Unicorn twist bread is a fun and trendy white bread that's easy to make and colorful to look at. With sweet swirls of pink, blue, and purple, this bread is a great snack.
My daughter is all about that unicorn life so I'm always trying to think of fun new ways to bring rainbows and unicorns into our home without literally bringing them into our home.
I've made countless colorful foods and they're always a hit. Most recently I made this unicorn twist bread, and let's just say it was well worth my color stained hands when I saw her face light up as I pulled them out of the oven!
For more unicorn food, check out Pastel Rainbow Unicorn Cake, Easy Unicorn Pull-Apart Bread, and 21 Unicorn Food Ideas To Inspire Your Next Party!
Why This Recipe Works
- One for now and later. This recipe makes two gorgeous loaves of bread which means you can have one as a snack now and save the other for later. This bread freezes very well!
- Easy to make. Making bread from scratch is time consuming, but it's mostly waiting for the dough to rise. This recipe will take a little patience, but the hands on effort isn't too extreme.
- Sweet and savory. This is the bread you'll want to snack on all day long, especially when fresh and warm. From the sweetened cream cheese filling to the tasty bread, you'll enjoy every last bite.
🥘 Ingredients
Milk- Adding milk to the bread will give it a little moisture and more flavor than if we had used just water alone.
Water- You'll want some warm water to give the dough more moisture and to help activate the yeast.
Eggs- Add in eggs to give this bread a nice eggy taste and richness.
Butter- You can use salted butter or unsalted butter.
Flour- The gluten structure and base of this bread recipe is all purpose flour.
Sugar- Use some granulated sugar to feed the yeast and encourage it to help our dough rise more.
Salt- A natural flavor enhancer.
Quick Rise Yeast- You will want to use some quick rise yeast or instant/active yeast. This is what helps the dough to grow and proof.
Cream Cheese- This is the base of the colored swirls throughout the bread.
Food Coloring- You will need some food coloring. I prefer gel food coloring because it's more vibrant.
Vanilla Extract- A flavor enhancer.
Powdered Sugar- For adding a smooth sweetness to the cream cheese swirls.
For the exact amounts needed, please see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
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🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make unicorn twist bread with these simple step-by-step instructions:
Bread machine option
- Place the ingredients for the bread in your machine in the order listed by the owner's manual.
- Press the dough cycle and wait.
By hand option
- In a large bowl dissolve the yeast in warm milk and water (about 110 degrees) for about 10 minutes until foamy.
- Add in the eggs, butter, sugar, and salt. Add in the flour a little at a time until the dough comes together to form a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. You may not need all of the flour.
- Knead the dough until elastic and then place it in a greased bowl with plastic wrap over the top and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Both options follow along from here:
- In a bowl, combine the vanilla, powdered sugar, and cream cheese. Divide into 3 bowls and add food coloring to each until the desired color is reached.
- Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and punch down. Divide into 3 equal sized parts.
- Roll each bread section out into a rectangle of about the same size.
- Spread the cream cheese on each section, one color per section. It's okay if it touches the edges.
- Roll up the dough from the long side to the other until it's a log.
- Slice each log in half down the middle, revealing the colorful stripes inside.
- Gently pick them up and lay three side by side in the order desired.
- Braid them from the top to the bottom, pinching at the ends to hold them together if needed.
- Lay them in greased bread pans by placing the ends in first and laying the center on top, stripes facing up.
- Let rise until doubled (about 45min-60min).
- Bake for 35 minutes in a 350F degree preheated oven, checking mid-way through. If you don't want it too browned, place a piece of aluminum foil over the tops of the bread to prevent them from browning any further.
- Let cool 10 minutes in bread pan, then turn onto a wired rack to complete cooling.
- Use as desired and enjoy.
🍴 Recipe Tips
Your dough might be a little sticky, but as you knead it in the flour (after the first rise) it will fix itself right out. When you divide the dough and roll them out, it's okay if they aren't 100% exactly the same length because when you braid them together you can tug on the bread a little bit to stretch it out and make it longer.
I recommend keeping paper towels handy as the rolling, cutting, and braiding can get messy. Keeping your hands clean helps to prevent smearing the colors all over the place.
When you place the bread in the pans, the bread braid WILL be longer than the bread pan. What you're basically doing is folding the ends in under the braid to where top and bottom meet and the center's on top. Much like a deflated circle. When the bread does its second rise and bakes, it all comes together to create the swirly unicorn bread from top to bottom.
💭 FAQs
This bread has a thick and crispy golden crust with a soft and chewy white bread inside. The swirls of sweetened cream cheese swirls help to make it have little bursts of sweetness, but not enough to be overpowering like a dessert- more like the sweetness of a storebought white bread.
Depending on how thick you make the cream cheese there may be some spots with a more noticeable sweetness to it.
After the bread has completely cooled, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and keep it stored in an airtight container for up to a week. The bread should be kept stored at room temperature as the cold fridge air will cause it to dry out.
Absolutely! Eat one now and save one for later! After its completely cooled, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and store it in a freezer safe Ziplock bag. Keep there for up to 3 months. To thaw, simply place it on the counter overnight.
Other yeast bread recipes to check out
📖 Recipe
Unicorn Twist Bread
Equipment
- Bread Machine (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm milk (about 110 degrees F) ($0.19)
- ¼ cup warm water (about 110 degrees F) ($0.00)
- 2 large Eggs ($0.16)
- ¼ cup Butter, softened ($0.37)
- 5 cups All purpose flour ($0.40)
- ¼ cup Granulated sugar ($0.06)
- 1 teaspoon Salt ($0.10)
- 2 ¼ teaspoon Quick Rise Yeast ($0.54)
Colorful Filling
- 8 ounces Cream cheese, softened ($1.98)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract ($0.00)
- ½ cup Powdered sugar ($0.12)
- Gel food coloring (pink, purple, blue) ($0.04)
Instructions
Bread Machine Option
- Place the ingredients for the bread in your machine in the order listed by the owner's manual. Mine states wet, dry, yeast last, but yours may vary.
- Press the dough cycle and wait for it to complete.
By Hand Option
- In a large bowl dissolve the yeast in warm milk and water (about 110 degrees) for about 10 minutes until foamy.
- Add in the eggs, butter, sugar, and salt. Add in the flour a little at a time until the dough comes together to form a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. You may not need all of the flour.
- Knead the dough until it's elastic (about 8 minutes). You should be able to poke it and have the dough spring back to fill in the indent quickly. Then place it in a greased bowl with plastic wrap over the top and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Both Options Follow Along From Here
- In a bowl, combine your vanilla, powdered sugar, and cream cheese. Divide that into 3 bowls and then add the food coloring to each until the desired color is reached.
- Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and punch it down. Divide it into 3 equal sized parts. Or as close as you can get.
- Roll each bread section out into a rectangle of about the same size. It's okay if they aren't the same size because you can fix that later, but aim for neat rectangle shapes.
- Spread the cream cheese on each section, one color per section. It's okay if it touches the edges.
- Roll up the dough from one long side to the other until it's a tightly rolled log. (Like you're making cinnamon rolls).
- Slice each log in half down the middle, revealing the colorful stripes inside.
- Gently pick up each half and arrange them. Lay three side by side in the order desired.
- Braid them from the top to the bottom, pinching at the ends to hold them together if needed. As you braid ou can pull on the bread ropes that are shorter than the others to extend them enough to complete this. It's okay if one stripe is about 2 inches short, it'll be on the bottom of a bread loaf and unnoticed. Promise.
- Lay the bread braids in greased bread pans by placing the ends in first and laying the center on top, stripes facing up. Think deflated tire.
- Let rise until doubled (about 45min-60min).
- Bake for 35 minutes in a 350F degree preheated oven, checking mid-way through. If you don't want it too browned, place a piece of aluminum foil over the tops of the bread to prevent them from browning any further.
- Let cool 10 minutes in bread pan, then turn onto a wired rack to complete cooling.
- Use as desired and enjoy.
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