Fruity Butter Bread for #BreadBakers

Oh the hustle and bustle of the season. There is the existing struggle of getting everything done multiplied with holiday stuff. You know, all the decorating, baking, visiting, shopping, entertaining, cooking, and possible traveling. Trying to cram it all in sometimes means to do part one day and finish the next. This is where overnight bread like Fruity Buttery Bread is genius. Make the dough at night and bake it in the morning.

Homemade bread is really not all that difficult. Well, it depends on the bread and recipe. I have yet to tackle croissants. I know it will take several attempts and lots of time to get them right. Working laminated dough to get super thin layers without melting the butter in it is challenging.

Quick breads are the opposite. They are super easy. Most of the time only stirring is involved. Some even do better when not all the dry ingredients are moistened. Yet they don’t have the yeast factor. Sometimes you simply want a yeasted bread with all its flavor and texture qualities.

The theme is overnight breakfast bread. It was set by Holly of A Baker’s House for this month’s Bread Bakers. Pulling fresh bread out of the oven on Christmas morning or when you have overnight guests would make for a fantastic start to the day. Imagine your family waking up to the smell of fresh bread. You would be their hero. Or at least you they would have a memorable breakfast.

Choosing which bread to bake came next. My initial thought was some type of sweet roll. A flavor twist to cinnamon rolls sounded like a good idea. Then I remembered how much I enjoyed a breakfast loaf I got from bakery long ago. It had dried fruit in it and toasted so nicely. A bread like that became my goal.

The other goal was a not difficult recipe. So once again I reached for Donna Currie’s Make Ahead Bread cookbook (Amazon affiliate link) because the recipes in it are generally quite easy. I was drawn to her Rich Egg and Butter Loaf.  I figured throwing some assorted dried fruit into the dough at the end would work. I also changed the method of shaping the loaf with rolling instead of folding. I like the swirl look in a slice.

How is Fruity Butter Bread? It is very rich and buttery indeed. There is a whole stick of butter in the dough. The texture is light and airy with the occasional bit of soft fruit. I almost called it berry butter bread except that I used part berries and part fruit (apricots and cherries). It toasts marvelously and, of course, I had to spread a little butter on the toast too.

How about more overnight breakfast bread recipes? All you have to do is scroll down to find a list. There are sweet rolls, donuts, loaves, waffles, and more. There are also Buttermilk Rolls and Sweet Potato Monkey Bread recipes I’ve shared before.

5 from 1 vote

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Fruity Butter Bread

This Fruity Butter Bread has the richness of eggs and butter plus sweetness of dried fruit. Make the dough one day and bake it the next. It's great toasted.

Course Bread

Cuisine American

Prep Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes

Servings 1 loaf

Author Renee

Ingredients

• 3 cups bread flour 13 1/2 ounces, plus more if needed
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup water at room temperature
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream at room temperature
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1/2 cup assorted dried fruit or berries chopped if using larger ones like apricots
• Egg wash 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Instructions

1. Combine flour, yeast, water, cream, eggs, and sugar in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
2. Knead until ingredients are combined and the dough is smooth.
3. Add salt. Add butter, one tablespoon at a time, until each is incorporated into the dough.
4. You may need to add a little flour (about a teaspoon) along with the butter pieces if the dough becomes too loose and starts sticking to the bowl.
5. Add dried fruit and knead until just combined.
6. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
7. Lightly grease a 9- X 5-inch loaf pan.
8. Punch down dough and roll or pat to a 14- X 7-inch rectangle. Start with the shorter side and roll up tightly while pressing dough into roll with each turn. Pinch edge and ends to seal.
9. Place dough seam side down in prepared loaf pan.
10. Cover pan with plastic wrap or place pan in a large plastic zip top bag and seal bag.
11. Chill dough overnight or up to 24 hours.
12. Heat oven to 350°F.
13. Remove plastic wrap from pan or take pan out of plastic bag.
14. Brush top of loaf with egg wash.
15. Bake until bread is nicely browned and the internal temperature registers 190°F, about 50 minutes.
16. Remove bread from pan and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

Recipe Notes

Prep time does not include time for chilling dough overnight.

Make the dough today and bake it tomorrow. That is the special part of these overnight breakfast bread recipes:

• Braided Holiday Stollen from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Bran Muffins from Cali’s Cuisine
• Christmas Morning Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Christmas Morning Sticky Buns from Sara’s Tasty Buds
• English Muffins from Ruchik Ranhap
• Fruity Butter Bread from Magnolia Days
• Gingerbread Breakfast Loaf from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Herbert’s Traditional Overnight Bread Loaf from G’Gina’s Kitchenette
• Old Fashioned Doughnuts from Cooking Club
• Onion Bagels from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Overnight Apple Fritters Monkey Bread from I Camp in My Kitchen
• Overnight Belgian-Style Yeast Waffles from A Baker’s House
• Overnight Brioche Cinnamon Rolls from Hostess at Heart
• Overnight Pecan Sticky Bread from Cook’s Hideout
• Stollen Muffins from Baking in Pyjamas

What is Bread Bakers? It’s a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Bread Bakers Pinterest Board. Links are also updated after each event on the Bread Bakers home page.

How is the monthly theme determined? We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Would you like to join in the fun? If you are a food blogger, send an email with your blog name and url to Stacy at [email protected].