Fluffy sweet pastry layered and filled with a bright and flavorful strawberry cream cheese filling. Topped with crispy sugar that makes this bread reminiscent of those special bakery pastries and finished with a simple yet delicious lemon cream cheese glaze. This strawberry lemon cream cheese bread is impressive, delicious and perfect for any special occasion.
One of my favorite smells is the whole world is freshly made bread. From the moment the dough is prepped and the dough starts to rise, I can’t help but inhale that fresh, yeasty smell that permeates the room. It’s truly hard to beat.
From sweet breads, to dinner rolls, to a simple loaf of white bread; I love them all and enjoy the process from start to finish.
This strawberry lemon cream cheese bread starts with a delicious dough that is easy to make, however, the assembly process is where it gets a bit more involved. BUT, it’s totally worth it for the final outcome. The presentation of this bread is topnotch and truly impressive if I do say so myself!
The bread is flavorful, fluffy and perfectly soft and it’s the great base for a sweet and slightly tart filling.
The filling is the combination of a few simple ingredients that combine and blend perfectly! Tangy cream cheese, sweet strawberries and tart lemon. Spread between four layers of dough, not only is the flavor running throughout, but makes a pretty statement in the finished product.
What takes this bread to the next level is the crunchy coating of sparkling sugar that is sprinkled over the top right before baking. This is that step that is so small but adds that something extra that makes it so special.
Right before serving the bread gets a healthy drizzle of a simple and tasty cream cheese glaze. I love lemon so I used lemon juice as the liquid to pull the mixture together, but if lemon isn’t you’re thing then a splash of milk will be perfect.
This bread utilizes a few simple ingredients, some fun techniques and yields an impressive pull apart bread. It’s perfect for a special occasion, brunch, or holiday breakfast.
Strawberry Lemon Cream Cheese Bread
Fluffy, sweet pastry filled with a tangy, bright and flavorful strawberry filling, sprinkled with bits of crispy sugar and drizzled with a simple yet tangy lemon cream cheese glaze.
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 3 1/4 Cups + 2 Tbsp flour
- 1/4 Cup sugar
- 1 Package (7 grams) instant yeast
- 2 Tsp Kosher salt
- 1/4 Cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 Egg, room temperature
- 2 Tsp vanilla bean paste
Filling
- 6 Oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 Cup powdered sugar
- 1/3 Cup freeze dried strawberries, crushed
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- 1 Tbsp egg white, lightly beaten
- 1 drop strawberry oil flavoring
For baking
- 1 Egg, room temperature
- Sparkling or sanding sugar
For the cream cheese glaze
- 1/4 Cup powdered sugar
- 2 Oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 1-2 Tbsp lemon juice
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
For the dough-
- Combine 1 cup flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Stir to combine.
- In a medium saucepan, combine milk and butter and heat over medium heat until an instant read thermometer reads 120-130 F.
- Add milk mixture to the flour mixture and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, pausing to scrape sides of bowl as needed.
- Add egg and vanilla bean paste and beat on medium for 2 minutes.
- Reduce mixing speed to low and gradually add in the remaining flour, beating until just combined.
- Remove paddle attachment and replace with the dough hook and knead on medium speed until soft and somewhat sticky dough forms, about 6-8 minutes. (Alternately you may knead using your hands, but the kneading process may take closer to 15-20 minutes)*
- Spray a large bowl, transfer dough to bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Punch dough down, cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
- Divide dough into 4 even portions, working with one portion at a time.
For the filling-
- Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, crushed strawberries, egg white and lemon zest in a bowl and beat until incorporated. Set aside.
To layer the bread-
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Working on a clean, floured surface, roll one portion out to form an 11 inch circle. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Spread a third of the filling mixture evenly over the circle.
- Repeat process with remaining dough and filling.
- Place a 1 1/2 inch round cutter in the center of the dough, gently press down to form an impression of the cutter. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut 16 evenly spaced sections in the dough.
- Working with two pieces at a time, twist the pieces away from one another, then pinch the 2 ends together. Repeat with the remaining sections.
- Combine egg and 1 tablespoon of water and whisk to combine. Brush the pastry with the egg wash. Sprinkle with sparkling sugar.
- Place in the preheated oven and bake for 22 minutes, until a thermometer inserted in the center reads 190. (Lightly cover with foil, if needed, to prevent overly browning.
- Allow to cool completely.
For the glaze-
- Combine all ingredients and whisk until completely incorporated and smooth.
To serve-
- Place the glaze in a piping or plastic sandwich bag. Snip a small hole in the corner of the bag, drizzle over the cooled bread.
- Serve.
Slightly adapted from BAKE from scratch
Notes
*To test the dough, pinch off a piece and slowly pull the dough. If the dough is ready it will be able to stretch until it's thin and translucent. If it rips before this point, knead an additional 1-2 minutes then test again.
*Sugar in the raw may be used in place of the sparkling or sanding sugar.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 257Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 90mgSodium: 710mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 0gSugar: 16gProtein: 4g
Nutrition is gathered and calculated based on the ingredients used by Nutritionix. Nutrition can vary for a recipe based on numerous factors such as precision of the measurements, brands of products, freshness of ingredients or the source of the nutritional data.
The process in pictures is below.
Some of my favorite for this recipe:
- Baking sheet
- Freeze dried strawberries
- Instant read thermometer
- LorAnn super strength strawberry flavor
- Parchment paper
- Pizza cutter
- Zester