Raspberry Twist Bread is a delicious loaf of homemade sweet bread swirled with raspberry jam. Served with lemon icing and brioche-style dough this bread is perfect for breakfast or dessert!
This bread recipe is easy to follow along with and is great to enjoy and share with friends. Each loaf is packed with soft bread, golden crust, and bright spots of fresh raspberry. You’re going to love how simple and easy it is to make these gorgeous flavorful loaves!
What is raspberry twist bread?
It’s a simple and easy recipe that makes brioche bread and transforms it into a braided work of art. With raspberry filling spread over the lemon zested dough and then braided into loves and tucked into bread pans, each loaf looks unique and wonderful. Adding that simple icing recipe on the top just makes it that much more irresistible!
Raspberry twist bread ingredients
For the dough, you will need:
-Yeast: We need 1 package (.25 ounce) of fast-acting dry active yeast. These are the squares of premeasured yeast usually found in the baking aisle in a strip of 3. Each packet hold 2.25 tsp of yeast.
-Flour: The gluten base of this bread recipe is 3 1/2 – 4 cups of all-purpose flour. The actual amount of flour needed may vary so follow along well and add in a little more or less as needed.
-Warm water: 2 Tablespoons of warm water will help to activate the yeast so that our bread rises perfectly.
-Warm milk: Using 1 cup of warm milk in the bread dough will help to add a softer crumb and add in more moisture than using plain water would.
-Sugar: We need 1/4 cup of sugar to sweeten the dough slightly and to help us feed the yeast.
-Egg: We need 1 egg, but it should be at room temperature so if needed, place it in a bowl of warm water to come to room temp more quickly.
-Butter: We need 1/3 cup of melted butter to help give us a richer taste and add fats into the dough.
-Lemon zest: Adding small specks of yellow throughout the dough and making it taste fantastic is 1 teaspoon of freshly zested lemon.
-Salt: Adding in 1/2 teaspoon of salt will help us to enhance the flavors in this bread recipe.
For the filling, you will need:
-Raspberry jam: We need 1 cup of raspberry jam to be the filling in this twisted bread recipe, this is about the amount you’d get from an 8 ounce pint-sized jar.
For the icing, you will need:
-Powdered sugar: 1 cup of powdered sugar will be the thick white base of sweetness for our icing recipe.
-Lemon juice: Adding in 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice will help to flavor our icing and thin it into the perfect drizzle consistency.
How to make the raspberry twist bread
Whisk the yeast and warm water together in a large bowl. Add in the warm milk and then whisk again.
Add in the sugar and the egg, whisking to combine.
Add in one cup of flour and then whisk. Add in the melted butter. Add in another cup of flour and the salt. Whisk until the flour is incorporated.
Continue adding flour, a little bit at a time, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl when stirred.
Add in the lemon zest and then knead the dough for about 5-8 minutes, until a smooth dough forms.
Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover the dough, letting it rise in a warm place for about 1 hour until doubled in size.
Prepare a standard sized bread loaf pan by lining it with parchment paper and spraying with nonstick cooking spray. Set it aside.
Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for a short while, slice into 2 equal portions, and roll each piece of dough out into a rectangle that is about 20 by 15 inches big.
Spread the jam over the top of the dough.
Tightly roll up the dough to form a log (like you would do with cinnamon rolls) and then pinch the dough seam together to hold it in form.
Slice your logs in half down the middle, leaving the last inch intact so that it doesn’t become two separate pieces.
Carefully weave the two halves together to form a nice looking twist. Invert the ends and tuck them under and then place the twisted dough into the prepared bread loaf pan.
Cover the pan and let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
Bake your loaf for 30-35 minutes until golden brown in color. You can always place a foil tent loosely over the top to prevent it from browning too much if you don’t want it too dark in color.
Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
After the bread has cooled make the glaze by mixing the powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl until smooth and drizzling it over the top of the baked bread.
Slice, serve & enjoy! Enjoy!
Raspberry Twist Bread
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 pkg (0.25 oz) fast-acting dry yeast 2.25 tsp yeast
- 3 1/2-4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp warm water
- 1 cup warm milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 tsp salt
Filling
- 1 cup raspberry jam
- 5 raspberries
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 Tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk the yeast and warm water together. Add warm milk and whisk again.
- Add sugar and egg. Whisk until combined.
- Add one cup of flour, whisk. Add the melted butter. Add another cup of flour, and salt, then whisk until all the flour is incorporated. Continue adding flour, a bit at a time, until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl when stirred. Add the lemon zest. Continue kneading for about 5-8 minutes, until a smooth dough forms.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl. Cover the dough and let rise in a warm place for one hour, or until doubled in size.
- Prepare a standard-sized loaf pan by lining it with parchment paper and spraying with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead for a short while. Cut into two equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough out to a rectangle (about 20 by 15 inches). Spread the jam over the top.
- Roll up each rectangle of dough tightly to form a log. Pinch the dough together to seal it closed.
- Cut the logs open lengthwise, leaving the last inch of the dough intact on one end.
- Twist the two strands around themselves. Invert the ends and tuck them under. Place the dough into the loaf pan. Top with fresh raspberries, if desired.
- Cover and rise in a warm place for one hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Bake the bread for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.
- Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
- For the glaze, mix the powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Pour the glaze over the loaf and serve. Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
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Can I freeze raspberry twist bread?
Yes. Let your bread cool completely and then wrap it in plastic wrap before placing it into an airtight container (or gallon-sized Ziploc bag) in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw before eating. To be less messy and give greater results, I recommend not adding the icing until ready to eat.
Can I use a different jam flavor?
Absolutely! With the lemon in this recipe, the filling would be great if using just about any jam. Blueberry jam, blackberry, or even strawberry could be some big hits!
How long is raspberry twist bread good for?
Homemade bread recipes are usually good for 2-4 days if you keep them well stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
Here are some more of the Best Bread Recipes:
- No Yeast Dinner Rolls
- Apple Cinnamon Monkey Bread
- Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
- Chocolate Cherry Quick Bread
- Soft and Sweet Honey Oat Bread
- No Yeast Wheat Bread
- White Bread Recipe
- Homemade Bread
- Challah Bread Recipe
- Glazed Apple Cinnamon Bread
- Gingersnap Banana Bread
- Cinnamon Rolls Without Yeast
- Lemon Quick Bread Recipe
- Soft and Buttery Potato Bread
- Moist Banana Bread Recipe
Raspberry twist bread is a simple and easy raspberry filled bread recipe with a homemade lemon icing glaze over the top. Each loaf looks and tastes great and you’re going to love the bursts of color and flavor.
Raspberry Twist Bread is a delicious loaf of homemade sweet bread swirled with raspberry jam. Served with lemon icing and brioche-style dough this bread is perfect for breakfast or dessert!
Manisha Dash says
Why do The bread smell of yeast n alcohol after baking?
Jessica says
Has your yeast gone bad?
Manisha Dash says
No, I used a new instant yeast packet.
Karen Anderson says
Add the lemon zest. Am I missing something? How much lemon zest?
Jessica says
Sorry- I fixed it! Yes, I put 2 tsp lemon zest in the bread dough. It’s optional, but dang, SO GOOD.
RAB says
Can we make this without egg?
What substitute can be used?
Thanks
Jessica says
I’ve not made it without egg- I’d google some substitutes and try one that suits you!
Marielle says
Looks delicious! Pinned for later. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
April Harris says
This looks so good! I love how versatile the raspberry lemon combination, as well as how flexible the recipe is if you want to try other combinations. Thank you for sharing and for being a part of the Hearth and Soul Link Party Community. I’m featuring this post at the party this week. Hope to ‘see’ you there! Take care, stay well, and I wish you a wonderful week!
Holly says
Do you think I could cut these like cinnamon rolls and bake like that?
Jessica says
That’d likely work just fine! Just watch baking times to avoid overcooking them.
Alex says
It gets a low rating BECAUSE. I had to make this bread three times before it came out edible. Recipe needs 1 tsp of flavoring- I used almond extract. I had to tent the top with foil to keep it from burning. Probably would cook best in glass and not standard light bread pan because it’s like a brioche in texture. Overall it was delish but far too much trial and error to get it there.
Nicole says
Sorry to hear that this recipe didnt meet your standards