Christmas is around the corner, and if you’re not all into baking already, this is the last time to put your apron on. Maybe you should consider making this holiday sweet bread with nuts and fruits for some festive feeling on your table, even if this year you won’t be celebrating in big numbers.

What makes this bread so festive?

When I say festive, I mean the feeling the food gives you. It doesn’t mean it can’t be made all year round, but you would probably use a different filling in summer than during the Christmas holidays. This bread gives you the festive feeling with:

• nuts and dried fruits
• rum
• powdered sugar sprinkled over it
• the shape

Add the lights to the mix and there you have it: a perfect sweet bread you can share with your whole family (or just your significant other, like I did).

Holiday sweet bread with nuts and fruits is a great breakfast

Okay, it is sweet, yes. But if you want some fancy breakfast, this bread is just what you want. I will not lie, cinnamon rolls are AMAZING but this sweet bread follows right after them. Some warm milk or a cup of coffee and you’re good to go!

Holiday sweet bread with nuts and fruits is not super simple to make, but it’s not very difficult either. It shows the right amount of care and if you make it with love, it will show. I think it’s just what you need to show your family you love them without saying it.

In case you’re a big fan of bready sweets, here’s something for you: homemade crescent rolls with chocolate

Holiday Sweet Bread with Nuts and Fruits

Sweet breads are a festive dessert and Christmas is no different. Holiday sweet bread with nuts and fruits is not just pretty healthy, but also simple to make.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Resting Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 40 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Servings 10 pieces

Ingredients

  

• 500 g flour
• 2 tsp dry active yeast
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• pinch salt
• 300 ml plant milk
• 100 ml coconut oil melted
• 50 ml agave syrup
• 80 g cranberries dry
• 80 g raisins or dates
• 100 g mixed nuts walnuts, almonds, cashews, hazelnuts ...
• 200 ml rum
• 50 ml agave syrup for filling + glaze
• 20 ml rum from soaking nuts and fruits, for filling + glaze
• slivered almonds for topping
• powdered sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

 

• Cut bigger fruits to smaller pieces and chop the nuts. Soak nuts and fruits in rum.
• Mix all the dry ingredients in a big bowl with a whisk or with a hand.
• Mix all the wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Knead for about 10 minutes so the dough gains elasticity. Let it rest for at least one hour.
• When the dough has doubled in size, take it out of the bowl and put it on a floured surface. Roll it out into a rectangular shape.
• Mix 50 ml of agave syrup with 20 ml of rum from nuts and fruits. Spread that all over the surface of rectangular dough.
• Strain nuts and fruits (you can keep rum for later and use it again if you're making something similar). Sprinkle them all over the dough evenly.
• Start rolling the long side of the dough tightly to get a long "snake". Cut that snake in half by length to get two long snakes.
• Start twisting them so you get a shape of a thick rope. Create a circle while twisting. Move that circle to the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise for another 30-45 minutes.
• Bake for 20 minutes at 180°C. After that time, it will reach its final shape and rise. Time to cover it with some aluminum foil! Bake covered for another 15-20 minutes.
• After you take it out of the oven, let it cool down for a bit before serving.
• If you want, you can use some rum from soaking and some agave syrup to glaze the top of baked bread and sprinkle it with slivered almonds. You should glaze it a bit so the almonds stick to the surface. Sprinkled with some powdered sugar when completely cooled down.

Notes

You can easily swap cranberries and raisins for other kinds of dried fruits like dates, figs, apricots etc. You can play around with nuts, too!

Keyword festive dessert, festive sweet bread, holiday dessert, holiday food, sweet bread, sweetbread, vegan christmas