the pan and allow it to cool on a wire rack.
5. Combine the confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, and enough milk to reach the desired consistency. Drizzle it over the bread. Garnish the bread with additional candied fruit, if desired.
Are you as excited to get baking as we are? Which bread are you baking first? Comment below!
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