Aunt Judy's Christmas Bread recipe

All Recipes Best Recipe Bread Yeast Bread Recipes

Ingredients

½ cup warm water
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 cup cold butter
1 cup white sugar
2 cups warm milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 egg, separated
⅓ cup white sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts
½ cup butter, softened

Nutrition Info

376 calories
carbohydrate: 50.8 g
cholesterol: 54.5 mg
fat: 17.2 g
fiber: 1.3 g
protein: 5.7 g
saturatedFat: 9.1 g
servingSize: -
sodium: 236.4 mg
sugar: 25.7 g
transFat: : -
unsaturatedFat: : -

Directions

  1. Mix water, yeast, and 1 tablespoon sugar together in a small bowl until yeast is raised and bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes.

  2. Cream butter and 1 cup sugar together in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Pour in warm milk and add yeast mixture, eggs, and salt, mix together. Mix in flour until just incorporated, do not knead dough.

  3. Move dough to a large bowl and cover with a towel. Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours. Punch dough down and let rise for another 45 minutes.

  4. While dough is rising, heat milk for pastry filling in a medium saucepan until warm, 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in 3 tablespoons flour gradually. Beat egg yolk in a separate bowl and add a little of the warm milk mixture to temper it, whisk yolk mixture into milk mixture. Mix in sugar and salt. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes.

  5. Let cool to room temperature, about 5 minutes. Cover the top with plastic wrap, touching the filling, to prevent skin from forming. Refrigerate until cool, 20 to 30 minutes.

  6. Meanwhile, make almond filling by mixing butter, sugar, and almond extract together in a bowl until blended. Set aside.

  7. Make nut crumb filling by crumbling flour, sugar, walnuts, and butter together in a bowl. Set aside.

  8. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line 2 half sheet pans with parchment paper or silicone mats.

  9. Divide the dough and fillings in 1/2 for 2 loaves. Set aside a small amount of nut filling to sprinkle on top of loaves.

  10. Roll out 1/2 of the dough onto 1 of the prepared pans into a rectangle that fills the pan. Spread cream filling lengthwise down the middle 1/3 of the dough, leaving about 1 inch free on each short end. Sprinkle almond filling on top of cream, followed by nut crumb filling.

  11. Make diagonal cuts into the dough on either side of the filling down each side, about 2 inches apart, don't cut too close to filling or it will leak out. Fold dough strips across the top of the filling, alternating each side, to make a braid. Tuck the 2 short ends into the braid to prevent leaking. Brush with reserved egg white and sprinkle with 1/2 of the reserved nut crumb filling. Repeat for second loaf.

  12. Bake loaves in the preheated oven until golden, 20 to 30 minutes.

  13. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 20 minutes. Slice and serve.

Recipe Yield

2 loaves

Recipe Note

A braided yeast bread filled with almond, pastry cream, and walnut fillings. This is a recipe that my aunt used to make every year for Christmas morning when the entire family would gather at her house. Now I make it for my family. It takes awhile to make and uses an insane amount of dishes, but it's worth it. So delicious!

Do you like the recipe? Share this tasty recipe!

Alternatives to this recipe

See more alternatives
All Recipes Ideas

All Recipes - Recipe Tags: Recipe Aunt Judy's Christmas Bread, simple recipe Aunt Judy's Christmas Bread, recipe Aunt Judy's Christmas Bread, recipe Aunt Judy's Christmas Bread, Aunt Judy's Christmas Bread recipe, recipes , recipes online , online recipes , recipe , cooking , cookbook , new recipes , best recipes , dessert recipes top recipes , cooking recipes , best lunch recipes , recipe book , meat recipes , healthy recipes , cooking , fast recipes cheap recipes jamie oliver recipes recipes jamie oliver recipe for lunch recipe for dinner recipe for breakfast recipe for valentine recipe for christmas recipe for easter recipe for new year recipe for students recipe for beginners recipe for weigh-loss recipe for snacks recipe for christmas eve recipe for birthday recipe on grill gordon ramsay gordon ramsay recipes gordon ramsay recipes gordon ramsays recipes simple recipes , best recipe aunt, , easy recipes , baking , tasty recipe best recipes