20 Christmas Bread Recipes

Christmas Sweet Roll Wreath
Photo: Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Margaret Monroe Dickey; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke

Christmas baking is almost a professional sport, with cookies, cakes, and pies, our ovens get a good work out this time of year. Lower on the baking roster around the holidays is bread, but from Christmas Morning Cinnamon Rolls to Hurry-Up Homemade Crescent Rolls, there are plenty of festive breads to add to the baking line up, as oven room allows. Get the kids involved and have them help form dinner rolls or measure the flour for Monkey Bread. Just like Christmas cookies, homemade breads, both sweet and savory, make excellent, thoughtful gifts during the holiday season. They're also impressive additions to potlucks and Christmas buffets, especially the beautiful wreath-shaped breads. Crack out the yeast or maybe the bread machine and dive into these Christmas bread recipes bound to spread holiday cheer.

01 of 20

Christmas Tree Pull-Apart Bread

Christmas Tree Pull-Apart Bread Video Still
Southern Living

Recipe: Christmas Tree Pull-Apart Bread

Family will never know this beautiful appetizer starts with store-bought pizza dough and marinara. The recipe can be formed into any shape, but we're partial to the Christmas tree, of course.

02 of 20

Cranberry Eggnog Bread

Cranberry Eggnog Bread
Photo: Jen Causey

Recipe: Cranberry Eggnog Bread

Cranberry and eggnog are classic Christmas flavors and we've brought them together in this festive quick bread. Add a little rum to the glaze for extra holiday cheer.

03 of 20

Grammy Rolls

Jenni Ridall's Grammy Rolls
Peter Frank Edwards; Prop Styling and Floral Design: Sara York Grimshaw

Recipe: Grammy Rolls

Christmas dinner may be the main event, but breakfast is the most important meal of the day and with these Grammy Rolls you can treat it as such. This take on monkey bread is full of cinnamon and just the right amount of sweetness for post-present refueling.

04 of 20

Christmas Sweet Roll Wreath

Christmas Sweet Roll Wreath
Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Margaret Monroe Dickey; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke

Recipe: Christmas Sweet Roll Wreath

These cranberry pecan sweet rolls are similar in flavor to another Christmas favorite: Panettone. It's not the quickest recipe, but well worth the effort.

05 of 20

No-Knead Buttermilk Bread

No-Knead Buttermilk Bread
Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Cindy Barr; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Recipe: No-Knead Buttermilk Bread

You might not consider yourself an accomplished bread baker, but with this easy no-knead bread recipe, everyone will think you are. Grab that trusty dutch oven, crank up the oven to 500°F, and get to mixing.

06 of 20

Christmas Wreath Pastry

Christmas Wreath Pastry
Southern Living

Recipe: Christmas Wreath Pastry

Change up your Christmas dessert traditions with this beautiful Christmas wreath. Filled with dried cherries, almond paste, and orange liqueur, it's the perfect special occasion treat to enjoy on Christmas Day.

07 of 20

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread
Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Cindy Barr; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Recipe: Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

This bread has the same cinnamon goodness as a cinnamon roll, but in a buttery pull-apart bread. It will look impressive at Christmas brunch, but lucky for you, is a quite forgiving bread recipe.

08 of 20

Sausage Bread

Sausage Bread
Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Kathleen Varner

Recipe: Sausage Bread

Stuffed with sausage and gooey cheese, this bread will become your go-to Christmas party appetizer. Thanks to store-bought pizza dough, it's also quick to pull together.

09 of 20

Praline Pull-Apart Bread

Praline Pull-Apart Bread
Beth Dreiling Hontzas; Styling: Caroline Murphey

Recipe: Praline Pull-Apart Bread

Gooey, sweet, and nutty, when this Praline Pull-Apart Bread hits the breakfast table on Christmas morning, everyone will think they got an extra gift from Santa this year.

10 of 20

Spiced Apple-Pecan Swirl Bread

Spiced Apple-Pecan Swirl Bread
Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner

Recipe: Spiced Apple-Pecan Swirl Bread

Even if you are total beginner when it comes to working with yeast, you can make this impressive swirled bread. Crunchy nuts, sweet and tart apples, and an apple cider glaze make this bread as delicious as it is beautiful.

11 of 20

Caramel-Glazed Monkey Bread

Caramel-Glazed Monkey Bread
Iain Bagwell

Recipe: Caramel-Glazed Monkey Bread

It might be a bit of a messy breakfast, but the kids will love using their fingers to pick apart chunks of this sweet and sticky bread.

12 of 20

Make-Ahead Yeast Rolls

Make-Ahead Yeast Rolls
Laurey W. Glenn

Recipe: Make-Ahead Yeast Rolls

Between Christmas breakfast, lunch, and dinner there is a lot to get done in the kitchen, with this recipe you can make sure the dinner rolls are squared away in advance.

13 of 20

Hurry-Up Homemade Crescent Rolls

Hurry-Up Homemade Crescent Rolls
Beau Gustafson; Styling: Sissy Lamberton

Recipe: Hurry-Up Homemade Crescent Rolls

If popping open a can of Crescent Rolls is a holiday tradition in your house, try your hand at a batch from scratch. You may never go back to the store-bought stuff, again.

14 of 20

Sweet Potato Rolls

Sweet Potato Rolls
Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Recipe: Sweet Potato Rolls

Mashed sweet potatoes are the secret to these soft and fluffy rolls. If you're bored with plain biscuits or dinner rolls for Christmas try these gorgeous orange-hued rolls instead.

15 of 20

Sorghum-Pecan Monkey Bread Muffins

Sorghum-Pecan Monkey Bread Muffins
Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Recipe: Sorghum-Pecan Monkey Bread Muffins

Prepare these mini monkey breads the night before Christmas and wake the house up the next morning with the smell of toasted pecans and cinnamon.

16 of 20

Pumpkin-Honey-Beer Bread

Pumpkin-Honey-Beer Bread
Alison Miksch; Styling: Lydia Degaris Pursell

Recipe: Pumpkin-Honey-Beer Bread

Tie a ribbon around this bread because it makes a great holiday gift for friends and family. Remember to only mix the batter just until the dry ingredients are incorporated, otherwise you might get misshapen loaves.

17 of 20

Cheddar-Caramelized Onion Bread

Cheddar-Caramelized Onion Bread
Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller; Food Styling: Katelyn Hardwick

Recipe: Cheddar-Caramelized Onion Bread

Swap out the cornbread for this savory bread on the table this year. Served with Whipped Sweet Potato Butter, nobody will mind that the cornbread is missing.

18 of 20

Lagniappe Bread Rolls

Melissa Martin’s Lagniappe Bread Rolls
Johnny Autry; Prop and Food Styling: Charlotte L. Autry

Recipe: Lagniappe Bread Rolls

This recipe, from New Orlean's Mosquito Supper Club, is a cajun-style bread roll made with whole wheat flour and honey, for a touch of nuttiness and sweetness.

19 of 20

Old-Fashioned Gingerbread

Old-Fashioned Gingerbread
Emily Laurae / Southern Living

Recipe: Old-Fashioned Gingerbread

Gingerbread really is more of a cake, but it's also a true Christmas classic. It makes a great gift as well as an easy Christmas day dessert.

20 of 20

Christmas Morning Cinnamon Rolls

Christmas Morning Cinnamon Rolls
Photo: Hector Sanchez

Recipe: Christmas Morning Cinnamon Rolls

It wouldn't be Christmas morning without cinnamon rolls, right? Making them from scratch might mean waking up before the rest of the house to mix the dough, but we assure you they are worth the effort.

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