Sweet bread lives in the blissfully hazy zone between dessert and not, which is why it’s perfectly acceptable to eat a blueberry bagel for breakfast or a frosted bun with afternoon coffee. Let’s be clear here: Food & Wine is fully Team Sweet Bread. No matter the hour or day, it’s always time to enjoy a slice of babka or fruit-studded focaccia. You’ll find many classics here — infused with warming spices, speckled with raisins, or folded around chocolate — and hopefully some sweetened bread recipes that are new to you too, from quick loaves to enriched buns to holiday showstoppers.
01 of 29
Sweet Plum Focaccia
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
This airy focaccia from cookbook author Kate Leahy showcases ripe plums that caramelize as they bake, balanced by rosemary, turbinado sugar, and flaky sea salt for a sweet-salty finish. The dough relies on a straightforward mix, proof, and dimple method and bakes hot on a preheated stone for a crisp crust and tender crumb.
02 of 29
Pain au Chocolat
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
This classic viennoiserie has “pain” (or “bread”) in the name, so it gets to hang with the cool sweet breads. Laminated yeasted dough encases chocolate batons to create shattering, buttery pockets and a tender interior. This recipe is not for the faint of heart, but the reward (homemade chocolate croissants) for your effort is well worth it.
03 of 29
Saffron Tea Cakes
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Thom Driver
Saffron Tea Cakes
Fragrant with saffron, these tiny teas cakes from Timmy Gibbons and Bobby Schaffer of Lost Larson bakery in Chicago are inspired by Swedish lussekatter. The batter comes together quickly and bakes into tender, lightly sweet rounds that are dusted with demerara sugar and brushed with honey.
04 of 29
Virtue Cornbread
Antonis Achilleos / Prop Styling by Christina Daley / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall
From chef Erick Williams of Chicago’s Virtue, this slightly sweet, buttery cornbread celebrates the foodways of the Great Migration. A buttermilk-and-melted-butter batter bakes into a tender loaf that’s particularly excellent warm from the oven.
05 of 29
Cinnamon Roll Focaccia
Food & Wine / Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Phoebe Weeks
This playful mashup tops light, chewy focaccia with buttery dark-brown-sugar cinnamon filling and finally a layer of tangy cream cheese glaze. The streamlined focaccia dough is great for beginners and bakes into a treat that’s crisp-edged with a tender crumb.
06 of 29
Irish Soda Bread
Food & Wine / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Stylist by Josh Hoggle
Irish soda bread, in Ireland, is often just “bread” — albeit tangy, dense, and delicious. But in the United States, Irish immigrants added a touch of sugar and heaps of raisins, and it’s this sweetened version that is most familiar to the American palate. Serve with lots of soft butter, and even more Irish breakfast tea.
07 of 29
Sweetened Condensed Milk Rolls
Eva Kolenko / Food Styling by Carrie Purcell / Prop Styling by Jillian Knox
Enriched with sweetened condensed milk, these plush dinner-style rolls bake up with a burnished sheen and chewy-soft crumb. A cross between Portuguese and Hawaiian sweet bread and Chinese milk bread, they make an ideal vehicle for sliders.
08 of 29
Brown-Butter Banana Bread
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Prissy Lee
Browning the butter coaxes nutty depth that plays against ripe bananas for a fragrant, toasty loaf in this recipe from 2020 F&W Best New Chef Lena Sareini. She advises against baking this with underripe fruit: “Be patient,” she says. “That’s the only way the banana flavor is going to show through.”
09 of 29
Vatrushka with Lemon and Ricotta Filling
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christine Keely
Ukrainian vatrushky are individual buns filled with lightly sweetened ricotta, lemon zest, and golden raisins — a beloved Easter tradition. Chef and cookbook author Anna Voloshyna turns supple, enriched dough into pillowy-soft buns that bake glossy and fragrant.
10 of 29
Brioche à Tête (Italian Breakfast Buns)
Inspired by the soft, aromatic buns served at Caffè Europa in Catania, Sicily, chef and restaurateur Evan Funke shares a recipe for tender, gently flavored rolls that are infused with citrus and vanilla. A small ball of dough is placed on top before baking to form the classic tête—the “head” that gives each bun its signature shape.
11 of 29
Banana Bread
Food & Wine / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Stylist by Julia Bayless
This one-bowl banana bread leans on pantry staples and requires no mixer, delivering a sweet, moist loaf with a lightly crisp crust. It’s intentionally flexible — swap oil for butter, fold in chocolate or nuts, or even use thawed frozen bananas.
12 of 29
Rosca de Reyes
Food & Wine / Photo by Morgan Hunt Glaze / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle
This festive bread is made in Mexico to celebrate Día de Reyes, aka the Epiphany. A ring of tender, aromatic dough decorated with candied fruit, nuts, and sanding sugar — it has a small figurine hidden inside for good luck. Iliana de la Vega and her daughter, Ana Torrealba, the chefs and partners at El Naranjo restaurant in Austin, Texas, build flavor with a poolish and anise seed, then finish with festive toppings.
13 of 29
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
Adam Friedlander / Food Styling by Pearl Jones
This moist zucchini bread dotted with chocolate chips is a sweet answer to a vegetable drawer overfull with summer squash. Store in the refrigerator after baking. It also freezes well.
14 of 29
Pan de Muerto
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
This traditional sweet treat is made to celebrate Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead. In this recipe from 2023 F&W Best New Chef Isabel Coss, an orange-scented enriched dough is shaped with “bones” across the top.
15 of 29
Lussekatter (St. Lucia’s Day Saffron Buns)
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
Chef, restauranteur, and cookbook author Nichole Accettola shares her recipe for these traditional St. Lucia’s Day buns. Stained with saffron, shaped into S-curves, and dotted with raisins, lussekatter are golden, fragrant, and festive.
16 of 29
Orange-Cardamom Morning Buns
Fred Hardy / Food Styling by Ali Ramee / Prop Styling by Christina Brockman
Start your day right by baking up these citrus and spice–scented morning buns. The dough is prepared the day before and chilled overnight, then filled, rolled, sliced, and baked. The result is sticky, gooey, and not too sweet.
17 of 29
Earl Grey Tea Bread
Victor Protasio
This fragrant quick bread from food writer and cookbook author Ruby Tandoh is steeped with Earl Grey for citrusy bergamot notes, perfect with afternoon tea. There’s no fat in the batter by design: It will yield a more springy, sturdy crumb that stands up well to slicing and toasting.
18 of 29
Italian Easter Bread
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
Tender, lemon-and-nutmeg–scented dough is braided into individual wreaths, crowned with a dyed egg, and showered with sugar sprinkles for a festive Pane di Pasqua. The raw eggs bake through in the oven, while a rum-spiked egg wash helps the loaves turn golden in about 20 minutes.
19 of 29
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread
Chef, photographer, and blogger Sarah Bolla’s loaf layers cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove into a moist gluten-free quick bread with a crunchy turbinado-sprinkled top. It’s ideal for autumn and ready in just over an hour.
20 of 29
Monkey Bread with Honey-Bourbon Sauce
Christopher Testani
Michelle Gayer of Salty Tart bakery in Minneapolis shares her recipe for pull-apart monkey bread that’s smothered with a buttery honey-bourbon sauce. Expect a sticky, caramelized exterior and soft, chewy interior.
21 of 29
Raisin Rye Bread
Accomplished baker Lionel Vatinet shares his recipe for a hearty rye bread studded with sweet raisins. It’s ideal as a slice of breakfast toast or as a cheese board accompaniment.
22 of 29
Carrot, Coconut, and Zucchini Bread
Kay Chun’s vegetable-rich loaf folds in shredded carrots and zucchini with coconut for moisture and subtle sweetness. Another sprinkle of coconut before going into the oven gives the bread a crunchy, golden brown top.
23 of 29
Chocolate Babka
Baker and cookbook author Melissa Weller’s brioche-like dough is rolled with a lush chocolate filling boosted by finely ground cookie crumbs, then twisted and finished with a thick, glossy chocolate glaze. This recipe yields two gorgeous loaves with distinct spirals and a deep, chocolaty richness.
24 of 29
Vanilla-Sugar Conchas
Victor Protasio
“For me, experimenting with the Mexican tradition of sweet bread has always been fundamental,” says chef Elena Reygadas of Panaderia Rosetta in Mexico City. Each roll is capped with a vanilla-bean sugar “shell” that bakes crackly and fragrant — ideally enjoyed warm with coffee.
25 of 29
Fig-and-Rosemary Focaccia with Pecorino
Chef Marco Canora’s focaccia mixes jammy figs and woodsy rosemary with a salty shower of Pecorino. The result is a sweet and savory bread with an open, airy crumb and crisp edges.
26 of 29
Cinnamon-Raisin Bread
A plush, spice-forward loaf shot through with a buttery cinnamon-sugar swirl and plenty of raisins is ideal on it’s own or turned into sandwiches, French toast, or bread pudding. This recipe yields two loaves.
27 of 29
Miso Banana Bread
White miso lends umami and depth to this moist banana loaf from Boston chefs Jamie Bissonnette and Ken Oringer, with a split banana baked on top for drama. The miso is added while creaming the butter and sugar, which makes for an exceptionally flavorful crumb.
28 of 29
Chocolate Focaccia with Cherries
Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christine Keely
This dessert-leaning focaccia enriched with cocoa and studded with juicy cherries is especially delicious served warm with a dusting of sugar and cherry balsamic vinegar for dipping.
29 of 29
Yogurt-Zucchini Bread with Walnuts
Yogurt keeps this quick bread moist while walnuts add crunch. It’s also a great way to use up extra zucchini. It’s a staple loaf for breakfasts and snacks that you’ll return to again and again.
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