Over 30 Holiday Bread Recipes for Gifts (2024)

FAQs

How do you give homemade bread as a gift? ›

Tie bread with long piece of twine, like you'd do with a ribbon on a christmas gift. Put a candied orange and rosemary, or other florals into the middle of the twine where it is tied. Add accompaniments to basket, and use linens to nestle everything. Decorate with seasonal items like ornaments, flowers, and greens.

Any bread recipe that you are already comfortable baking would make a wonderful gift! Here are some recipe suggestions from my blog if you'd like more ideas: Cranberry Walnut Sourdough Bread. Sourdough Soft Pretzels (salted or coated with cinnamon sugar)

Once you've baked your bread, let them cool completely on a cooling rack before wrapping them. Wrap them carefully in plastic wrap, tie a big 'ol pretty bow around them, and pick out a gift card.

You can show them that you are thinking about them by delivering them a loaf of bread. It creates a small but exciting event in their lives, at a time which often feels like everything and nothing is happening at the same time. At times when life is stressful, a loaf of bread is also a gift to the self.

Bread is also a common housewarming gift. It represents sustenance, nourishment, and hope for a plentiful and prosperous life in the new home. It is often given in the form of a loaf or a basket of bread and is usually accompanied by a wish for good health and happiness.

In a nutshell, if you're buying basic, cheap sandwich bread, it's probably cheaper than you can make it at home. But if you compare two loaves similar to what you could make at home — one made with high-quality ingredients as opposed to one made with lesser quality ingredients — home baking becomes much cheaper.

First and foremost, it's always best to let fresh bread rest until it's cool and fully set before slicing. I know, fresh-from-the-oven is hard to resist, but your bread will not only taste better it will keep longer if you wait to cut it for at least an hour—I prefer two or more.

If you're gifting a lot of loaves, cellophane bags can be the easiest & most affordable option for packaging banana bread. A tall, clear cellophane bag will give you that professional feel on a budget! This method works for any size loaf but I especially love it for mini loaves (or tiny loaves!).

Fill your baking gift basket with a few useful gadgets—you, know the kind you can never have enough of—like hot pads, dish towels, spatulas and cookbooks. Then sprinkle in a few novel gifties. We love the idea of adding in a favorite ingredient, like your go-to shortcut cake mix or a fancy bottle of vanilla extract.

What not to do when making bread? ›

While bread flour is the best option, it can sometimes be used if you don't have bread flour. “Check the protein content,” advises Chef Jürgen, since it can vary from brand to brand, and an all-purpose flour that contains protein on the higher end of the range, 12 to 13 percent, will produce a better outcome.

Bread boxes, if you have one, work great, but you can also use wax paper, a beeswax and linen bag, or even a dishcloth. A clean dish towel is one of Hartzheim's favorite options. "Plastic bags help keep the crumb (the interior of the loaf) soft but also make the crust soft.

Paper bags are more breathable than plastic, which is great for brioche rolls, soft buns, and other breads with added fat. But too much air will make the bread go stale quickly. Consider keeping these bags airtight as best you can. Then there's the bread box: it balances moisture and air circulation.

Things like slices, small loaves or breadsticks can be served in quaint pails for a unique addition to the table. Otherwise, try serving multiple types of bread at once with a multi-cone basket, offering variety and choice to your guests.

Idea 2: Wrap in Parchment

Once the loaf fully cools, wrap it in plastic wrap then use parchment or wax paper to create a fun little gift wrap! You can also use this method to wrap any kind of quick bread as a gift, as long as it fits on the parchment paper.