Last Updated on July 19, 2020

Every year, as the holidays approach, I watch for the appearance of eggnog. Once I have eggnog, I can make one of my favorite breakfast bread recipes, eggnog bread. I love it!!

Then the holidays are over.  I take down the holiday decorations and wish I had eggnog bread.  I look at the calendar and calculate the months until I can get eggnog bread again.

What if I could make eggnog bread all year?

It took a few months of experimentation to recreate the taste of eggnog bread, but without the eggnog. I’ve finally got something to share with you.

This bread smells heavenly while it toasts, filling the room with scents of cinnamon and nutmeg. Also, this bread is wonderful when topped with cream cheese!

Before I get started with the recipe, I want to let you know that I’ve heard about freezing eggnog.  So this year I’m going to buy some extra and freeze it.  I’ll let you know how that goes.  

Making Anytime Eggnog Bread

This makes a two-pound loaf of bread. Use the basic setting with medium crust.

Follow the instructions that came with your bread machine in terms of which ingredients to put in the machine first.  

There’s a trick involving the half and half.

Put the two eggs in a measuring cup and lightly beat them. Fill the measuring cup to the one cup mark with half and half. Then add an additional 1/2 cup of half and half.

In other words, you’ll be using 1.5 cups of half and half less the amount of the two eggs.

I recommend that you check on the dough after five or ten minutes of kneading. Pop the top of the bread machine and see how the dough is doing.  It should be a smooth-ish, round ball.  I say smooth-ish because dough with raisins in it seems to be a little bumpy.  

If it’s too dry, add liquid a teaspoon at a time until it looks right.  If it looks too wet, add flour a tablespoon at a time until it looks right.

Anytime Eggnog Bread Recipe

Again, this makes a two-pound loaf of bread. Use the basic setting with medium crust.

2 eggs, beaten
1 ½ cups half and half (you’re actually going to use a little less, be sure to read the instructions)
4 cups bread flour
½ cup dried cranberries or raisins
1 ¼ teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon allspice
1 ¾ teaspoons active dry yeast