Cream Cheese Blueberry Bread
This cream cheese blueberry bread is a braided yeasted loaf filled with homemade blueberry filling and sweetened cream cheese. Makes 2 gorgeous braids.
Servings: 2 braided loaves
Calories: 1622kcal
Ingredients
Sponge
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1½ cups warm milk 100 to 110°F
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
Dough
- 2 eggs
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2½ to 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into tablespoon pieces
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese room temperature
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Blueberry Filling
- 1 pound fresh blueberries divided in half
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons water divided
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Assembly
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water egg wash
Instructions
Day 1 — Dough
- Mix yeast, sugar, and flour in a large bowl. Pour in warm milk and beat smooth. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
- Add eggs, salt, sugar, and 1 cup flour to the sponge. Beat until smooth. Add butter piece by piece, beating well after each addition. Add remaining flour gradually until a soft, kneadable dough forms.
- Knead 5 minutes until smooth. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled, 1½ to 2 hours.
- Deflate dough, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
Day 1 — Fillings
- Cream cheese filling: beat cream cheese smooth. Mix in sugar, egg, and vanilla until creamy. Refrigerate.
- Blueberry filling: whisk cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water; set aside. Simmer half the blueberries with sugar and 1 tablespoon water until berries burst, about 3 minutes. Add cornstarch mixture and lemon juice; stir 30 seconds. Fold in remaining raw blueberries. Cool completely.
Day 2 — Shape and Bake
- Remove dough from fridge. Deflate and divide into 2 pieces.
- Roll each piece between parchment sheets into an 8 x 12 inch rectangle.
- Mark dough lightly into thirds. Cut 1½-inch diagonal flaps along both outer thirds (cuts go all the way through).
- Spread cream cheese down the center third. Top carefully with cooled blueberry filling. Do not overfill.
- Alternating sides, fold cut flaps over the filling in a crisscross pattern. Press ends to seal. Repeat with second braid.
- Cover loosely and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Brush with egg wash. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, rotating at the 20-minute mark, until deep golden brown. Cool 30 minutes before slicing.
Notes
- This is a 2-day recipe. The overnight refrigerator rise is strongly recommended — the dough develops more flavor and is much easier to roll out cold than at room temperature.
- Do not overfill the braids. A thin, even layer of each filling prevents the braid from bursting open during baking.
- The blueberry filling must be fully cooled before you spread it over the cream cheese. Warm filling will melt the cream cheese layer.
- Both fillings can be made 1 day ahead and kept refrigerated. This spreads the work across 3 days if needed and makes baking day much more manageable.
- Freeze a fully baked, cooled braid wrapped tightly for up to 1 month. Thaw at room temperature or warm in a 300°F oven for 10 minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 1622kcal | Carbohydrates: 272g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 46g | Saturated Fat: 25g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 278mg | Sodium: 2170mg | Potassium: 434mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 119g | Vitamin A: 1761IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 166mg | Iron: 10mg