Christmas Spoon Bread

🎄 Christmas Spoon Bread — No-Knead Holiday Sweet Bread

If you love homemade Christmas bread but don’t love complicated kneading, this Christmas Spoon Bread is a wonderful recipe to try. Inspired by the popular Pan Dulce Navideño de Cuchara, this version uses a soft, sticky dough that is mixed with a spoon rather than kneaded by hand. The result is a tender, fragrant sweet bread filled with festive dried fruit, nuts, citrus, and warm spices. (YouTube)

It’s perfect for Christmas breakfast, an afternoon coffee, or a beautiful homemade addition to a holiday dessert table.

🎄 Ingredients

For the Dough

  • 4 cups (500 g) all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
  • 2¼ teaspoons (7 g) active dry yeast
  • 1 cup (240 ml) warm whole milk
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • ½ cup (115 g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon salt

For the Christmas Filling

  • ¾ cup (120 g) raisins
  • ¾ cup (120 g) candied fruit
  • ½ cup (60 g) chopped walnuts or almonds
  • ¼ cup (40 g) dried cranberries, optional
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, optional

For the Topping

  • 1 egg, beaten
  • Powdered sugar, for dusting
  • Extra candied fruit or nuts, optional

👩‍🍳 Instructions

1. Activate the Yeast

Pour the warm milk into a large bowl.

Add the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Stir gently and let it sit for about 5–10 minutes.

The mixture should become slightly foamy.

Tip: The milk should feel warm, not hot. Very hot milk can damage the yeast.

2. Mix the Wet Ingredients

Add the eggs, melted butter, vanilla, orange zest, and lemon zest to the milk mixture.

Whisk until everything is well combined.

3. Add the Dry Ingredients

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, remaining sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.

Now comes the easy part: no kneading!

Use a sturdy wooden spoon or spatula to mix everything together until you have a thick, sticky dough.

The dough should be much softer and stickier than traditional bread dough.

4. Add the Fruit and Nuts

Add the raisins, candied fruit, cranberries, and chopped nuts.

Fold everything into the dough with your spoon until evenly distributed.

Don’t worry if the dough looks sticky—that’s exactly what you want.

5. Let the Dough Rise

Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel.

Place it somewhere warm and draft-free.

Let the dough rise for approximately 1½–2 hours, or until it has noticeably increased in size.

Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, this may take a little longer.

6. Transfer to the Pan

Grease a 9-inch round cake pan, deep baking dish, or panettone-style paper mold.

Using a large spoon or spatula, transfer the soft dough into the prepared pan.

Smooth the top gently with the back of a wet spoon.

Cover loosely and let it rest for another 30–45 minutes.

7. Brush With Egg

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).

Brush the top of the risen dough gently with the beaten egg.

If desired, sprinkle a few extra nuts or pieces of candied fruit over the top.

8. Bake

Bake for approximately 35–45 minutes, depending on the size and depth of your pan.

The top should be beautifully golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs.

If the top begins browning too quickly, loosely cover it with aluminum foil during the final part of baking.

9. Cool

Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool in the pan for about 10–15 minutes.

Transfer it to a wire rack and allow it to cool completely.

Once cool, dust generously with powdered sugar.

✨ Easy Glaze Option

For an extra-special Christmas finish, make a simple vanilla glaze.

Mix:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1–2 tablespoons milk or orange juice
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk until smooth.

Drizzle over the cooled bread and allow the glaze to set before slicing.

🍊 Make It Extra Festive

You can customize this Christmas bread with your favorite additions.

Try adding:

  • Candied orange peel
  • Candied cherries
  • Dried apricots
  • Dried cranberries
  • Raisins
  • Walnuts
  • Pecans
  • Almonds
  • Chocolate chips
  • A little rum or orange extract
  • Extra orange zest

For a richer citrus flavor, replace a tablespoon or two of the milk with fresh orange juice.

☕ How to Serve Christmas Spoon Bread

This sweet bread is delicious served slightly warm with:

  • Butter
  • Cream cheese
  • Jam
  • Honey
  • Orange marmalade
  • Nutella
  • A dusting of powdered sugar

It’s especially wonderful with coffee, hot chocolate, tea, or a glass of cold milk.

💡 Tips for Success

Don’t add too much flour. The dough is supposed to be sticky. Adding excessive flour will make the finished bread heavy and dry.

Use room-temperature eggs. They incorporate more easily into the enriched dough.

Don’t rush the rise. Yeast needs time to develop flavor and structure.

Watch the baking time. Every oven is different, so begin checking around the 35-minute mark.

Let it cool before slicing. This gives the crumb time to set and makes cleaner slices.

🎁 How to Store It

Once completely cool, wrap the bread tightly or place it in an airtight container.

It can be kept at room temperature for about 2–3 days.

For longer storage, wrap individual portions well and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature and warm briefly before serving.

🎄 Final Thoughts

This Christmas Spoon Bread is proof that homemade holiday bread doesn’t have to involve complicated techniques or hours of kneading.

Simply mix the dough with a spoon, let it rise, fold in your favorite Christmas fruits and nuts, and bake until golden and fragrant.

The combination of orange, lemon, cinnamon, raisins, candied fruit, and nuts makes every slice taste like Christmas.

And the best part?

You don’t need to knead! 🥄🎄

Recipe inspired by the popular no-knead “Pan Dulce Navideño de Cuchara” style.

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