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Mom’s Homemade Bread & a Mother’s Day Gift Guide!

Mom's Homemade Bread by Wood and Spoon blog. This is a recipe excerpt from Her Daily Bread, a simple wheat loaf with added flaxseed meal, honey, and olive oil. Learn how simple homemade bread to make from scratch on thewoodandspoon.com

If words like Mom’s Homemade Bread don’t stop you in your tracks, you just haven’t had it like my Mom’s. Growing up, my mom didn’t spend a whole lot of time in the kitchen, but homemade sandwich bread was a speciality that I have relished over the years, so much so that I included a recipe inspired by hers in my new book, “Her Daily Bread.” Today, in honor of my mom and all the woman who we will honor in a couple of weeks for Mother’s Day, I’m sharing a simple recipe in addition to a fabulous gift guide for the moms who have it all. First up: the gifts!

A Mother’s Day Gift Guide

A Potted Tree. If you’ve got a mom with a green thumb and a brightly lit home, consider a tree that will grow well indoors like this arbequina olive tree. If she doesn’t have a green thumb, just consider a faux one instead.
Floral Dinnerware. Any mom with an eye for soft colors and feminine florals will love these on her spring and summer table!
Personalized Stationary. The gift that keeps on giving, in my opinion, is always stationary. I’ve loved these watercolor notecards that come in a variety of prints.
Adirondak Chairs. Durable outdoor seating was a gift of choice for our parents last year, and I loved them so much that I’ve decided to invest in a set of my own.
Floral Earrings. The resin flowers on these earrings are interchangeable and come in a variety of colors to match Mom’s favorites.
Airy Button-down Sundress. This pale blue dress from Zara is one of my favorite spring purchases- comfortable, lightweight, and not at all form-fitting.
Radiance Face Mask. I’ve been supporting Tata Harper products here for a long time now, and this gentle mask for sensitive skin is one of my new favorites.
Rattan Purse. With summer just around the corner, give mom a gift she’ll hold close anytime she leaves the house.
Her Daily Bread. With 365 daily readings, many that reflect family, motherhood, and womanhood, Her Daily Bread is a thoughtful gift for any woman on Mother’s Day.
Stoneware Canisters. Are they for the kitchen? The bathroom? Who cares! These canisters from Crate and Barrel are beautiful and would make a great gift for Mom.

Mom’s Homemade Bread

I adore this recipe inspired by my Mom’s homemade bread. The wonderful thing about recipes that are even kinda handed-down is that newer generations get to enjoy them. I love getting to make this bread for my own family, especially know how loaves of it used to feed me in my own mom’s kitchen.

I’m keeping today’s post short and sweet, but you can read more about this recipe in my new book, Her Daily Bread, which is available everywhere. (Bonus: it contains over 50 other delightful recipes that are ready to share!) Check out a copy at your local bookstore or online here. Happy early Mother’s Day and happy baking to you all!

If you like this recipe for mom’s homemade bread, you should check out:

Buttermilk Bread
Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
English Muffin Bread
Honey Oat Bread
Flaxseed Bread

Mom’s Homemade Bread & a Mother’s Day Gift Guide!

Print Recipe

This recipe, inspired by my mom’s homemade bread is a flavorful family favorite that make terrific sandwiches and even better toast!

Author: Kate Wood, an excerpt from her book, “HER DAILY BREAD”
Prep Time: 15
Cook Time: 25
Total Time: 180
Yield: 2 Small Loaves
Category: Bread

Ingredients

1–1/2 cups lukewarm water
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup honey
1 large egg
2 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
¼ cup flaxseed meal
1 tablespoon instant yeast

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir to combine the water, oil, honey, egg, and salt. Add 2 cups of the flour, the flaxseed meal, and the yeast, stirring to combine. Add 2 more cups of flour, and, using the dough hook attachment of the mixer, begin to knead the dough on medium speed. If you notice the dough is still very soupy and loose, you can sprinkle in a little more flour 2 tablespoons at a time until it comes together into a soft stretchy dough. Knead for a total of 6 minutes or until the dough stretches slightly when you pull the dough hook out of the bowl. Lightly grease a separate large bowl with cooking spray and dump the dough into that bowl. Use a sheet of plastic wrap or a large tea towel to cover the top of the bowl and set it aside in a warm area of your kitchen to allow it to rise until doubled in size, about 1-1/2 – 2 hours total.
Once the dough has puffed and risen to double its size, lightly sprinkle a counter with flour and dump the contents of the bowl onto your prepared workspace. Use a knife to cut the dough into two equal-sized pieces. Lightly spray two 8”x4” loaf pans with cooking spray and begin to shape your loaves. Gently pat a single piece of dough into a small rectangle and fold the bottom third of the dough up towards the center as if you’re folding a letter. Fold the top part dough and gently pinch the dough to seal the seam shut. Gently roll the dough over so the seam is on the bottom and use your hands to carefully work the dough with your hands to form it into a log roughly the shape of your pan. Put the log of dough into the pan and repeat this entire process with the second piece of dough. Once each log of dough is in its respective pan, cover each with a piece of plastic wrap and set aside in a warm area of your kitchen for a second rise, about 45-60 minutes. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Once the loaves have risen and are barely doming over the lip of the pan, put the pans in the oven to bake for about 25 minutes, or until the loaves are golden and a thermometer inserted in the center of the loaf registers at 190 degrees Fahrenheit. Allow to cool in the pan for 20 minutes and then remove from the pan to cool completely. Cooled loaves can be wrapped in foil and frozen for up to six months or can be enjoyed immediately.

Orange Swirl Bread

31 Comments / Breakfast

Happy New Year, friends! I hope your midnights were filled with kisses and bubbles and all sorts of wonderful glittery things. We ate dinner with friends but were home in our pajamas eating cereal by 11:00 pm. It was GLORIOUS. I’m all about parties and fun, but it felt good to be comfortable enough to be tired and content at home. Count on more of that from me this year.

I always like to ask people what their New Year’s resolutions are, and in years past I’ve totally been one to produce a laundry list of goals. This year, instead of goals, I spent some time considering what types of things I wanted more of in 2019- what things would be productive and healthy inclusions to my coming 12 months? After loads of consideration (and, okay, a little list making), I want to share my ideas with you in hopes that you may be able to include some of these things in your own life. It felt good to be self-reflective in a loving, encouraging way, so I hope you get the opportunity to do so yourself. So here it is: my to-do list of sorts for 2019.

Cook More Real Food.

The end of 2018 saw me ordering lots of carry-out and fast food. I was exhausted from our pending move and decided to give myself a break by leaving dinners to someone else. But here’s the thing: I love to cook. In an effort to get back in my kitchen, I plan on joining Epicurious’ Cook 90 Challenge. They’ve mapped out ways to make it easier to prepare fresh, real food three times a day for an entire month. Even if I only end up cooking 75 or so meals this month, I’ll consider that a victory.

Take Better Care of Me.

When you’re a mom of two toddlers, self-care can go down the drain quickly. I spend a lot of time with greasy hair and unshaven legs because I’m really just kinda tired. My dear friend recently became really passionate about the benefits of clean skincare, so I decided to invest in a few new products that I knew were good for my body from the outside in. If this whole thing is new to you too, you can check out Follain online, which is kinda like the Sephora of clean beauty. Two of my favorite products so far are this nighttime moisturizer and this rosehip oil. I may still have fuzzy legs, but it feels good to know I’m taking a little better care of me

Get Organized.

Ok, this looks totally different for everyone. I know you’ve heard me ramble on about decluttering and my favorite day planners, but I wanted to do a little extra at the beginning of this year to stay tidy. For me, that meant closet and drawer organization. I purchased brand new velvet hangers online and invested in several sets of plastic drawer organizers. Now my closet look streamlined and my chip clips, measuring spoons, bobby pins all have a home in my drawers. I don’t know what getting organized would look like in your life, but I think that it’s sometimes healthy to have a little method to our madness.

Spend Time Connecting.

Look- 2019 was weird, y’all. I felt out of sorts and insecure and really kinda lonely at times. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m alone in this. So in 2019, I want to be more connected. For me, this means more one-on-one conversations with dear friends and more date nights with my husband. It means more time playing on the floor with my kids instead of shooing them away. It means more time praying and more time spent telling people why I love them.

A simple way to get connected? Engage in an out-of-the-box manner. I’ve long been a fan of snail mail, and I’d encourage you to consider taking time to write a note to someone you love. I adore Kate Spade notecards like these, and I have purchased multiple sets of custom watercolor stationary from my artist friend here. Put your phone down and spend some time loving someone- it’s always worth loving a little harder.

Challenge Yourself.

I think we sometimes have the tendency to play it safe. We stay on the sidelines because the possibility of failure seems kinda scary or just downright depressing. I’m planning to challenge myself more in the kitchen this year. I don’t want to stray away from recipes or skills that seem outside of my wheelhouse simply because I think I’ll fail. I want to be better! So count on me deboning whole chickens, cooking more seafood, and experimenting more with from-scratch recipe development. 100% I’m going to fail sometimes, but my bet is that I’ll surprise myself a little too and that will feel awesome. For a baking challenge, I’d encourage you to check out my cinnamon bread, tiramisu profiteroles, or maybe even today’s recipe: orange swirl bread.

Orange Swirl Bread

I actually developed this recipe for orange swirl bread for Southern Cast Iron last year. My image landed on the cover (!!!) and I have been waiting for the right time to share the recipe on this site. If you didn’t buy the magazine when it was out (how dare you, btw), you’ll finally have the chance to take a stab at this recipe yourself right here from the comfort of this site!

Making the Bread

This orange swirl bread is an airy yeast bread with orange zest, cinnamon, and sugar spiraled in the center. The dough is rolled, braided, and formed into a wreath before it’s baked in a cast iron skillet. Once golden and baked, the bread is drizzled with an orange glaze that makes the otherwise mild bread just a touch sweet. I like to serve wedges of this bread for breakfast and snack on little edge pieces in the evening as dessert. My children love feasting on this in the morning, and honestly, it’s just so beautiful that I’m really proud to serve it to anyone. You know?

Spend some time reading through the instructions for this orange swirl bread before you get started. The rising process takes time and you certainly don’t want to rush it. In a pinch, you can bake the loaf, freeze it, and rewarm to serve with the glaze at a later date. I think it tastes best warmed, but there’s no shame in grabbing a room temp piece on the go.

I can’t wait to spend more time with you all this year. I’ve got a ton of ideas and I can’t wait to connect with more of you. So happy new year, happy January, and as always, happy baking. Cheers!

If you like this orange swirl bread you should check out:

Raisin Swirl Bread

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Peppermint Bark Bread

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

Orange Swirl Bread

Print Recipe

★★★★★

4.5 from 4 reviews

This orange swirl bread has a cinnamon sugar and orange zest filling and is topped with an orange glaze. The bread is an airy braided yeast loaf!

Author: Kate Wood
Prep Time: 30
Cook Time: 40
Total Time: 240
Yield: 1 Loaf
Category: Bread

Ingredients

For the dough:

½ cup (120 mL) whole milk, lukewarm
¼ cup (50 gm) sugar
2–1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 cups (260 gm) all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, divided
½ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons (55 gm) unsalted butter, at room temperature

For the filling:

½ cup (100 gm) sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
½ cup (113 gm) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature.

For the glaze:

1 cup (120 gm) confectioner’s sugar
2–3 tablespoons orange juice

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the warm milk and half of the sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over top of the milk and allow the yeast to activate, about 5 minutes. The mixture should froth and foam slightly. You can stir it gently to make sure all the yeast has been moistened, but if the yeast does not foam, dump it out and start over. Once the yeast has been activated, stir in the remaining sugar and 1/2 cup of the flour into the milk mixture. Add 1 egg and the salt and stir to combine. On low speed, add the remaining flour and beat to combine, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Once evenly combined, increase the speed to medium (I use speed number 4 on my KitchenAid stand mixer) and add the softened butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Scrape the sides of the bowl and then continue to beat on medium speed for an additional 4 minutes or until the dough is moist, sticky, and slightly stretchy.
Lightly grease a large bowl and place the dough inside, covering it tightly with a piece of plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rest in a warm spot in the kitchen until it has approximately doubled in size, about 1-1/2-2 hours.
Once the dough has risen, roll it out into a 12”x18” rectangle on a lightly floured surface. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, and orange zest for the filling. Use the back of a fork to cut in the butter, smooshing it together to make a thick paste/spread. Spread this mixture evenly over top of the rolled out dough.
Starting with one of the long ends, roll the dough somewhat tightly into one long tube and pinch the ends of the dough to seal in the filling. Use a sharp knife to slice down the middle of the length of the dough, leaving one inch at the top of one of the ends uncut. You should end with two strands of rolled dough connected by a 1” chunk of dough at the top (this will serve as the starting point for your braid, so you want the dough to remain connected here). Turn the exposed innards of the dough roll to face upwards and then twist the dough, right over left, right over left, until the entire length of dough has been twisted into one long piece. Join the ends of the dough to make a ring, pinching the ends together slightly. Carefully transfer the ring of dough into a lightly greased 10” cast-iron skillet. Cover the skillet with a piece of plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Once the oven is preheated and the loaf has risen slight (about 40 minutes), stir the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon of water and brush a thin layer of the mixture over the surface of the dough. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until the dough is puffed and golden brown throughout. Allow to cool slightly.
Once cooled slightly, combine the confectioner’s sugar and orange juice in a small bowl, whisking until smooth. Add additional sugar, if desired, to thicken it up or extra juice to thin it out. Drizzle over top of the bread and serve. Bread is best served warm and will keep covered at room temperature for 2-3 days.

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

71 Comments / Breakfast

IT’S MOVING WEEK! I can’t believe it’s finally here. After 15 months of construction, 2 years of architectural planning, and 5-1/2 years of limbo living in our rental house, we will finally get to move into our dream house this Friday. I’m beyond excited. I’ve got those night before Christmas/ tomorrow’s my birthday/ going to a surprise party kind of jitters. Basically we’re freaking out with joy over here, okay?

Our dishes and bakeware and utensils are all packed, so we’ve been living off of carry-out and protein bars this past week. I just want to simplify everything else in life so that this move, the holidays, EVERYTHING won’t feel too big of overwhelming. Maybe a week spent eating out of greasy paper bags isn’t the best way to do it, but we’re all doing our best over here. In the meantime, I’ve started dreaming about those first few bakes in my brand spankin’ new kitchen, starting with today’s recipe for overnight cinnamon rolls. I’ve held back on this recipe for a while, because it required lots of testing to determine when and how this recipe was best prepared. Finally, with a little patience and some shopping made simple with my friends at Brandless, I landed a recipe I’m really pleased with.

Brandless is an online retailer that offer quality products at fair prices. Offering everything from gift wrap to coconut oil to dinnerware, Brandless offers hundreds of everyday essentials and better-for-you products at incredibly affordable prices. Living in a rural area often limits my access to the items I need in my home and kitchen, and with Brandless I can receive those products straight to my front door in no time. Sign me up for anything that prevents me from making one more trek to the grocery store.

To prep for the overnight cinnamon rolls, I ordered Brandless’ All-Purpose Organic Unbleached Wheat Flour, Organic Light Brown Sugar, Organic Ground Cinnamon, and Organic Cane Sugar, as well as the cute spice jars and bowl scrapers you see in the photos. With the addition of a few everyday refrigerated items, the rolls were ready for making. This is a sweet yeasted dough that is rolled out and slathered with butter, brown sugar, and heaps of cinnamon. Tight little spirals of dough are allowed to rest in a baking dish over night and are then baked in a hot oven the next morning. The result is an incredibly tender, fluffy roll loaded with flavor and a generous slathering of cream cheese icing. Yes, it’s as beyond as it sounds.

To make the overnight cinnamon rolls we start with the dough. Yeast is sprinkled to dissolve over a mixture of warm milk and water. Eggs, melted butter, and brown sugar come next before the bread flour and all-purpose flour are stirred in with some salt. The dough is kneaded for several minutes until it becomes smooth and slightly tacky. Allow the ball of dough for your overnight cinnamon rolls to rest in a covered bowl on the counter.

Once doubled in size, roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Cover the dough with melted butter and sprinkle on a generous amount of brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll the dough tightly from end to end and then slice it into 1-1/2″ sections to spread out on a lightly greased pan. Cover the pan and place it in the fridge overnight.

The following morning when you’re ready to enjoy your overnight cinnamon rolls, remove the pan from the fridge and preheat the oven. I like to stick my pan right next to the hot oven while it preheats so that it can shed some of its overnight chill. If you’d like your rolls to brown a little extra in the oven you can brush them with a water or milk. Bake in the oven until the edges have just started to bronze and the internal temperature reads 190 degrees F. A thermometer really helps here because overdone rolls are usually drier and more dense rolls too. Ew.

Whip up the icing with a little cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar. You can barely warm the icing for a thin, pourable glaze, or you can leave it thick to spread directly on top of the overnight cinnamon rolls. Your choice. Either way, you’re going to love them.

Give these overnight cinnamon rolls a try and be sure to check out all of the goodies on Brandless.com. I’m so pleased to have found a way to simplify shopping, especially this time of year, and I think you’ll agree if you give it a shot. Whip up a batch of these for Christmas morning and let me know what you think. Happy Wednesday and Happy Baking!

This post is sponsored by Brandless. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting brands that my Wood & Spoon possible!

If you like these overnight cinnamon rolls you should try:

Bananas Foster Cinnamon Rolls

Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls

Hazelnut Cinnamon Rolls

Chocolate Sweet Rolls

Orange Cardamom Rolls

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 12 reviews

Author: Kate Wood
Prep Time: 30
Cook Time: 30
Total Time: 480
Yield: 14
Category: Breakfast

Ingredients

For the dough:

1 cup (240 gm) milk, lukewarm
¼ cup (60 gm) water, lukewarm
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
6 tablespoons (85 gm)unsalted butter, melted but not too hot
1 large egg plus 2 egg yolks
1/4 cup (50 gm) brown sugar
1/4 cup (50 gm) sugar
2–3/4 cups (385 gm) all-purpose flour
1–1/2 cups (210 gm) bread flour
½ teaspoon salt

For the filling:

5 tablespoons (70 gm) unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, if desired
¾ cup (150 gm) brown sugar

For the frosting:

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
¼ cup (55 gm) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (115 gm) powdered sugar
2+ tablespoons of milk

Instructions

To prepare the dough:

In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl, combine the milk and water and sprinkle the yeast over top of it. Allow the yeast to dissolve, about 5 minutes. Stir in the butter, egg, egg yolks, and brown sugar, and sugar until smooth. In a small bowl, combine the flour, bread flour, and salt. Dump about half of the dry ingredients into the yeast mixture and stir until combined. Pour in the remaining dry ingredients and knead in the bowl using the dough hook attachment until smooth and slightly tacky, about 7 minutes. If you notice your dough isn’t pulling away from the sides of the bowl or it’s too wet, add flour 2 tablespoons at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms a little dough “tornado” around the dough hook. Once done kneading, place the dough into a large lightly greased bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap to double in size, about 1-1/2 – 2 hours.
Once the dough has risen, dump it out onto a lightly floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll it out into a large rectangle about 11”x21” in size. Pour the melted butter and spread it out over top. Combine the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and brown sugar and sprinkle evenly over the buttered dough. Starting with one of the long ends, tightly roll the dough from end to end and pinch the edges together to seal. Cut the dough into 1-1/2” sections and lay them out 2” apart in a lightly greased baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight.
In the morning, remove the rolls from the fridge and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Keep the baking dish close to the oven while it preheats to help the rolls come to room temp. Once preheated, bake in the oven for about 22-25 minutes or until the edges are barely golden and the internal temp is 190 degrees. Remove from the oven and prepare your frosting.

To prepare the frosting:

Cream the cream cheese and butter in large bowl at medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the powdered sugar and milk and beat to combine. Add additional milk to thin out the frosting or more powdered sugar to thicken it. You can also gently warm the frosting to pour over the rolls as a glaze. Cinnamon rolls are best enjoyed warm.

Blueberry Brioche

25 Comments / Breakfast

Happy Sunday, you baking fools. If the day of rest has you hankering seasonally appropriate yeast breads and some light morning reading, you have come to the right place! I have your weekend round-up of things to eat, wear, and read, plus a blueberry brioche that just might be the baking challenge your week needs. Let’s get started!

Bon Appetit’s Take on The Bachelorette

You don’t have to be an avid viewer of “The Bachelorette” to know that these people rarely eat on camera. Do they over-imbibe? Yes. Do they engage in childish antics? For sure. Do they get way too dressed for a cocktail party in their living room? 100%. But I absolutely love this list of food not eaten during the last part of Becca’s season. And PS, I’m totally making eyes at the bundt cake on Colton’s dining room table.

A French Woman’s Guide to Success in Food

It’s no secret that I secretly want to be French. For the love, I wrote a whole post about it here. In my quest to become a little more like our European friends, I’m checking out this article from Food52 about how to have success in food and life. Along those lines, check out this list of essential French recipes that every cook needs to master.

Hair Trends for 2018

I’m by no means a trend forecaster, but I love sporting a new haircut like the best of them. Check out this list from Southern Living to land a new look of your own. I’m personally leaning towards the deep side part or the wash and wear long. What do you think?

Eat Cookie Dough While You Meet Mickey Mouse

This just in: Walt Disney World is now serving cups of edible cookie dough. BRB, planning my trip ASAP. In the meantime, check out two of my favorite cookie dough recipes here and here.

2018 World’s Best US Cities

Travel + Leisure just released their annual “World’s Best” lists, and I’m scoping them all out for the low-down on where to go, what to see, and what to look forward to in my upcoming travels. I was particularly interested in this list of best US cities and was tickled to see two of my favorites recognized. For more on travel, be sure to check out my guides to Charleston, Chicago, and Portland.

What to Wear

Up until a month ago, I didn’t own a single jumpsuit, but I now have three to my name. I’m scoping out this little cutie from Madewell to be number four, and I might even pick up this apron dress while I’m at it. PS, if you’ve got the shopping fever right now, be sure to check out Nordstrom’s anniversary sale, happening right now!

Blueberry Brioche

I think we’re tough- we don’t shy away from a baking challenge. We don’t get nervous or intimidated by kitchen terminology or techniques that are foreign to us. We strap on our aprons, get our hands dirty, and resolve to master new and delicious foods. Today’s recipe for blueberry brioche is the perfect challenge to tackle this week and the outcome is nothing short of fab. Let’s chat the ins and outs.

Brioche is a French pastry-like bread that is loaded with egg and butter. Whether knotted into rolls, folded into loaves, or rolled into buns, brioche is always light, fluffy, and melt-in-your-mouth tender. If bread could be dessert, brioche would be right up there with babka. It’s that decadent.

Although cinnamon bread has been the go-to breakfast treat in our house, I wanted a secondary recipe to use up the beautiful summer produce that has been landing in my farmer’s market baskets. This blueberry brioche is the answer to that desire and I am so thrilled to share it with you today.

Making the Brioche

To make loaves of blueberry brioche, we start in the bowl of our stand mixer. Yeast is dissolved in some lukewarm milk with a bit of sugar. Once the granules of yeast have liquified, we add in the remaining sugar, some cinnamon, salt, and flour. Paddle the mixture until it comes together into a wet dough and begin adding the butter.

Chunks of room temperature unsalted butter are added to the mix until it is well incorporated, and then the dough gets worked over for a few minutes. Once thick, stringy pieces of dough are snagging the beater, we gently add a cup and a half of fresh blueberries. Warning: this part is a little tricky. The blueberries may not want to incorporate and may even burst under the pressure of your stand mixer. Feel free to use your hands to barely mix them in and then dump the mixture into a large greased bowl to rise. I leave my blueberry brioche dough to rise in a warm spot of my kitchen, usually under a warm light or next to the oven. After about and hour and a half or two hours, the dough should have doubled and you’re ready to form your loaves.

Forming the Brioche

Split the blueberry brioche dough into two equal pieces and gently pat each one out into a rectangle on a floured surface. The short end of each dough piece should be about 8″ long before you fold each piece lengthwise as you would a letter. Simply fold the bottom third up and the top third down until you have another rectangle-shaped piece of dough. Repeat this process and then work the small rectangle into a roll of dough that will fit into your greased bread pan. Cover each loaf with a sheet of plastic wrap to rise a second time.

Just before baking you can sprinkle on some crumble topping if desired. I love the extra bit of sweet and salty crust this lends each loaf of blueberry brioche, but it’s totally optional. Bake the bread in to oven until puffed, golden brown, and the inside of each loaf registers at 190 degrees. Allow the loaves to cool briefly in the loaf pans before cooling completely on a rack.

This blueberry brioche, while somewhat of a task in the kitchen, is a delicious treat that is perfect for breakfast, snacking, or even dessert. I like to toast thick slices until golden and then slather it with butter and cinnamon sugar. Regardless of your preferences, bread making is a beautiful art that, given patience, attention, and love, is really rewarding and insanely delicious. I hope you’ll take a chance on this bread and enjoy every bit of it. Happy Sunday and happy baking!

Blueberry Brioche

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 3 reviews

The recipe for blueberry brioche yields two loaves of fluffy, rich, blueberry-studded bread with a crumble topping. Simple enough for breakfast and decadent enough for dessert, this blueberry brioche is the summer bread to beat!

Author: Kate Wood
Prep Time: 30
Cook Time: 35
Total Time: 300
Yield: 2 Loaves

Ingredients

For the dough:

½ cup (80 gm) lukewarm milk (I use whole)
1/3 cup (70 gm) sugar
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2–3/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons (395 gm) all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
½ teaspoon salt
1–1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ cup (113 gm) unsalted butter, cubed and at room temperature
1–1/2 cups (225 gm) blueberries

For the topping:

5 tablespoons (40 gm) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (50 gm) sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons of heavy cream or milk

Instructions

Pour the lukewarm milk into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk in half of the sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over top of the mixture and allow it to dissolve, about five minutes. You may need to stir the yeast after a few minutes to allow it all to dissolve. Once dissolved, stir in the rest of the sugar, 1 cup of the flour, the eggs, salt, and cinnamon. Once incorporated, add in an additional 1-3/4 cups of flour, stirring on low to combine. Using the paddle attachment, increase the speed to medium (I use 4 on my mixer) and begin adding the butter a piece at a tim, stirring to barely incorporate after each addition. Continue to beat, scraping the sides of the bowl twice throughout the process, for 4 minutes or until the dough is moistened and stretchy, forming strands of stringy dough between the beater and the bowl. Toss the blueberries with the remaining 3 tablespoons of flour and stir or knead the blueberries into the dough on low speed until they’re combined and barely starting to burst. If you feel like the of the blueberries are squishing before they are incorporated, you can try to fold them in with your hands. Don’t worry- they’ll integrate well after the first rise. Lightly grease a large bowl and place the dough inside. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow it to rise in a warm spot of your kitchen until doubled in size, about 1-1/2- 2 hours. I like to let mine rise on the counter next to a warm stove or oven.
Once the dough has doubled in volume, dump the dough out onto a barely floured surface and divide it in two equal pieces using a bench scraper or a sharp knife. Pat one piece of dough out into a rectangle roughly 8″x11″ and fold it lengthwise like you fold a letter, folding the bottom third up and the top third over top of it. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and pat it out into a rectangle again, repeating the folding process. Lightly grease two loaf pans (8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ x 2 ¾) and gently work the dough into each pan with the seam facedown and cover the pans with plastic wrap. Allow them to rise a second time, about 1-1/2 hours until the bread has risen just barely over the lip of the pan, about ½-1”. The bread will continue to rise in the oven, so don’t worry if it’s not a lofty loaf yet. Keep in mind if you use a larger or smaller loaf pan, your rise will be slightly different.
While the bread is rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and make the crumb topping. Stir together the flour, sugar, and cinnamon until combined. Then, use a fork to cut the butter and vanilla into the mixture until it is a coarse meal consistency. When the loaves have risen, gently brush them with a thin layer of cream and sprinkle the crumbs on top. You may have some crumbs leftover. Bake in the preheated oven for about 35-40 minutes, or until the loaves have tanned and are 190 degrees in the inside. Allow to cool for 20 minutes in the pan and then continue cooling on a cooling rack.

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Ingredients

Instructions

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Ingredients

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Instructions

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Making the Brioche

Forming the Brioche

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Ingredients

For the dough:

For the topping:

Instructions

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