Classic Sweet Bread Recipe (Perfect for Christmas + Easter) (2024)

Here’s a delicious Sweet Bread recipe that’s perfect for Christmas and even Easter! This is a classic holiday bread with a subtle, sweet flavor that goes perfectly with a little butter spread and a hot cup of tea or coffee.

It’s beautifully golden brown on the outside with a slightly crispy crust and a soft, moist, and sweet inside. The bread has a beautiful texture that’s unforgettable, and the raisins add a nice touch of sourness to it which adds a bit of a varied taste.

The flavors are perfectly balanced, and it’s sweet but not so sweet that it tastes like a dessert. But it’s still a great treat on its own that your friends and family will love as an appetizer or with dinner.

What’s best is that it’s not difficult to make at all, which makes it perfect to have during the holidays when there’s so much going on! In fact, your Kitchen-Aid mixer does most of the work for you.

The yellow raisins add a beautiful touch to the flavors and add a little variation to the bread. In case you don’t like raisins, you can reduce the quantity or substitute it with some poppy seeds instead.

Interested to learn how to make this Sweet Bread? Then keep on reading!

What is Sweet Bread?

Sweet bread is a delicious quick bread with a subtly sweet that can be had during Christmas or Easter. This is also why it's often referred to as Easter Bread.

It’s essentially a yeast bread that’s made during the holidays in many European countries and many traditions accompany the use of bread for this beautiful holiday. The bread works as a perfect snack, appetizer, or side with just about any holiday dish.

And the recipe that I’m sharing with you today is an absolute classic! It’s the traditional, classic sweet bread that’s synonymous with Christmas and Easter.

The bread is light and air and works great on its own or is just sweet enough to go along with your traditional holiday dinner.

Trust me, when you make it once during Christmas it’s going to become a family tradition for you, just like it is in our house.

What Makes This Sweet Bread Recipe Special?

There are many reasons why this Sweet Bread Recipe is so special! Let’s check out some of the top reasons:

Flavorful: This sweet bread is incredibly flavorful yet subtle and classic in terms of taste. The simple but beautiful ingredients really shine through for the tastiest holiday bread you’ve ever had!

Easy: What’s incredible is that this Sweet Bread is super easy to make at home and my step-by-step instructions and pictures make it even easier! In fact, this is a recipe even a beginner can try!

Pantry-friendly: All you need are some simple, pantry staple ingredients to make this recipe at home. No need for any fancy bread flour or other ingredients that are difficult to come by.

Customizable: Want to customize your sweet bread? Well, you can! This recipe is super easy to customize and make your own. Read till the end of this post for some fun ideas to try when customizing it.

What You Need to Make Sweet Bread at Home

Making this delicious traditional Sweet Bread at home is easier than you think! All you need to make it are some readily accessible ingredients. I bet you have most of them in your pantry already! Let’s look at what these are:

For the Sweet Bread:

All-purpose flour:We’ll be using regular all-purpose flour to make this bread. We'll add the rest of the mixed ingredients as one of the last steps in this recipe.

Yeast:You’ll need active dry yeast to make this sweet yeast bread. It’s the traditional leavening agent used to make Easter bread. We’ll use 1 tablespoon of dry yeast.

Milk:We’ll be using warm milk as the base liquid in this recipe to activate the yeast. You’ll need 1 ½ cup of whole milk to make the bread.

Sugar:This helps to activate the yeast as the yeast will have something to eat. It also helps to make the bread softer as some of the liquid (milk in our case) will be absorbed by it and it slows down the formation of gluten strands.

Eggs:Eggs add an additional layer of flavor and richness to this beautiful bread.

Unsalted butter:Butter adds a delicious texture and feel to this Easter bread. We’ll be using melted and cooled unsalted butter in this recipe. Make sure to go for unsalted butter, rather than the regular salted kind so you can control the flavor. Remember, this is a slightly sweet bread and salted butter will throw off the flavor.

Salt:We’ll only need ½ teaspoon of salt to balance everything out.

Vanilla extract:A teaspoon of vanilla extract brings out all the layers and gives a very subtle vanilla flavor to the bread.

Raisins:We’ll be using golden (yellow) raisins for this recipe. I love raisins and I find that they add a beautiful, sour flavor to this sweet bread. In case you don’t like raisins, you can use poppy seeds instead.

For the Egg Wash:

Egg:We’ll be using one large egg in the egg wash. It’ll add a shine to the bread and the yolk will contribute to a golden color when the bread has baked.

Milk:We’ll also be using whole milk in the egg wash. Milk encourages browning and combined with the egg yolk, it’ll give your bread an incredible color.

Combined, these two ingredients make the perfect egg wash for that beautiful golden brown color.

How to Make the Tastiest Sweet Bread (Step-by-Step)

Making this delicious bread is easier than you think! In fact, even a beginner can bake it easily at home. Here’s what you need to do step by step to make it:

How to Prep Raisins for Sweet Bread

Let’s start by prepping the raisins!Place 2 cups of raisins into a small bowl. Pour boiling hot water until the water covers the raisins entirely.

Let the raisins soak for 15 minutes, then drain the water and rinse the raisins. Set the raisins aside, for now, we’ll use them in the recipe later.

How to Activate Yeast for Sweet Bread

Time to activate the yeast! To do this, heat milk in a small saucepan over a stovetop burner on high heat for about 30 seconds or so until the milk reaches a lukewarm temperature. The milk should be barely warm at this point.

Now transfer the milk into a small bowl. Add ¼ cup of sugar to it and stir well until the sugar dissolves entirely.

Next, sprinkle the active dry yeast over this milk-sugar mixture. Stir it in and then set it aside in a warm place for 15 minutes to allow the yeast to activate.

You’ll notice bubbles forming on the top once the yeast has activated. You’ll also be able to smell the distinctive scent of yeast once it’s done.

How to Prepare the Sweet Bread Dough

Let’s prepare our delicious, sweet bread dough. Start by melting butter in a bowl in the microwave or on the stovetop. Set it aside to let it cool down.

In the large bowl of a stand mixer, beat eggs and sugar on high for 10 minutes or until it turns foamy and pale yellow in color.

Now reduce to a low speed and slowly mix in the yeast mixture.

Continue mixing on low while adding salt and vanilla extract to this combined mixture.

Next, add the melted butter that we set aside to cool. Continue mixing the mixture at a low speed.

Finally, add raisins to this mixture. Now switch the dough hook attachment on your stand mixer. Add 1 cup of flour at a time until 6 cups of flour have been incorporated.

Continue mixing until the dough comes together and feels smooth and elastic, or until it stops sticking to the side of the bowl. This should take approximately 15 minutes.

NOTE:The dough has enough flour when it's not sticking to the spatula or fingers even if it may look and feel too soft.

Let the dough rise in a warm environment for 2 hours. Cover it with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap to let it rise.

How to Shape Sweet Bread

After the dough has risen and tripled in volume, transfer it onto a floured surface. I used alarge cutting board. Split the dough in half.

Take one-half of the dough and roll it into a log. Then split it into four equal pieces.

Roll each of the four smaller pieces into thin, long logs (about 1.5-foot-long and 1 inch thick).

Pinch the ends of all four thin logs together to start shaping them into a braid.

Braid them into a nice and even braid as is shown in the picture (I have video instructions on myInstagramaccount under the Easter Bread bubble on how to make and braid this bread).

Pinch the opposite end of the braided loaf together, then place it on a greased baking sheet.

Make and Brush On the Egg Wash:

Using ahand whisk, whisk egg, and milk together until it’s well mixed.

Brush the egg wash generously over the top of the easter bread challah.

Repeat the same steps with the second half of the dough by shaping it and brushing egg wash on top of it as we did with the first piece.

Let the braided challahs rise in a warm place for another 45 minutes to an hour. It will expand nicely and close the gaps.

How to Bake Sweet Bread

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake each pan for 25 minutes or both pans for 30 minutes rotating them 10 minutes before the baking time ends.

Remove from the oven and let them cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack before removing them from the pan.

Quick tip:line your baking sheets with parchment paper to make things easier once the bread has baked and you’re removing it from the baking sheet. The egg wash tends to run down the loaf while baking and gets stuck to the pan pretty firmly. Parchment paper goes a long way to alleviate that headache.

Tips on Making the Best Easter Bread

• This delicious Sweet bread is a yeast bread, so it’ll take some time to rise and for the yeast to work. But waiting and having patience is pretty much the only tricky part about making this bread! Everything else is incredibly easy.
• Raisins add a beautiful sour touch to this sweet bread. I’ve used golden raisins in this recipe, but you can also opt for poppy seeds if you’re not a fan of raisins.
• The dough has enough flour when it's not sticking to the spatula or fingers even if it may look and feel too soft.
• This bread needs to proof two times: first when the dough is placed in a bowl to rest for 2 bowls in a warm spot in your kitchen. The second rise is done after the egg wash is applied to the braided, shaped bread. This is for 45 minutes to an hour only.
• To learn how to braid this bread, I have made and added video instructions on myInstagramaccount under the Easter Bread bubble so you can follow along easily.
• I recommend lining your baking sheets with parchment paper to make things easier once the bread has baked and you’re removing it from the baking sheet. The egg wash tends to run down the loaf while baking and gets stuck to the pan pretty firmly. Parchment paper goes a long way to alleviate that headache.
• Enjoy this bread with some hot tea or coffee, or slightly toast with it a smear of peanut butter or almond butter on top!

Recipe Variation Ideas for Sweet Bread

This Sweet Bread recipe is perfect as an Easter Bread or for Christmas. And if you’re looking to customize it, you definitely can! Here are some ideas to try:

Add other fruits: You can add different fruits you may like to the bread, including dried cranberries, strawberries, oranges, or even lemons.

Chocolate chips: Chocolate chips work really well with the flavors in this sweet bread, and you can easily fold them into the dough before shaping it.

Glaze: If you love glaze toppings, then you can make a delicious vanilla one and drizzle it on top of the sweet bread once it’s done baking.

How to Store Leftover Sweet Bread

If you have some Sweet bread leftover, you can store it in an airtight container or bag for up to 5 days. You can use the leftovers the next day to make some delicious French toast.

You can also freeze the bread in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 2 months.

Similar Recipes

• Easy Soft and Fluffy Sweet Marbled Bread Recipe
• Sweet Farmers Cheese and Strawberry Braid
• Easy Poppy Seed Roll Recipe

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This recipe was originally posted on March 15, 2015 (original picture above). Itweaked it a bit, included tips, and tricks on making the best Easter bread your family will love. This post may contain affiliate links. Read mydisclosure.