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Learn how to make soft and fluffy homemade sweet bread with simple ingredients. This lightly sweet, golden loaf is perfect for breakfast, holidays, or enjoying warm from the oven.

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There’s something comforting about the smell of fresh, sweet bread baking in the oven. With its soft, tender crumb and delicate sweetness, this bread is perfect for breakfasts, snacks, or holiday gatherings. Sweet bread recipes have been passed down for generations, offering endless variations from simple loaves to festive braided breads. In this guide, I’ll show you how to make your own sweet bread from scratch—easy enough for beginners, yet impressive enough to serve at any table.

Sweet bread only requires pantry staple ingredients like flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, vegetable oil, milk, and eggs. Sweet bread is delicious and perfect as is with these ingredients, however, you can sweeten it up with different variations. I will show you how I freeze my batter to use on busy weeknights to provide delicious dessert bread for my hungry family.

The best part about this sweet bread recipe is that it does not require any yeast, kneading, or rising time!

What is Sweet Bread

This recipe is so incredibly easy to whip up only taking up only five minutes of prep time. It only requires staple pantry ingredients, making it a pretty simple and cheap delicious dessert bread that is perfect for breakfast, snacks, or evening desserts.

You can add in different variations of ingredients to make it different each time, though trust me, it is so good without anything added to it! Keep reading for recipe ingredient add-in ideas! Also, stick around to learn how to store the fresh loaves or freeze the batter or loaves, making prep time even easier to bake on busy weeknights! Your future self will thank you!

Recipe Tutorial for Sweet Bread

This recipe makes two loaves. You could even divide the batter into a muffin pan for sweet muffins!

Ingredients

All-purpose flour.
Sugar.
Baking powder.
Eggs.
Milk.
Vegetable oil.
Vanilla extract.

Instructions

Mix the dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls until well combined. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix well.

Pour the batter into two well-greased loaf pans or prepared muffin tins, depending on your preference for the moment.

Baking

Loaves: Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Muffins: Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.

Slicing

Allow the loaves to cool completely before removing from the loaf pans and slicing. If you try to remove them from the loaf pans while it is still warm, you risk tearing apart the loaves or ripping the bottom or sides off. Learn from my impatient mistake 🙄

You need to wait and be patient. Remember, good things come to those who wait, and the same goes for waiting for your bread loaves to cool completely to have the most perfect baked loaves to enjoy!

Once the loaves are cooled, slice each slice evenly with a serrated bread knife.

Just look at the golden delicious, perfectly sliced loaves of this recipe!

Storing Sweet Bread

Keep your baked loaves or muffins fresh by storing them in plastic bags. Those one-gallon twist-tie bags are the perfect size to store your sweet bread. I like to pre-slice my loaves and put them in the gallon twist bags and put them on the counter. My family will devour each slice or muffin quickly before they even have a chance to go bad!

Freezing Sweet Bread Batter or Loaves

Batter: Freezing sweet bread batter or loaves is easy and convenient. You can provide your family with delicious dessert bread on busy weeknights with endless variation possibilities. In order to freeze bread batter, you need to make sure you mix all of the ingredients extremely well before placing them in the freezer bag. Once thawed, the mixture will be tough and hard to mix. It will be ready to pour into greased loaf pans or muffin tins for the baking process.

Once again, I place the batter into a gallon-sized freezer bag. I carefully squeeze out the air and seal the bag tightly. I squish the batter down into a flat square, perfect to place in the freezer for space-saving techniques. You can get more batters and marinades in your freezer by freezing them flat!

When I pull out a bread batter freezer bag, I allow it to thaw all day in the fridge. Once thawed, I like to gently knead the batter while in the bag to ensure everything is mixed well and ready for baking. I then pour the batter into the prepared loaf pans or muffin tins by scraping out the batter with a spatula.

Loaves: To freeze freshly baked loaves, allow them to cool completely and remove them from the pan. Wrap in Saran Wrap and then wrap in foil to protect it from freezer burn. You can write on the foil what type of sweet bread you have made, along with the date you made it.

Adding Variations to the Batter

Although sweet bread is delicious on its own, it can be even more amazing with added variations!

Glaze: Drizzle your perfectly baked loaves with a delicious glaze with various flavors. Glaze flavors can include orange glaze, cream cheese glaze (my favorite!), lemon glaze, or a simple sugar glaze.

Fruits: You can add dried or fresh fruits of any kind to your bread batter before baking. Depending on the holiday or season, you can whip up delicious spring, summer, fall, or winter bread to keep on hand any time of the year by using seasonal fruits!

Brown sugar: Replace the white granulated sugar with brown sugar for more rich and more flavorful bread!

Nuts: Add different types of nuts like pecans and walnuts, especially during the holiday season!

Chocolate chips: Add in chocolate chips or white macadamia chocolate chips!

Extracts: You can use different flavors of extracts to enhance the flavor of your sweet bread. Add in almond, coconut, lemon, maple, peppermint, or vanilla extracts for a variety of flavors!

Conclusion

Making sweet bread from scratch is easier than you might think, and the reward is a warm, fragrant loaf that fills your home with comfort. Whether you enjoy it plain, with butter and jam, or as part of a festive meal, homemade sweet bread adds a special touch to any occasion. By following simple steps and using quality ingredients, you can create a versatile bread that will delight family and friends again and again. Baking your own sweet bread is more than just a recipe—it’s a way to bring a little homemade joy to your table.

Resources: Here are some helpful resources for further information.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is sweet bread?

Sweet bread is a soft, slightly sweet yeast-based loaf that can be enjoyed plain, toasted, or as part of desserts and festive meals.

2. Can I make sweet bread without a stand mixer?

Yes! Sweet bread can be mixed and kneaded by hand. While it may take a little extra time, hand-kneading produces the same soft and fluffy results.

3. How do I store homemade sweet bread?

Store sweet bread in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic at room temperature for 2–3 days. For longer storage, freeze slices in a sealed bag for up to 3 months.

4. Can I add flavors or fillings to sweet bread?

Absolutely! You can enhance sweet bread with cinnamon, vanilla, citrus zest, chocolate chips, dried fruit, or nuts to create a variety of delicious versions.

Sweet Bread

Sweet bread is so incredibly easy to whip up only taking up five minutes of prep time. It only requires staple pantry ingredients making it a pretty simple and cheap delicious dessert bread that is perfect for breakfast, snacks, or evening desserts. Sweet bread only requires pantry staple ingredients like flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, vegetable oil, milk, and eggs. Sweet bread is delicious and perfect as is with these ingredients, however, you can sweeten it up with different variations. The best part about this sweet bread recipe is that it does not require any yeast, kneading, or rising time!

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 30

Servings 2 loaves

Equipment

2 loaf pans if making bread
1 muffin pan if making muffins

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

2 cups white or brown sugar
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients

2 large eggs
2 cups milk
⅔ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Mixing the Batter

Mix the dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls until well combined. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix well.
Pour the batter into two well-greased loaf pans or prepared muffin tins, depending on your preference for the moment.

Baking

Loaves: Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Muffins: Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.

Slicing

Allow the loaves to cool completely before removing from the loaf pans and slicing. If you try to remove them from the loaf pans while it is still warm, you risk tearing apart the loaves or ripping the bottom or sides off. Learn from my impatient mistake 🙄
You need to wait and have patience. Remember, good things come to those who wait and the same goes for waiting for your bread loaves to cool completely to have the most perfect baked loaves to enjoy!
Once the loaves are cooled, slice each slice evenly with a serrated bread knife.