Golden Santa Bread Recipe

Reviewed on Dec. 23, 2012 by 0momma3

I have made this twice and the bread will not rise! I will different recipe to make bread im sad that this didnt work out:(

Reviewed on Dec. 19, 2012 by mandt2

This was cute and fairly easy to make, but I would not use the bread recipe listed again. It had too much sugar, which impacted both the taste and the length of time for the bread to rise. Allrecipes has a good Amish Bread recipe that would work well with this and could easily make 2 santas. I didn't have dark raisins, so used halved green candied cherries for the eyes. Another reviewer also summed other critical information very well: when you tent it with foil, it will stick and ruin the appearance of the nose, unless you put a couple of crumpled up foil balls beside the bread to elevate the foil enough to prevent it from touching the dough. Also, it is good to brush the entire santa with the plain egg wash, then go back and add the red wash to the cheeks, etc. I also found this needed to bake about 20 minutes longer than indicated, although flattening the triangle used for the face/hat may help that.

Reviewed on Dec. 09, 2012 by Athanasius' Mommy

I thought it has a sweet flavor to it.

Reviewed on Dec. 09, 2012 by a.hinkle

is this a regular bread, or is it sweet?

Reviewed on Dec. 09, 2012 by jsturm6610

I made this Santa Bread last X-mas and am going to make it again. It looks like you spend so much time on it and it is so easy to make. I used the frozen bread dough.

Reviewed on Dec. 09, 2012 by jsturm6610

I made this Santa Bread last X-mas and am going to make it again. It looks like you spend so much time on it and it is so easy to make. I used the frozen bread dough.

Reviewed on Dec. 08, 2012 by Dinsky

This is amazing! Every Santa gets better (as your skill improves) than the last. One question though - has anyone tried freezing a ready made Santa bread?? I would like to give several loaves away for Christmas gifts so if I can't freeze them I would have to get up around 2:00a.m to get them all made (not gonna happen).

Reviewed on Jan. 07, 2012 by veraann

This turned out really cute,grand-kids loved it. I use a potato bread recipe (that I really like) so I couldn't rate at five stars.

Reviewed on Jan. 01, 2012 by shelbybird

This bread is AMAZING! I cut corners and used frozen dough, but still, it came out amazing!

TIPS: 1) I wouldn't recommend serving this alone... I served it alongside a dish of Cinnamon Honey Butter that another user recommended.

The Recipe: 1c Honey, 1c Butter (2 sticks), 1c Powdered Sugar, 2tsp Cinnamon. Whisk using the whisk attachment on your mixer.

2) Definitely do a practice run beforehand if you're going to be taking this somewhere or giving it as a gift.

3) Santa bread and a jar of homemade cinnamon honey butter make an EXCELLENT Christmas gift! :)

Reviewed on Dec. 29, 2011 by Athanasius' Mommy

UPDATE: I made this dough recipe a second time. Instead of making it into a Santa face, I separated the dough into three strands and braided them. I then brushed one of the strands with egg white, a second strand with red food coloring (egg yolk w/3 red drops), and the third strand with green food coloring (egg yolk w/3 green drops).  It turned out WONDERFUL! Better reviews this time...perhaps because I didn't handle the dough as much. It was more moist this go-around. This is such a GREAT dough recipe...one person said it reminded them of sourdough. You can fashion the dough into whatever design you want!! 

Reviewed on Dec. 28, 2011 by Athanasius' Mommy

I received rave reviews on the appearance and taste of this bread recipe! I made my own dough and it was a lot of fun! I placed the dough on parchment paper and then on a baking sheet. I will definitely be making this again! My husband thought I could use the dough recipe for rolls too. We shall see!

Reviewed on Dec. 22, 2011 by sstetzel

MCBWGreen

Those of you who used "frozen" bread dough, are you talking about the Pillsbury refrigerated bread dough that comes in cans? (I haven't done much bread baking!) Thanks!

Frozen bread dough is found in the freezer section of your grocery store, usually with the garlic bread and rolls.

Reviewed on Dec. 21, 2011 by MCBWGreen

Those of you who used "frozen" bread dough, are you talking about the Pillsbury refrigerated bread dough that comes in cans? (I haven't done much bread baking!) Thanks!

Reviewed on Dec. 19, 2011 by IslandWife

This was so easy to make and a special treat for my family - they loved it!

Reviewed on Dec. 18, 2011 by jasonpgill

Great Bread! I thought it wasn't going to look at all the picture but even with my limited bread skills it came out very close. I'm giving them out as gifts next year.

Reviewed on Dec. 17, 2011 by lauriedmiller

Not as easy as everyone else said. The directions are vague as to how big the triangle should be, shaping the beard and making a hat. I'll make it again, even though mine looks a bit strange

Reviewed on Dec. 14, 2011 by tea-talk

Just a few tips:

* make sure to cut the beard strips decently thin - they will look better and be easier to twist and shape

* if you use foil to "loosely cover" during first 15 minutes, DO NOT let the foil touch the bread! It will rip off and leave an ugly spot.

* Let the dough rise more than the 1 hour it says to.

* Let the shaped Santa rise for a little bit (maybe half an hour to an hour).

* Do the regular egg wash first and the red egg wash last to prevent the color from running.

Overall, decent recipe. Mine didn't look too bad even with all the mistakes! Glad I practiced though, because I will make an even better looking one next week to give to my boyfriend's family!

Reviewed on Dec. 11, 2011 by Shangela

Made this for a Christmas party & man oh man everyone loved it. People were taking pictures & no one could believe that I made it (how rude... jk). I didn't have bread flour so I used all-purpose flour & it turned out just fine. I accompanied it with Cinnamon Honey Butter (http://www.flythroughourwindow.com/2009/12/yesterday-rain-paint-butter-bruises/) courtesy of Pinterest. This butter was also amazing.

Reviewed on Dec. 01, 2011 by trudi.taylor

I used my bread machine to make the dough and like everyone said it is so easy to make it look just like the picture. Everyone was impressed but it was hard to get them to cut into it! LOL

Reviewed on Dec. 01, 2011 by pawla656

Thanks so much for this recipe! For those questioning what do you serve it with. How about ANY meal. Breakfast, lunch, dinner! It IS bread people!

Reviewed on Nov. 06, 2011 by peace2604

I made for the first time for this past christmas and it was fun to make and everyone just loved it, now it will be something that I make every year! You can't go wrong with this Santa Bread. The only thing I changed was that I used 2 frozen loafs of bread and it came out great!

Reviewed on Aug. 01, 2011 by Donwilliams1

When I started this I thought that there is no way that I could make this look like the picture. It did look just like the picture! Everybody thought that I bought it somewhere.

Reviewed on Apr. 27, 2011 by BakinGymnast

Very nice presentation, but it needs something to go with it. Not a lot of people wanted to eat just plain bread.

Reviewed on Jan. 04, 2011 by CyndiKear

It was so easy to make and it looked just like the picture that I had to make two. I will definitely make it again next year (my grandchildren loved it).

Reviewed on Dec. 24, 2010 by sammijeana

I added crasins for his mouth...and blueberry craisins for his eyes....what a great idea..thanks for sharing it! Cant wait until the grandkids get here!

Reviewed on Dec. 19, 2010 by ilean50

I used frozen breadm 2 loaves. It was a lot easier to put together than I thought. I am not much of an artzy person. I did put sugar sprinkles all over for a little sparkle. And I did allow for a second rise. But he is cute as a button.

Reviewed on Dec. 19, 2010 by debkohn

Super easy and cute! A holiday hit.

Reviewed on Dec. 18, 2010 by jstertz

do you let the frozen dough rise before shaping or after?? Thanks!

Reviewed on Dec. 15, 2010 by wyolin

I made this Santa last year at least 10 times. It was wonderful. We moved over the summer so I have a whole new list of friends that I can give a Santa to. It is so easy, cute, and tastes good.

Reviewed on Dec. 14, 2010 by haydenjeree

Very fun to make with the grandkids. I used 2 loaves of frozen dough (thawed overnight in the refrigerator. ) Suggestion --- shape the Santa, let it rise for 1/2 hour or so and then when tenting the Santa with foil, be sure and spray the aluminum foil with Pam baking spray otherwise ,it will stick to Santa while being baked and then pulls off some of the bread when removing it. I'll be making some for gifts this holiday season.

Reviewed on Dec. 10, 2010 by annietap

doesn't this have to rise at some point?

Reviewed on Jun. 06, 2010 by eversbeaver

So much fun to make! Used frozen bread and it came out perfectly!

Reviewed on Dec. 27, 2009 by hensrgr8

i am very sorry this is a 5 star recipe all the way just made a mistake in entering! Sorry Santa!

Reviewed on Dec. 27, 2009 by hensrgr8

Just made this today, what a hit! I used frozen bread dough and used the quick method fr preparation on the package. Santa was easy to make and very cute. I served with honey butter that i made.

Reviewed on Dec. 27, 2009 by ABaker521

Great idea for a bread that looks like you worked on it for hours! Kids liked the Santa, and adults were impressed. The only thing that I would suggest for others is to make sure that you go heavy on the red food coloring. If you don't, a pink Santa might result~ not the usual kind of Christmas attire for him.

Reviewed on Dec. 25, 2009 by jaelee

Could you tell me if you let the frozen bread dough rise before shaping and baking or

shaped and then let rise.  Thanks for you help.

please email me directly jltreit@shaw.ca

from sunny vancouver bc canada

Merry Christmas

Reviewed on Dec. 22, 2009 by josiezanker

I meant to give it five stars, but hit the wrong button. :)

Reviewed on Dec. 22, 2009 by josiezanker

I made this using 2 loaves of frozen bread dough. It looks like it took you hours but it only took about 20 minutes to get the dough shaped, and mine came out looking exactly like the picture! Everybody oohed and ahhed over it. Will definitely be making again!