The list of best bread recipes for Christmas, from sweet panettone, stollen bread, cinnamon rolls, star or pumpkin bread to savory Christmas tree bread, cranberry pull apart, or dinner rolls that are perfect for your Christmas dinner.
While you are here, don't miss to check out the special and delicious Christmas dinner recipes (complete dinner menu), the best Christmas dessert recipes.
Christmas Bread with Fruit (Fruit cake)
Fruit bread also called fruit cake is a traditional Christmas bread or holiday bread made using candied or dried fruits, nuts, and spices. You can serve this as an after-meal dessert or even give it to your friends and family in the form of Christmas gifts.
We have the moist rum cake, vegan fruit and nut cake, Italian panettone, fresh fruit bread, pumpkin bread with cranberries and nuts.
Moist Rum Cake or Fruit Cake
This easy Christmas cake is the best traditional fruit cake that is moist and highly flavorful. You can’t stop eating after you have tried one slice.
Check out this recipe.
Plum Cake or Eggless Fruit Cake
Eggless Christmas Fruit Cake is a special treat for all those who asked me for a no-egg no-alcohol version of traditional Christmas cake.
Check out this recipe.
Crisp Cinnamon Apple Bread
Cinnamon Apple Bread with crisp topping is an easy-to-make quick bread that tastes amazingly delicious. It is super moist and buttery with a cake-like texture, filled with apple pieces, and topped with cinnamon crumbles. This apple crisp bread is one of the best dessert recipes to try with apples this Fall and Thanksgiving. You can also serve it with a cup of hot tea or coffee.
Check out this recipe.
Peanut Butter Banana Bread
Peanut Butter Banana Bread is a moist and quick bread recipe that incorporates the rich and nutty peanut butter flavor. This can be enjoyed for breakfast, snacks, or as an after-meal dessert—one of the best treats for all peanut butter lovers.
Check out this recipe.
Traditional Italian Panettone
Panettone Cake is an Italian sweet bread dessert that is light and fluffy, packed with candied fruits, and full of festive flavors. One of the best and unique, fun dessert recipe to try for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Check out this recipe.
Holiday Pumpkin Cranberry Bread
Pumpkin Cranberry Bread or Holiday Bread is a quick and delicious, moist bread recipe where the crunchiness of the nuts is combined with the tanginess of cranberries and the aromatic, sweet fall flavors, making it one of the best desserts to try for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.
Check out this recipe.
Christmas Savory Bread Recipes
These Christmas savory breads are served as a part of your holiday meal. You can serve this as a side with soup or salad or to soak up that gravy from your roast. Try our festive-themed pull-apart bread, mini dinner rolls, Austrian Vienna bread, artisan pumpkin bread loaf, challah bread, classic buttermilk biscuits, easy cornbread, and rosemary garlic focaccia.
Christmas Tree Pull Apart Bread
Christmas Tree Pull-Apart Bread is easy to make, beautiful, and a delicious recipe that will be a total crowd-pleaser at your holiday dinner table.
Check out this recipe.
Artisan Pumpkin Bread
Bake the Best Pumpkin Bread Recipe this fall and holiday season. This hearty loaf of bread has a perfect balance of earthiness and flavor of pumpkin and a warm color. Enjoy this easy and vegan pumpkin bread with a warm bowl of soup or pumpkin butter, butter, apple butter, or any jam you choose.
Check out this recipe.
Cranberry Pull Apart Bread
Savory Cranberry Pull Apart Bread is a delectable side dish or appetizer filled with cranberries and cheese that you can prepare any time of the week. There is no way one bite would be enough. This can be served as a side with your favorite lunch or dinner entree.In short, a perfect addition to football, Thanksgiving, Christmas parties, gathering or meal. This pull aprt bread is going to be a smashing success.
Check out this recipe.
Easy Challah Bread
Challah bread is soft, delicious, easy to make, rich, and slightly sweet, braided Jewish bread—a showstopper bread at your dinner table.
Check out this recipe.
Parker House Rolls
Parker House Rolls, Boston Based rolls are soft, irresistable and delicious, buttery and classic dinner rolls that are slighlty sweet and have a crispy exterior.These rolls are super easy to make and gets over in no time. One of the best rolls or buns recipe that can be served as a side dish for Thanksgiving, Christmas or any get together, parties
Check out this recipe.
Dinner Rolls
Classic and Best Dinner Rolls Recipe. These homemade yeast rolls are soft and light, fluffy and buttery, easy to make. You need only six ingredients to make these mini dinner rolls. The best rolls to serve for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, and Easter brunch.
Check out this recipe.
Buttermilk Biscuits From Scratch
Make the best and easy homemade buttermilk biscuits from scratch this Thanksgiving and Christmas to suck up all those gravy and drippings left on your plate from turkey or any meat.
Check out this recipe.
Honey Butter Bread Rolls
Honey Butter Rolls are soft, fluffy, rich, and buttery rolls with the right amount of sweetness made using only seven ingredients. These golden honey yeast rolls are better than store-bought ones. It is a total crowd-pleaser at your dinner table and adds a touch of sweetness to your meal.
Check out this recipe.
Potato Dinner Rolls
Potato Rolls are bread rolls with a soft and tender texture, sweet and rich flavor. The addition of mashed potatoes takes these dinner rolls to the next level. Add this to your Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner menu. A total crowd-pleaser.
Check out this recipe.
Homemade Cornbread
Easy homemade cornbread presented below is soft on the inside with crispy and crunchy edges on the outside.Cornbread can be served for breakfast or as a side for lunch or dinner or on its own with a dab of butter and a drizzle of honey.Cornbread bread also makes a perfect combination with chili, soup, or your favorite bbq meat.
Check out this recipe.
Vegan Rosemary Garlic Focaccia Bread
Rosemary Garlic Focaccia is a vegan, easy-to-make, flavorful, soft and fluffy flat oven-baked Italian bread recipe topped with fresh rosemary, garlic, and olive oil.Focaccia bread can be served with a bowl of soup, salad, pasta, or can also be used as sandwich bread, side for any meal, or base for your pizza. It also tastes great with pesto and mashed potatoes.
Check out this recipe.
Austrian Vienna Bread
Vienna Bread or Pain Viennois is an absolutely delicious Austrian bread that one must definitely not miss to try.
Check out this recipe.
Easy Sweet Bread Recipes
Sweetbreads are a delicious way to celebrate breakfast on a Christmas holiday. We have classic cinnamon rolls with brown butter, cozy apple pie filling cinnamon rolls, monkey bread pull-apart, classic brioche bread and buns, festive nutella star bread, vegan apple and date bread, pumpkin chocolate swirl bread.
Brioche Bread and Buns
Brioche Bread is a rich and classic, soft and buttery bread with a light crumb of the French origin that is delicious to eat and easy to make.This bread tastes good on its own but can also be used to make sandwiches, burgers, French toast, pudding, etc.
Check out this recipe.
Cinnamon Rolls with Brown Butter
Homemade brown butter cinnamon rolls are rich, soft, and gooey, the best and easiest sweet rolls you will make at home. The nutty and toasted flavor of brown butter enhances the taste of these baked rolls. Cinnamon buns are one of the best sweet treats or desserts to start the morning on a happy, festive note during the holiday season or any weekend morning.
Check out this recipe.
Cinnamon Rolls with Apple Pie Filling
Homemade Cinnamon Rolls with Apple Pie Filling have a rich, warm, and gooey center, golden brown edges, and cream cheese frosting on top. Start your morning with these apple cinnamon buns or serve them as an after-meal dessert. They are one of the best apple recipes you can make this fall and holiday season.
Check out this recipe.
Monkey Bread
Monkey bread is a sweet and sticky pastry that is made by rolling small pieces of dough in cinnamon sugar and then layering them in a bundt pan. As the bread bakes, the pieces stick together and form a deliciously gooey, pull-apart treat.
Check out this recipe.
Nutella Star Braided Bread
Nutella Star bread or Braided Nutella Bread is one of the most gorgeous, soft, and delicious pull-apart bread recipes you will ever make.
Check out this recipe.
Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Bread
Bake the best pumpkin chocolate chip bread recipe that is easy to make, moist, and packed with fall flavors.
Check out this recipe.
Apple Dates Bread
Apple Bread is soft and moist, easy and simple to make, and quick bread or loaf cake prepared using fresh apples, dates, and a few basic ingredients.
Check out this recipe.
Best Fruit Bread Loaf
Fruit cake is a classic dessert that is made with a mixture of fresh fruits and spices, and is prepared throughout the year with seasonal fruits. This no-knead bread cake can be prepared in under an hour and pairs really well with a hot cup of coffee or tea, or even with freshly whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream.
Check out this recipe.
More Christmas Recipes
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Recipe card
Best Christmas Bread Recipes | Holiday Bread Recipes with Easy Star Bread
The list of best bread recipes for Christmas, from sweet panettone, stollen bread, cinnamon rolls, or pumpkin bread to savory Christmas tree bread, cranberry pull apart, and dinner rolls that are perfect for your Christmas dinner.
Equipment
- Baking pan
Ingredients
For the holiday festive star bread dough
- 2 ¼ teaspoon Active dry yeast 7g
- 1 cup Warm milk
- 4 tablespoon Butter melted
- 4 tablespoon Sugar
- 1 Egg
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 3 ½ cups Flour more or less as needed
For the filling use any one option of your choice
1. For cinnamon sugar
- ¼ cup Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon powder
- 1 tablespoon Butter, softened
2. Using any one of the spreads mentioned below
- 1 cup Nutella, apple butter, pumpkin butter, lotus biscoff or peanut butter
- Any fruit based jams of your choice.
3. Holiday themed
- 2 teaspoon Orange zest
- ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon powder
- 1 tablespoon Butter, softened
- 3 tablespoon Cranberries
Other ingredients
- 1 Egg for egg wash
Instructions
Making of the dough for star bread
- Add warm milk and sprinkle the yeast in a large mixing bowl. Leave this undisturbed for 10 minutes. Let the yeast activate.2 ¼ teaspoon Active dry yeast, 1 cup Warm milk
- Add melted butter, sugar, egg, and mix. Add flour in increments along with salt and knead for 10 to 12 minutes to form a smooth and elastic dough.4 tablespoon Butter, 4 tablespoon Sugar, 1 Egg, 1 teaspoon Salt, 3 ½ cups Flour more or less as needed
- Transfer this to a lightly greased bowl. Cover and let it rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Braid star bread with filling of your choice
- Punch down the dough to a floured surface and divide it into four equal portions.
- Prepare the filling you are going to use. If it is spread, warm it in the microwave for 15 seconds.¼ cup Sugar, ½ teaspoon Cinnamon powder, 1 tablespoon Butter, softened
- Roll out one portion of dough into a 10 -12 inch circle. Transfer this to parchment paper lined on a baking pan or to a silicon mat.
- Spread a thin layer of filling, leaving a ½-inch border using a spoon.
- Roll the second portion of the dough into a circle. Place it on the previous layer and spread the filling. You can check the step-by-step picture on the making of star bread here.
- Repeat the procedure for the third and fourth portions of the dough.
- Trim the ends of the dough to create a clean circle. You can bake the leftover pieces separately.
- Place a small bowl or cookie cutter at the center of the dough as a reference.
- Leaving the center intact, use a sharp knife or pizza cutter and divide the layered dough into quarters. Divide each quarter into half and repeat until you have 16 equal parts.
- Take two neighboring strips, one in each hand, twist them twice in opposite directions of each other(away from each other), and then pinch the ends together. Repeat this for all 16 parts. You will have eight beautiful flower petals or pointed stars.
- Remove the bowl, cover this braided bread with a kitchen towel, and let it rest for about 20- 25 minutes.
Bake Holiday Star Bread
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- If the points of the star have separated while rising, pinch them again together.
- In a bowl, beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Brush the risen star bread with egg wash all over.1 Egg for egg wash
- Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Let the bread cool for 10 minutes.
- Top it with confectioner's sugar for snow effect.
Notes
- Savory bread dough can be made a day in advance and stored in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake.
- Sweet breads can be baked, packed, and stored in advance.
- For step-by-step pictures, tips, and detailed instructions you can check my nutella star braided bread recipe.
Nutrition
Calories: 377kcalCarbohydrates: 54gProtein: 12gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 156mgSodium: 411mgPotassium: 153mgFiber: 1gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 463IUVitamin C: 0.01mgCalcium: 69mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Note: We originally posted this holiday bread recipe in Dec 2015. It has now been modified in Sep 2023 with Expert Chef Tips, FAQs, Storage Instructions, etc.
Colleen
What a wonderful, mouthwatering collection. It's hard to know where to start, but I think that Nutella star braid bread is calling my name.
Dina and Bruce
So many to make. The Vienna bread is first on our list!
Cathleen
I am definitely going to be making a lot of these recipes over the holiday season. Thank you so much for sharing, this is such a great collection 🙂
Justine
That plum cake is calling my name!
Mahy
These bread recipes are amazing! I don't even know where to start. Probably... homemade cornbread... so good!