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Cream cheese dried fruit bread

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Sweet, soft and fluffy yeast dried fruit bread made with cream cheese and dusted with powder sugar for Christmas breakfast or brunch

Sweet, soft and fluffy yeast dried fruit bread made with cream cheese and dusted with powder sugar for Christmas breakfast or brunch

When I first had the #25recipestoXmas idea I thought I’d share a week filled with holiday loaves of bread. Nothing wrong with it, right? As the time was approaching I got to a conclusion, no matter how to name the holiday bread, they are very similar.

For example Romanian have they Christmas bread Cozonac most of the time filled with fried fruit, nuts, poppy seeds. Italian Panettone is packed with dried fruit. German Stollen is jam-packed with dried fruit and most of the times marzipan. Greek Christopsomo is made usually with walnuts and raisins. Finish Pulla has cardamon and dried fruit. Czech Vánočka  is filled with fried fruit. American holiday bread is usually packed with dried cranberries and nuts and let’s not forget the fruit cake.

Do you see where I’m going? All of them have dried fruit and/or nuts and, except the Greek Christopsomo, they are all sweet. 

Cream cheese dried fruit bread recipe

 

It was time to change things a little bit up. I wanted to make a sweet bread, filled with dried fruit but I wanted it light and fluffy, like a brioche without the extra eggs and butter. And I cam up with not one, but two amazing bread recipes that will stay soft even after few days. They are light, brioche like fluffy and just a little sweet but with the help of cream cheese and Greek yogurt.

Today we’ll talk about the cream cheese bread recipe. I remembered the cheese buns I shared last year that the cheese gives the bread a little moisture and makes it pillow-y soft. With 4 packages of cream cheese in the fridge it was time to do some baking.

Cream cheese dried fruit bread

 

With a little patience after a couple of hours I pulled out of the oven three little loaves which I immediately brushed with butter. Who doesn’t love a buttery crust?

The bread turned out way better than I hoped. And since I baked them in the bake-and-give loaf pans I received from King Arthur Flour they made a wonderful gifts for tow of my friends.

Cream cheese dried fruit bread

Yields 3 mini loaves

Sweet,soft and brioche like fluffy bread made with cream cheese and packed with dried fruit.

20 minPrep Time

30 minCook Time

2 hr, 30 Total Time

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Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In a mixing bowl add 1/4 cup bread flour, 1/3 cup lukewarm water and the yeast. Mix to combine and leave at room temperature for about 5 minutes until the mixture foams and it's almost double in volume.
  2. Add the cream cheese, egg, sugar, salt and dried fruit.
  3. With the dough hook on start mixing adding the remaining water and slowly the remaining 3 cups of bread flour.
  4. When all the flour is added increase the mixer speed to medium and let it knead the dough for 2-3 minutes. The dough should be soft and elastic and cleans itself from the sides of the bowl.
  5. With greased hands take the dough out and place it into a greased bowl. Cover with plastic foil and leave at room temperature for about 1 hour until doubled in volume.
  6. When risen, divide the dough in three, shape each piece into a log and place the mini-loaves into 3 greased paper baking pans.
  7. Cover again with plastic wrap and leave to rise for 25-30 more minutes.
  8. In the meantime, heat the oven to 375F.
  9. Bake the loaves for about 30 minutes or until the smell of fresh break is talking over your kitchen.
  10. As soon as you remove the loaves form the oven brush them with butter.
  11. Leave to cool before dusting with powder sugar.
http://atreatsaffair.com/cream-cheese-dried-fruit-bread-recipe/

For other Christmas treats check out #25recipestoXmas. You can also see the gallery on Pinterest or on Google+

25-Recipes-to-Christmas-roxanashomebaking

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King Arthur Flour didn’t send me flour just for my holiday baking, but for your holiday baking as well! I love baking with King Arthur Flour, their bread flour is the best I’ve ever baked with. If you love bread baking as much as I do, than this giveaway is for you. You can also browse though their holiday gift ideas and take advantage of their $3 shipping and even get a $10 gift card when you spend $60 or more!

king arthur flour

To enter the giveaway, use the rafflecopter form below. Please complete the mandatory entry, otherwise all other entries will not be valid.

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The giveaway is sponsored by King Arthur Flour. I’ve received free products to use for my holiday baking but the opinions are all mine.

The giveaway is open until December 25th at 11:59 p.m. EST. The giveaway is only open to U.S. residents. Be sure a valid email address is included with your mandatory comment. Winner will be announced on this post. I will email the winner and if the winner doesn’t respond in 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen. Good luck!

Sending love your way,
Roxana

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Comments

  1. This bread looks super fluffy indeed. I would really like to try it. Is the recipe the same as your Cheese Buns minus the other cheeses? Thanks!

    Reply

    • Hi Hanna,
      I had some technical problems earlier with the recipe form showing up. It’s solved now.
      Anyhow I just saw you’re having a monthly baking challenge on your blog. What book do you have in mind for 2013? I’d love to join you!
      Roxana

      Reply

      • Hi Roxana,

        Thanks for letting me know about the technical glitch. I started to think that it was simply too early and that I hadn’t fully woken up yet, haha.

        Yes, my group ABC is a monthly baking group. You’re going to love it. For a little twist, we chose a recipe website this time instead of a book. We’re baking from http://www.KingArthurFlour.com!!! Isn’t that exciting? I love their products and their recipes, so this is perfect!

        I’m actually in the process of updating the ABC blog and posting the first 2-3 recipes for 2013. Stay tuned! In the meantime, I’m sending you the ABC badge and I will also add you to the blog roll. Unless you tell me otherwise, I will assume you’re “in” :o) We love having you. I really like your blog!

        Can’t wait to make the Cream Cheese Dried Fruit Bread. I love fluffy bread and so does my husband.

        Happy baking!

        Hanaa
        HanaasKitchen.blogspot.com
        http://www.facebook.com/HanaasKitchen
        http://www.twitter.com/HanaasKitchen

        Reply

  3. For quick breads, banana bread is a favorite. For yeast breads, my favorite is potato bread, although I make rye bread more often.

    Reply

  4. I’m your friend, right? Just sayin’. You have all those loves of bread sitting there. 🙂 My favorite yeast bread is honey wheat but I could easily eat a loaf of that gorgeous bread up there.

    Reply

  5. My favorite bread to make is a no-knead bread that is baked in a cast iron dutch oven. It has a crunchy crust, but a soft, delicious interior. My husband loves this bread! And King Arthur bread flour would be perfect for it!

    Reply

  6. My favorite bread to make is anything with yeast in it! Dilly bread, potatoe bread, cinnamon rolls. Make a lot of bread!

    Reply

  7. My favorite bread to make at home is cinnamon rolls. I know it is not really a bread, but it is so yummy and my whole family loves them.

    Reply

  11. I have a bread machine that I use a lot..I can no longer mix the bread by hand but I try all different ones, never the same..my husband is going through chemo right now and he has no appetite so I try to find recipes that will tempt him…this looks like a great recipe..we both love fruit filled breads. I wonder if I can adapt this for the bread machine…

    Reply

  15. I have always loved dried fruit breads. They take me back to my childhood when my grandmother often made them. But there was no cream cheese in them. That sounds delicious.

    Reply

  17. My favorite bread to make at home is garlic herb cheese bread but I have added this to my must make list. Sounds delicious!

    Reply

  28. A question – do you think I could make this bread in the new breadmaker that I got for Christmas?!

    (I was told to open it early and did so happily! No peeking here!)

    Reply

    • Hi Michele,
      I have never used a bread machine. I’m pretty sure you can make it in the breadmachine, just follow the instruction for your breadmachine.

      Roxana

      Reply

  29. I’m dying to try your recipe with King Arthur Flour! Cream cheese, fruit and bread? How could you go wrong?! And when you add King Arthur Flour to that mix, the outcome is bound to be amazing! 🙂

    Reply

  32. GF buttermilk bread, or to give as gifts to our neighbors this Christmas we are making no-knead artisan bread in 5 minutes

    Reply

  36. I make a lot of different kinds of breads often, my favorite is Jalapeno Cheddar Cheese and Garlic Loaf. This bread is to die for and I would love to win so I can lots more.
    [email protected]

    Reply

  52. My favorite bread to make is called Butcha,it is a Bohemian Bread that is similar to most Xmas Breads. Has raisins in it and it is devine toasted.

    Reply

  55. I’ve wanted to bake all your holiday breads you’ve shared…I can’t get enough of them. This is a beauty, Roxy!

    Reply

  56. Roxana-

    Is the yeast instant or regular? And will this recipe work as one or two larger loaves? I am trying to closely duplicate a break bread recipe from Publix that has dried fruits and walnuts and keep a similar texture.

    Thank you,

    Amy

    Reply

    • Hi Amy,
      Most of the recipes, unless otherwise specified, use active dry yeast.

      To make two large loaves, you’ll have to double the recipe and follow the directions, keeping in mind it will take longer for the dough to double in volume

      Reply

  57. What a fantastic recipe. Made it 2 days ago and it went down a storm in my house. Not too sweet or dry, just right, so thank you.

    Reply

    • Hi Karen,

      I would start with 40 minutes and go from there. When a bread is fully baked, the smell coming from the oven is intoxicating. Because I have not baked this in a regular loaf pan I can not tell you for sure how many minutes.

      Happy baking,
      Roxana

      Reply

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