Christmas Bread
Christmas is the one time of year people bake bread to give away: a stollen for the neighbors, a star bread for the table, a braid torn apart before dinner. Most of these twenty-seven are rich yeast doughs that rise slowly, so plan a day ahead. One section skips the yeast entirely.
Start With These Six
One from each section below, from a hand-mixed panettone to a rosemary roll wreath. Start here if December only has room for one loaf.
Homemade Panettone (No Mixer)
Three doughs, all mixed by hand, build a tall, feathery panettone full of candied orange, citron and vanilla bean. A pinch of diastatic malt in the biga helps the yeast through the long rises.
Brioche Christmas Tree
Balls of orange-zest brioche bake into a tree you pull apart at the table, finished with powdered sugar and curls of zest. It looks like a bakery window and needs no braiding.
Cranberry Orange Babka
Fresh and dried cranberries swirl through an orange-zest dough, and the twist shows ruby stripes the moment you slice it. Let it cool completely and the slices come out clean.
Eggnog Pull-Apart Bread
Stacked slices of eggnog dough with butter, nutmeg and pecans pull apart in sticky, glazed layers. The dough keeps in the fridge for up to three days, which suits the busiest week of December.
Gingerbread Loaf
A dark molasses loaf with ginger, cinnamon and clove, made on white whole wheat flour and sweetened with coconut sugar. KAMUT flour in its place bakes a nuttier, more buttery crumb.
Holiday Rosemary Bread Wreath
Soft rolls with chopped fresh rosemary bake in a ring, then get brushed with butter and parmesan. Tuck rosemary sprigs between them and the bread basket doubles as a centerpiece.
European Christmas Breads
Six loaves from across Europe, from German stollen and Italian panettone to a Czech braid and a Greek round. Most keep for days, and the stollen keeps for weeks.
Homemade Panettone (No Mixer)
Three doughs, all mixed by hand, build a tall, feathery panettone full of candied orange, citron and vanilla bean. A pinch of diastatic malt in the biga helps the yeast through the long rises.
Christmas Stollen with Marzipan
Rum-soaked raisins and two ropes of marzipan fold into an all-spelt dough before the butter and powdered sugar coat. Swap in KAMUT flour, another ancient wheat, for part of the spelt.
Julekake (Norwegian Christmas Bread)
Cardamom carries this Norwegian loaf, studded with raisins and candied citrus and sliced thick. Kathie checks it with a thermometer, so there is no guessing when it is done.
Vánočka (Czech Braided Christmas Bread)
A Czech braid stacked in tiers, each one smaller than the last, then crusted with slivered almonds. Lemon zest and nutmeg keep the yolk-rich crumb from tasting heavy.
Christopsomo (Greek Christmas Bread)
Honey and olive oil sweeten this Greek round, scented with anise and orange and crowned with a dough cross and a single walnut. It slices clean for the holiday table.
Povitica (Walnut Cinnamon Swirl Bread)
Dough stretched paper-thin, spread with honey-walnut filling and rolled into a spiral that shows in every slice. Plan on most of a day; the slices are the payoff.
Feed the yeast, brown the crust
Butter, eggs and sugar slow a holiday dough down. Diastatic Malt Powder is 100% malted barley flour, and its enzymes turn starch into sugar the yeast can eat, so the dough rises stronger and the crust bakes a deeper gold. About 1 teaspoon per 3 cups of flour is plenty.
Christmas Wreaths, Braids and Star Breads
Breads that double as decorations: a cardamom braid, apple-centered wreaths, two star breads and a brioche tree. Each one is plain dough until the shaping, which is where the show happens.
Brioche Christmas Tree
Balls of orange-zest brioche bake into a tree you pull apart at the table, finished with powdered sugar and curls of zest. It looks like a bakery window and needs no braiding.
Finnish Pulla (Braided Cardamom Bread)
Freshly crushed cardamom perfumes this glossy braid, a Christmas tradition in Cassie's Finnish family. Scatter coarse sparkling sugar over the egg wash for a crackly top like a Finnish bakery's.
Christmas Bread Wreaths with Baked Apples
Individual cinnamon-sugar wreaths, each woven around a baked apple half, so every guest gets a whole one. Set one at each place for Christmas brunch.
Chocolate Hazelnut Star Bread
Layers of chocolate hazelnut spread twist into a star from a six-ingredient dough that happens to be vegan. Pull off a point and the layers come with it.
Cranberry Eggnog Braid
Eggnog stands in for the milk, so the braid tastes of nutmeg before the eggnog glaze goes on. The recipe makes two loaves, which means one to give away.
Cinnamon Star Christmas Bread
The classic cinnamon star, built from a yolk-rich dough and dusted with powdered sugar. Bold Saigon cinnamon in the filling makes the swirl stand out; use a little less than the recipe asks.
Christmas Babka and Swirl Loaves
Rolled, filled and twisted, so every slice shows the swirl. Cranberry orange, dark chocolate and an eggnog loaf with a cinnamon spiral.
Cranberry Orange Babka
Fresh and dried cranberries swirl through an orange-zest dough, and the twist shows ruby stripes the moment you slice it. Let it cool completely and the slices come out clean.
Chocolate Babka
Dark chocolate, cocoa and cinnamon fill a lemon-scented dough, brushed with syrup straight from the oven so the crust stays glossy. Dutch-process cocoa in the filling gives a darker, smoother swirl.
Eggnog Cinnamon Swirl Bread
A cinnamon-sugar spiral runs through eggnog-enriched dough, with streusel on top and an eggnog glaze over that. Toast a slice the morning after.
Christmas Pull-Apart and Monkey Breads
Bread nobody slices. Four sweet and two savory, every one meant to be torn apart by hand at the table.
Eggnog Pull-Apart Bread
Stacked slices of eggnog dough with butter, nutmeg and pecans pull apart in sticky, glazed layers. The dough keeps in the fridge for up to three days, which suits the busiest week of December.
Pull-Apart Gingerbread Loaf
Molasses and ginger in the dough, brown sugar spice butter between every layer, cream cheese icing on top. Gingerbread you tear by hand instead of cutting into shapes.
Make-Ahead Monkey Bread
From-scratch monkey bread that rises overnight in the fridge, the way Jami's family has made it on Christmas morning for thirty years. Royal Cinnamon in the coating gives it a bolder spice.
Tsoureki Christmas Tree
Greek tsoureki dough, scented with mahlepi and vanilla and packed with candied fruit, shaped into a tree of rolls and striped with glaze. Each branch pulls off as one soft roll.
Cheesy Garlic Christmas Tree Pull-Apart Bread
Mozzarella hides inside every roll of this tree, brushed with garlic herb butter and parmesan. Put it out with the appetizers and it tends to vanish branch by branch.
Pull-Apart Garlic Bread Wreath
A cheesy garlic ring baked around a bowl of marinara for dipping, with dairy-free swaps in the post. Pass it around the room with the sauce in the middle.
Christmas Quick Breads
No yeast and no rise, just a bowl and a loaf pan. Gingerbread, eggnog and chocolate peppermint for anyone who wants bread by lunchtime.
Gingerbread Loaf
A dark molasses loaf with ginger, cinnamon and clove, made on white whole wheat flour and sweetened with coconut sugar. KAMUT flour in its place bakes a nuttier, more buttery crumb.
Grain-Free Eggnog Cinnamon Bread
Almond and coconut flour make this eggnog loaf grain-free, with maple for sweetness and a cinnamon ribbon through the middle. A good Christmas brunch pick for guests who skip grains.
Chocolate Peppermint Bread
A fudgy cocoa loaf full of dark chocolate chips, topped with peppermint glaze and crushed candy canes. Swap half the cocoa for Black Cocoa and the slices bake nearly black.
Christmas Dinner Breads
For the Christmas dinner bread basket: a rosemary roll wreath, a focaccia dressed as a wreath and a pan of soft rolls.
Holiday Rosemary Bread Wreath
Soft rolls with chopped fresh rosemary bake in a ring, then get brushed with butter and parmesan. Tuck rosemary sprigs between them and the bread basket doubles as a centerpiece.
Festive Christmas Focaccia
Four ingredients and an overnight rest make the dough; rosemary and cherry tomatoes on top make the wreath. A little diastatic malt in the dough gives the crust a deeper gold.
Soft Homemade Dinner Rolls
Plain, soft, butter-brushed rolls are what most Christmas tables actually run out of first. Mix them by hand or in a bread machine, and rewarm them right before dinner.
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We've Got Answers
What is the difference between stollen and panettone?
Stollen is German: a dense, buttery yeast loaf folded around dried fruit, nuts and often a rope of marzipan, then brushed with butter and buried in powdered sugar. It keeps for weeks and many bakers let it rest before slicing. Panettone is Italian: tall, domed and airy, studded with candied citrus and raisins, baked in a paper mold and hung upside down to cool so it does not collapse.
Why does Christmas bread dough rise so slowly?
Butter, sugar and eggs are what make holiday bread rich, and all three slow yeast down. Sugar pulls water away from the yeast and fat coats the gluten. Give the dough a warm spot around 75 to 80°F and judge the rise by size, not the clock. Yeast made for sweet doughs helps, and so does a little diastatic malt, about 1 teaspoon per 3 cups of flour.
How far ahead can you make Christmas bread?
Most yeast breads and quick breads freeze well for about three months, wrapped tightly in plastic and foil. Thaw them wrapped at room temperature, then warm in a 300°F oven for about 10 minutes. Add glaze or powdered sugar after thawing. Stollen is the exception that needs no freezer: well wrapped, it keeps for two to three weeks in a cool spot.
How do you know when an enriched bread is done?
Go by color and temperature. The crust should be a deep golden brown, and an instant-read thermometer in the center should read about 190°F. Sugar and eggs brown fast, so if the top darkens before the middle is done, lay a sheet of foil loosely over it and keep baking.
How do you shape a Christmas star bread?
Roll the dough into four equal circles and stack them with filling between each layer, leaving the top bare. Set a small glass in the center and cut sixteen strips from the glass to the edge. Twist each neighboring pair of strips away from each other twice, then pinch the ends together to make eight points. Proof, brush with egg wash and bake.
Can you make Christmas bread without a stand mixer?
Yes. Rich doughs are sticky, so knead by hand for 10 to 15 minutes and work the butter in a little at a time, or use a few rounds of stretch-and-folds during the first rise. Brioche-style doughs like babka are much easier to roll after a night in the fridge. The quick breads on this page only need a bowl and a spoon.
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What Is Diastatic Malt Powder?
How a teaspoon of malted barley feeds the yeast and browns the crust.
Bread
The Best KAMUT Flour Recipes
Breads, pancakes and cakes that put the ancient wheat to work.
Malted Milk Powder Recipes
Cookies, cakes and shakes with that toasty diner-malt flavor.
The Best Quick Bread Recipes
Banana, zucchini and lemon loaves with no yeast and no waiting.
Christmas Dessert Recipes
Cakes, pies, cookies and candy for the whole December table.