This blueberry cream cheese star bread is so much easier to make than it looks and is always a showstopper. It is also famously known as the Christmas bread and is so soft and fluffy. The dough comes together in minutes and does not require a mixer if you don’t have one. Since baking it is a long process, I recommend dividing it into two days. You can bake it as a thanksgiving dessert or early in the morning on Christmas. No matter when you decide to bake it, I promise it’s going to leave you and your friends & family drooling over them!

Ingredients you’ll need:
- Warm Milk: You will need warm whole (full-fat) milk. Warm temperatures are also required to activate the yeast. Temperatures required are between 110ºF to 115ºF ideally. Anything hotter than this can kill your yeast. You will need 3/4th cup (180ml) warm milk to make this recipe.
- Yeast: Once the yeast is added, you should wait for it to be activated before proceeding. In case of instant yeast, it will activate immediately and you will have a foamy & bubbly mixture. However if using active dry yeast, you will need to let the mixture rest for around 15-20 minutes before the yeast is active.
- Granulated Sugar: A small amount of sugar is added to the dough. This not only helps to add sweetness but also acts as food for the yeast which helps to activate it and become foamy & bubbly.
- Egg and Egg Yolk: Use large eggs and bring them to room temperature before mixing in. Eggs strengthen the binding of your dough and also add moisture. Having your eggs at room temperature makes it easier to incorporate them and allow them to mix thoroughly in your dough. A good way of doing this is by letting them sit in a bowl filled with room temperature water for around 10 minutes or until they come down to room temperature.
- Unsalted Butter: You will need a total of half cup melted butter to make the dough. I also prefer to use unsalted butter because salted butters have varying amounts of salt content in them and it is always a good idea to add it on your own and avoid your bakes from being too salty.
- All-purpose flour: I highly recommend weighing all your ingredients using a kitchen scale for accurate recipe results. If you’re using cups, don’t scoop your cup into the flour. Spoon the flour into your cup and level it off with the back of a knife.
- Cream cheese: Having your cream cheese at room temperature helps to spread it smoothly on top of the star bread. I recommend using block cream cheese to make this bread.
- Blueberry Jam: Since this is the main flavouring agent in this bread, I recommend using a high quality pure blueberry jam to make this recipe.


FAQ
You can use either active dry or instant yeast (also known as quick-rise yeast) to make this star bread. If you’re using instant yeast, it should get activated almost instantly once you add it in. However, if you’re using active dry yeast, you need to let it rest for 15-20 minutes before the yeast is activated.
Once your yeast is activated it will become foamy and you will notice some bubbles forming on the surface of your mixture. This process might take 15-20 minutes if you’re using active-dry yeast. You should observe it almost immediately in the case of instant or quick-rise yeast.
The first rise is known as bulk fermentation and the second one is known as proofing. Bulk fermenting is the process of allowing the dough to double in size in a large bowl while proofing is allowing the shaped dough to become puffy just before baking. At a minimum, both steps require an hour to two in a warm place.
You can do any one of the rising steps overnight by letting the dough chill in the refrigerator for 8-16 hours. Keeping your dough in the refrigerator slows down the rise, however exceeding 16 hours of proofing time will cause it to be over proofed. There is no time limit to bulk ferment your dough however I don’t recommend exceeding 24 hours. I don’t recommend proofing for more than 16 hours in the refrigerator. The next morning, remove the bread from the refrigerator and allow it to rise on the counter for 1-2 hours before baking. If bulk fermenting or proofing for longer durations or overnight, I recommend doing it in the refrigerator and make sure to cover it with a plastic wrap so the dough doesn’t dry out.
If you don’t have a stand mixer or a hand mixer fitted with dough attachments, you can knead the dough by hand. Firstly start with stirring your mixture with a spatula until it is crumbly in texture and has started to come together. At this point, flour your work surface and hands. Transfer the dough on the surface. Start by bringing all the bits of the dough together until they stick and you form a ball. If it’s too sticky, now is the time to add in 1-2 tablespoons of flour more. Once your dough has come together, set a timer of 10 minutes and start kneading. To knead, lift a part of the dough and bring it to the center. Then press your palm on the center and push it outwards. Start slow till you gain some momentum. Continue this for around 10 minutes.
To check if your dough is kneaded properly, poke a finger in your dough. If the dent formed springs right out then your dough is done and you can proceed with bulk fermentation.
To freeze before baking: the dough should be frozen after the first rise (once it is shaped up with the filling). Place into a pan and cover well, then place in freezer. When you are ready to bake, let the dough thaw in the fridge — preferably overnight, then put in a warm spot for 30 minutes to 1 hour before baking to activate the second rise. Bake star bread as directed.
To freeze after baking: allow the star bread to come to room temperature after baking, then you can choose to either freeze the entire pan, making sure it is well wrapped or covered in an airtight container or you can choose to freeze individual slices. When ready to eat, either defrost the entire bread at room temperature, then warm in the oven at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes or just warm up a slice of in the microwave for 20-30 seconds (once defrosted).
Pro tip: If freezing this star bread, be sure to add a date so you don’t forget! You can freeze it upto 3 months.
There are a few things you can substitute in this blueberry bread recipe:
Milk: If you’re in a pinch, you can replace this with equal quantities of buttermilk.
All-purpose flour: Swap this out with equal quantities of bread flour to give your roll a more crisp exterior.
Rolling Pin: You can use a wine bottle alternatively to roll out the dough for this recipe.




















Troubleshooting yeast dough for star bread:
- My yeast is not getting activated: If your yeast is not getting activated it maybe because either it is too old or your milk is not at the right temperature. Once opened, yeast packets last in the refrigerator for upto 4 months or in the freezer for upto 6 months. If your yeast is too old or your milk is too hot it will cause your yeast to die. I recommend starting over with a fresh packet of yeast if this happens. If your milk is too cold, your yeast will still not get activated properly. Ideal temperature for yeast activation is between 105ºF-115ºF. Anything more than 120ºF starts killing your yeast.
- I forgot to add eggs in my dough: If you remembered to add eggs to the dough while it is bulk fermenting or after completely fermented, you’re definitely in luck. You can add in the eggs at any point before rolling the dough out. Allow it to ferment for 1-2 hours until doubled after adding in the eggs. After shaping the star there is not much scope of adding in the eggs, you can still bake the roll if you want. It will definitely be a lot tougher.
- My dough did not double during fermentation: This is possible if either your yeast was not properly activated or if you did not knead your dough properly. Your yeast should be bubbly and foamy and your dough should bounce back when you poke a finger in it. Over kneading your dough can also cause the gluten strands to break and not rise properly.
- My star bread did not puff during proofing: A major reason of this happening is because you did not ferment or proof the dough in the correct environment. The ideal temperature to proof the dough is 85ºF – 95ºF with 70 – 75% humidity.
- My bread is already puffed before proofing: If your bread is already puffed up and tightly fitting your pan, then I suggest you immediately put it in the oven. If you still proof it at this point, it will be over proofed.
- My blueberry bread came out to be dry: Adding too much flour or over baking your star bread can cause it to turn out dry and tough. Oven temperatures also play an important role here. A high oven temperature can dry out the bread if baked to the recommended time. A low oven temperature will require an increased baked time, which can also dry out the bread. I highly recommend using an oven thermometer here.

Tips to make the most beautiful star bread:
This bread is extremely delicious and very straightforward to make. However, if you want it to turn out absolutely perfect, here are some tips that you should keep in mind!
- Do not overheat your milk: You want to measure your milk in a heatproof bowl and put it in the microwave for 30-45 seconds. The milk should be warm to touch but not too warm. The ideal temperature for the milk is between 110ºF – 115ºF. I highly recommend using a thermometer here. Anything hotter than this can kill your yeast, resulting in it not being activated.
- Be careful while adding in flour: Too much flour and this beautiful star bread will be dry and tough. Not enough flour and the dough won’t have enough structure to rise and will be dense and soggy. Toward the end of mixing, gradually add a tablespoon at a time and check the texture of the dough after each addition.
- Use room temperature eggs: Using cold eggs can affect the yeast in this star bread recipe can cause the melted butter to coagulate in the mixture. Having your eggs at room temperature makes it easier to incorporate them and allow them to mix thoroughly in your dough. A good way of doing this is by letting them sit in a bowl filled with room temperature water for around 10 minutes or until they come down to room temperature.
- Set a timer to knead your dough: I highly recommend setting a timer to knead the dough for this star bread recipe. To allow the dough to strongly develop gluten and form a smooth round ball, you must continuously knead it for a minimum 10 minutes.
- Be sure to flour your work surface and rolling pin: It is very important to have a lightly floured surface and rolling pin before rolling out the dough as it might stick to them and tear otherwise. If you’re kneading the dough with your hands, I recommend you flour them as well.
- Chill before shaping. I highly recommend not skipping this step. It is optional but makes it so much easier to work with the dough and shape a perfect star. Once you have four layers of dough ready, filled with blueberry and cream cheese, don’t rush into shaping the star directly. Before you star cutting the dough and twisting strands to shape the star, chill your layers in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes to allow the jam to set to avoid it from flowing out as you shape it.
- Do not over-proof your dough: Over proofing the dough causes the air bubbles to escape and will therefore not allow your bread to rise any further while baking. Never exceed 16 hours while proofing the dough overnight in the refrigerator and 45 minutes while proofing in warm temperature conditions.
- Do not over bake: You want to bake this bread for 20-25 minutes or until evenly browned. You want to under bake it a little so it stays soft in the middle. Check around the 15 minute mark, if your bread is browning too much on the top, loosely cover tit with aluminium foil.


HOW TO GET THE BEST RESULTS FROM THIS RECIPE?
All of the recipes on the blog are thoroughly tested multiple times and carefully designed so that anyone can reproduce these delicious baked good in their own kitchen and enjoy them to the fullest. The only way to make this possible is when anyone can exactly replicate the measurements and temperatures.
- In order to standardise the way ingredients are measured, I highly recommend that you weigh them in grams. Volume measurements are nearly not as accurate and have a lot of scope for errors. To precisely be able to replicate the recipes, all you will need is a kitchen scale!
- Every oven heats up differently. Your oven might be over heating or under heating by around 50 degrees or more and you might not even know. In order to ensure that you are baking at the right temperatures, I highly recommend investing in an oven thermometer!
If you would still like to bake using volume measurements, I mentioned those below. However, I primarily test my recipes in grams and cannot promise the best results if you do so. Trust me, once you’ll start using these tools you’d never want to go back.
I hope you’ll enjoy this beautiful Star bread recipe this Christmas and don’t forget to bookmark this recipe for the holidays. These pretty & delicious roll would make the perfect delight for your breakfast or Sunday family brunch!
Happy Christmas Baking!
Print
Blueberry cream cheese star bread
- Prep Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 10-inch star bread 1x
- Category: Star bread, Christmas
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This blueberry cream cheese star bread is so much easier to make than it looks and is always a showstopper. It is also famously known as the Christmas bread and is so soft and fluffy.
Ingredients
DOUGH
- 180ml (¾ cup) warm whole milk, between 110ºF-115ºF
- 2¼ (¼ oz packet) teaspoons active dry or instant yeast
- 50g (¼ cup) granulated sugar
- 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 56g (¼ cup) unsalted butter, melted
- 375g (3 cups) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
Filling
- 1½ tablespoons block cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 85g (4½ tablespoons) blueberry jam
- powdered sugar for dusting, optional
- egg wash, for brushing (1 large egg + 1 tablespoon water)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, heat the milk to around 110ºF-115ºF. To this, add in the yeast and granulated sugar. If using active dry yeast, let the mixture rest for around 10-15 minutes until the mixture is foamy & bubbly. If using instant yeast, continue to the next step.
- Add in the egg and egg yolk into the mixture and beat until completely incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. If using a stand mixer, do this in the bowl of the mixer fitted with the dough hook.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Add in the melted butter and knead the dough until it comes together and is crumbly in texture.
- Place dough hook on stand mixer and knead dough on medium speed for 8 minutes. The dough should form into a nice ball and be slightly sticky. If it’s too sticky add in 1-2 tablespoons more flour. If you don’t want to use an electric mixer, you can use your hands to knead the dough for 8-10 minutes on a lightly floured surface.
- Once the dough is ready, transfer it to a lightly greased bowl. Cover the dough with a plastic wrap and then a warm towel. Allow to bulk ferment in a warm environment for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size. Alternatively, you can bulk ferment the dough overnight.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, take it out on a lightly floured surface. Using a bench scraper cut the dough into 4 equal portions as shown in the image above.
- Using a rolling pin roll the one fourth of the dough out by applying pressure evenly into a circle about 10″(25cm) in diameter. It does not have to be perfect. Do this on a parchment paper so it is easier to move the bread later.
- Apply 1.5 tablespoons of blueberry jam onto the rolled out circle. Roll out the second portion into another 10″ circle and transfer it carefully on top of the blueberry jam circle.
- Spread cream cheese onto the second part of the dough. Spread 1.5 tablespoons on blueberry jam on top of the cream cheese. Roll out the third portion into another 10″ circle and transfer it carefully on top of the blueberry jam circle.
- Apply 1.5 tablespoons of blueberry jam onto the third part of the dough. Roll out the fourth portion into another 10″ circle and transfer it carefully on top of the blueberry jam circle.
- It your circles are not even, trim off the edges using a pre-cut 10″ parchment paper circle as reference. Remember, almost even is also okay!
- Chill the layers as it is in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to allow the jam to set. This makes it easier to shape the star bread.
- Place a 2″ bowl in the center of the bread and cut the edges into 16 equal portions. Start with 4, then divide into 8 and finally into 16. See images above for reference.
- Take two adjacent strips at a time and rotate them outward twice. Join the ends of those strips together to form the shape you see above. Repeat until all strips have been competed.
- Cover the bread loosely with a plastic wrap. Allow to proof in a warm environment for 30-45 minutes or until puffy.
- While the bread is proofing, preheat your oven to 350ºF (177ºC).
- Once proofed, brush the star bread evenly with egg wash. This helps to evenly brown the bread.
- Bake the star bread for 20-23 minutes or until evenly browned. If the bread starts to brown more towards the end, cover loosely with aluminium foil and continue baking.
- Allow the bread to cool completely. Dust generously with powdered sugar if desired.
- Store star bread at room temperature in an airtight container for upto 5 days.
Keywords: blueberry cream cheese bread, cream cheese blueberry bread, blueberry jam star bread, christmas star bread, jam star bread, cream cheese star bread
Beautiful product and came out great looking but I was disappointed with the taste. Heavy on the bread with little to no filling flavor. I made a savory one too from another site and while they both looked gorgeous in the table, they were a disappointment on the flavor side of things. I don’t know if it could be made with more filling without making a complete mess, but worth a try.
★★★
I had never baked bread before but this recipe inspired me to try it. The photos made it easy for me to see that I was on the right track. It came out great!
★★★★★
Lovely, beautiful bread sure to please everyone. This recipe was easy to follow and I loved how there were pictures to help! I personally used half bread four and half APF because I kneaded by hand and wanted to make sure enough gluten was present to get that bready spring. It took me around 15min and maybe an extra Tablespoon. I also used strawberry jam instead of blueberry, and baked on parchment paper. Turned out great. Thank you
Shambhavi! 🙂
★★★★★
Your blog says it will take ½ c butter but the ingredient list states ¼ cup. Can you please clarify? Thank you!
This is so easy to make. Ideal for when you have that urge to bake something spectacular. I love how it turned out and the steps are so easy to follow.
★★★★★
I just loved the recipe. It turned out spectacular and fabulous in taste😍
★★★★★
This turned out so amazing! The recipe was so easy to follow & absolutely delicious. I will be making this for many family gatherings!
★★★★★
This has been one of the most fun experiences I have had with baking! The directions were easy to follow and made me feel like I had super powers! My bread turned out wonderfully and I appreciate the great recipe! I will be making this again and again.
★★★★★
Have no words to explain how good, tasty and easy is this recipe and is total show-stopper anytime of the year! Shambhavi explain it really well on the blog and reels❤
Thank you The bake blog…
★★★★★
So easy with the directions provided! Thanks for a yummy treat we could prepare quickly! <3
★★★★★
I saw this recipe and knew I had to make it immediately. It was late, so I waited until morning. The instructions were detailed and easy to follow. The bread was delicious. We didn’t have to worry about storing it in an airtight container for up to 5 days. We ate it all in less than 5 hours. I will be making this again and again!
★★★★★
Does this get baked on parchment or a greased baking sheet? Considering using my pizza stone.
I baked mine on a cookie sheet lined with parchment.
Can you use a different kind of jam other than blueberry?
I used strawberry since that’s all I had and it turned out perfect!
Really easy recipe to follow and it came out perfectly! It’s a perfect brioche style bread for breakfast or anytime really. I did it with raspberry jam and my family loved it. I might do it with more cream cheese next time or even do it savory. This recipe is a keeper!
★★★★★