Christmas Bread

Making homemade bread has become a holiday tradition to give out as gifts to friend and family. This Christmas Bread is perfect for that because of the fun and festive colors. We have used Funfetti sprinkles to make Funfetti Dip Recipe and Homemade Funfetti Cupcake Recipe so I knew everyone would love this bread.

Quick breads are perfect because there is not need to use active dry yeast. Try these other simple bread recipes, Blueberry Banana Bread and Chocolate Banana Bread. You may even like this Christmas Bundt Cake.

Why Make This Christmas Bread

We love to make this Christmas Bread because of the simple pantry ingredients and everything combines easily for a bread that everyone will love. This bread is full of sweet flavors and has a soft crumb.

We also love to double to recipe and wrap up and hand out as gifts. We have even made it in mini loaf pans for the perfect bread to share.

Ingredients

• All Purpose Flour – Feel free to substitute with whole wheat flour or gluten-free flour. Bread flour can be used but the texture and consistency of the bread could change.
• Baking Powder and Baking Soda – See The Best Baking Soda Substitutes if you are out
• Butter – We used unsalted butter that has been softened
• Granulated Sugar – You can substitute with brown sugar or honey
• Whole Milk – Substitute with almond milk or and dairy free milk of your choice which adds moisture to the bread
• Christmas Sprinkles – Use the color of sprinkles that you prefer

Scroll to the bottom for the full recipe and ingredients in the recipe card.

Variations Ideas

• Topping – You can easily serve this bread with no topping or top with a cream cheese glaze. We have even topped the bread batter with a cinnamon sugar mixture for a delicious cinnamon bread.
• Additions – We love the addition of sprinkles, but you can also add in chocolate chips, chopped nuts such as walnuts, pecans, orange peel or slice almonds, dried fruit, currants, or golden raisins.
• Spices – Feel free to add in different spices to change the flavor. Nutmeg is a great addition to this bread as it pairs perfectly with cinnamon. I would add in ¼ teaspoon if you prefer the delicious variation.

How to Make Christmas Bread

• Step 1 – Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and spray a 9X5 loaf pan with a non-stick cooking spray.  Set aside. 
• Step 2 – In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon and salt. 

Step 3 – In a separate bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, beat on low speed together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 

Step 4 – Add in the eggs, teaspoon vanilla extract, sour cream and milk. Mix until just combined.  

Step 5 – Then add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir in with a spatula or wooden spoon until just combined. 

Step 6 – Gently stir in ½ cup of the sprinkles into the bread dough. Make sure not to over mix or the sprinkles might bleed into the batter. 

Step 7 – Pour the batter into a prepared pan. Bake for 60-70 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. 

Step 8 – Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then carefully move it to a wire rack to cool completely. 

• Step 9 – While the bread is cooling, whisk together the glaze ingredients in a mixing bowl. 
• Step 10 – Spread the glaze over the cooled bread and top with the remaining sprinkles.  The combination of confectioner’s sugar, vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons milk makes a delicious glaze.
• Step 11 – Then the bread is ready to slice, serve and enjoy! 

Recipe Tips

• Baking Bread – If the top of the bread is getting too brown when baking and the inside is not cooked through, tent the loaf pan with foil to finish baking until the bread is cooked through. Baking time will vary depending on the size of pan that you use. We like to insert a toothpick in the center and if it is clean then the bread is finished baking.
• Prepare Loaf Pan – So you can easily remove the bread from the pan for serving, we recommend spraying with cooking spray. Make sure all sides are coated. Another tip is to line the loaf pan with parchment paper with some of the parchment paper hanging over the sides. This allows you to easily remove the bread for slicing.

Serving Suggestions

We love making this Homemade Christmas Bread and serve it with Sausage and Egg Breakfast Casserole with a Christmas Fruit Salad and Fruit and Yogurt Parfait.

This sweet bread is also delicious sliced and serve as a dessert with a cup of coffee made with Homemade Coffee Creamer Recipe.