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Braided, spiced, studded, and banana leaf-wrapped breads have become holiday traditions across America with influences from around the world. Savor the moment with a baking project and celebrate the season with Italian panettone, German stollen, Filipino bibingka, and Jewish babka or challah. Serve warm loaves and slices at your holiday gatherings to break festive bread with your loved ones.
Rosca De Reyes
Food & Wine / Photo by Morgan Hunt Glaze / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle
Traditionally eaten on Three Kings Day on January 6 to mark the end of the Christmas season, this anise-scented Mexican sweet bread is decorated with candied cherries, pecans, and optional strips of dried fruit pulp.
Challah Bread
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Shell Royster
Golden brown and honey-kissed, this tender challah from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen is ideal for a big meal. The recipe gives you one large or two small loaves, and you can stash an extra challah in the freezer for up to three months.
Panettone
At once light, rich, and buttery, panettone is a holiday favorite that originated in Milan. This pearl sugar-encrusted version from James Beard Award-winning baker Greg Wade showcases toasted hazelnuts and softened chunks of dark chocolate.
Lussekatter (St. Lucia’s Day Saffron Buns)
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
Lussekatter are vivid saffron buns served on the feast of St. Lucia, a Nordic tradition observed on December 13. This recipe from Nichole Accettola has a technique to help the citrusy, pillowy buns retain moisture.
Stollen
Jordan Provost / Food Styling by Thu Buser
Golden raisins, cherries, and candied citrus peel are macerated in rum or brandy and folded into a buttery yeasted dough for this traditional German fruitcake-like bread that can be baked up to two weeks ahead.
Bibingka Banana Bread
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
Bibingka is a traditional Filipino holiday dessert; here, chef Woldy Reyes merges the Filipino treat with classic American banana bread by using a blend of rice flours and baking the loaf in strips of banana leaf.
Cinnamon-Apple Babka
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Ali Ramee / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
This incredible apple babka is like a giant cinnamon bun stuffed with apple pie and baked in a cast-iron skillet, complete with caramelized edges and a snow-white glaze.
Savory Latke Babka
Jen Causey / Food Styling by Emily Nabors-Hall / Prop Styling by Hannah Greenwood
For as much as we love sweet babkas, this inventive, savory mashup from pastry chef Caroline Schiff is just as craveable. A filling of caramelized onions, crisp shredded potatoes, tangy sour cream, and breadcrumbs is layered with butter-enriched yeast dough for a deeply golden loaf with a plush interior.
Pain d’Épices
Oddur Thorisson
This hearty, honey-sweetened gingerbread loaf from French cook and writer Mimi Thorisson is made extra flavorful with the addition of buckwheat flour and a pinch of saffron.
Jessamyn’s Sephardic Challah
Zubin Schroff
In contrast to the eggy braided challahs made by Eastern European Ashkenazi Jews, Hot Bread Kitchen’s Jessamyn Waldman Rodriguez shares a recipe for a round, turban-shaped version that originated with the Sephardic Jews of the Mediterranean, who flavored their bread with caraway and anise.
Chocolate Babka
Con Poulos
This decadent chocolate babka from baker Melissa Weller goes all in on the cocoa: Bittersweet and milk chocolate as well as ground-up chocolate wafer cookies make up the filling, while a glaze incorporating both bittersweet and milk chocolate is poured on top.
Gingerbread with Pears
David De Vleeschauwer
This cake from former Food & Wine Test Kitchen editor Diana Sturgis is extra moist and flavorful thanks to diced Bartlett pears folded into the batter. A dusting of powdered sugar dresses it up for any occasion.
Raisin-Walnut Babka
Con Poulos
Give the classic cinnamon-raisin combo a new spin by swirling buttery yeasted dough with a cinnamon-laced golden raisin puree studded with whole dark raisins and toasted walnuts. A rich cinnamon glaze finishes each of the recipe’s two loaves.
