Homemade Rainbow Bread (with Video)

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Today’s Rainbow Bread recipe is inspired by the Rainbow Grilled Cheese served at Disney World’s Contemporary Resort!

A super simple method for making Magical Rainbow Sandwich Bread - a fun addition to a rainbow party or special rainbow lunch boxes for St Patrick's Day

Rainbow Wonder Bread Recipe

Ella and I stayed at Disney’s Contemporary Resort a couple years ago during a conference I was attending.

For the majority of the sessions, I was able to bring her or trade off with other moms who had brought their kids along (because we would have all felt guilty going to a conference at Disneyworld without our kids) but a couple of times we had to hire a babysitting service to watch our kids for a few hours.

The babysitting service wasn’t allowed to take the kids out of the hotel room, but they brought lots of craft kits and there was room service available, which Ella was more than happy to make full use of.

When Ella’s rainbow grilled cheese arrived, she was so excited that I received no fewer than 10 texts filled with pictures of the bright rainbow bread and requests to make rainbow bread as soon as we got home from our trip. It took a couple of attempts but I’m super excited at how this rainbow bread turned out!

close-up of sliced rainbow sandwich bread on a cutting board

This recipe was super easy to make and it tastes just like regular sandwich bread! If you’d prefer to use natural food coloring you can, but I do find that my natural food coloring doesn’t make the colors quite as vibrant after making (red is usually maroon-ish, etc).

This is such a fun recipe for a rainbow party or some rainbow-themed lunch boxes

Now, I just layered the different colors of dough for this rainbow effect but you can also make a rainbow swirl bread by rolling out the bread, layering it together and then rolling it into a loaf shape.

Below you can see various images provided by readers who have tried our rainbow sandwich bread recipe for themselves – so it gives you an idea of the various twists:

composite images of different rainbow sandwich loaves

This bread can also be frozen, so it would be fun to make a double batch, cut and freeze one loaf and then surprise the kids every once in awhile with a couple slices of rainbow bread. (The loaf can also be frozen whole, without slicing.) Wrap and freeze for up to three months in an airtight freezer container or freezer bags. (This set of freezer containers is a crazy bargain.)

You can also use this rainbow bread to make homemade cinnamon buns! Just swap out the dough called for in our cinnabun recipe and then add the cinnamon-sugar filling and cream cheese frosting, as directed.

composite image of rainbow recipes: rainbow bread, rainbow bagels and rainbow cookies

More fun Rainbow Recipes:

Check out our quick recipe video to see how you can make this homemade rainbow sandwich bread for yourself – and then don’t forget to scroll down to grab your free printable recipe card:

compsite image of rainbow bread sliced and three images of how to make the bread

Rainbow Wonder Bread Ingredients

Scroll down to the printable recipe card for full measurements.

Tip: if you’re not sure of the freshness of your yeast, stir a small amount into some warm water along with some sugar and let it set for 5 minutes. If it doesn’t froth up, you need new yeast.

Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful

close-up of sliced rainbow sandwich bread on a cutting board

How to Make Rainbow Bread

Grease 5 medium-sized bowls and set aside.

In a small, microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the milk and egg yolk. Microwave 30 seconds, and set aside.

in-process images of how to make rainbow bread

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and yeast. Add the milk mixture, as well as the butter and salt and stir to combine.

in-process images of how to make rainbow bread

Using a dough hook on a stand mixer, or just your hands, knead the dough (5 minutes with a mixer, 10 minutes by hand) until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Divide the dough into 5 equal portions.

in-process images of how to make rainbow bread

Working with one ball of dough at a time, dye each ball into one color of the rainbow – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Add 5-10 drops of food coloring, knead until fully dyed and then place the dyed ball of dough in it’s own individual, greased bowl. Repeat with all of the dough.

Cover the bowls with a tea towel and let rise for 2 hours.

in-process images of how to make rainbow bread

Grease a loaf pan and line with parchment paper. Set aside.

The dough should be at least doubled in size when the tea towel is removed. Punch the dough down and then remove from the bowl.

You can shape the dough into a log a couple of different ways:

  • you can roll out the dough to equal-sized rectangles and then lay each layer on top of each other, then roll into a large log/loaf
  • or, roll the purple dough into a log shape, then roll the other doughs into rectangles and wrap around the purple log to form the loaf

Place the dough in the prepared loaf pan. Cover with tea towel and allow to double for a second time, about 1 hour.

in-process images of how to make rainbow bread

Preheat oven to 375ºF

Remove the tea towel and bake the bread for 30 minutes, until slightly browning on top and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Cool completely before slicing.

Pin this Rainbow Wonder Bread recipe:

This Rainbow Wonder Bread is an easy homemade sandwich bread recipe for a rainbow party, rainbow lunch boxes, or just a special rainbow snack for kids!

Grab your free printable recipe card for our rainbow sandwich bread recipe:

Yield: 1 loaf

Homemade Rainbow Bread

Homemade Rainbow Bread

A super simple recipe for magical rainbow bread for making rainbow grilled cheeses or other fun sandwiches! This unique sandwich bread takes less than 30 minutes active time to prep.

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Additional Time 3 hours
Total Time 4 hours

Ingredients

  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • Food dye (red, yellow and blue)

Instructions

  1. Grease 5 medium-sized bowls and set aside.
  2. In a small, microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the milk and egg yolk. Microwave 30 seconds, and set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and yeast. Add the milk mixture, as well as the butter and salt and stir to combine.
  4. Using a dough hook on a stand mixer, or just your hands, knead the dough (5 minutes with a mixer, 10 minutes by hand) until the dough is smooth and elastic.
  5. Divide the dough into 5 equal portions.
  6. Working with one ball of dough at a time, dye each ball into one color of the rainbow - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Add 5-10 drops of food coloring, knead until fully dyed and then place the dyed ball of dough in it's own individual, greased bowl. Repeat with all of the dough.
  7. Cover the bowls with a tea towel and let rise for 2 hours.
  8. Grease a loaf pan and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
  9. The dough should be at least doubled in size when the tea towel is removed.
  10. Punch the dough down and then remove from the bowl.
  11. You can shape the dough into a log a couple of different ways: you can roll out the dough to equal-sized rectangles and then lay each layer on top of each other, then roll into a large log/loaf; OR, roll the purple dough into a log shape, then roll the other doughs into rectangles and wrap around the purple log to form the loaf
  12. Place the dough in the prepared loaf pan. Cover with tea towel and allow to double for a second time, about 1 hour.
  13. Preheat oven to 375ºF
  14. Remove the tea towel and bake the bread for 30 minutes, until slightly browning on top and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  15. Cool completely before slicing.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 154Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 364mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 1gSugar: 4gProtein: 4g

Sugar, Spice and Glitter uses an auto-generate nutrition calculator. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate unless analyzed in a scientific lab, so these should be considered more of a guideline than medical information.

Pin this Recipe for Later

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

picture of sliced rainbow sandwich bread on a cutting board

This rainbow sandwich bread is such a fun lunch box surprise for the kids! It would be perfect for St Patrick’s Day or a Rainbow party.

For more St. Patrick’s Day-inspired recipes, check out our full collection here:

For more beautiful breads, check out our full bread recipe collection here:

For more homemade pantry staples, check out our full pantry staples recipe collection here:

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16 Comments

    1. Hi Maria,
      You can shape the dough into a log a couple of different ways:
      – you can roll out the dough to equal-sized rectangles and then lay each layer on top of each other, then roll into a large log/loaf
      – or, roll the purple dough into a log shape, then roll the other doughs into rectangles and wrap around the purple log to form the loaf

  1. My bread came out beautiful but I could not get the colors bright! I just kept dumping colors in. It’s perfect for spring, though

  2. You list the ingredients, but not the amounts to be added. Can you do that for me please? I would greatly appreciate it.

    1. Hi Peggy, I only list the ingredients and not amounts further up in the recipe to encourage people to read through the recipe fully before reaching the recipe card. Unfortunately, I’ve had too many people not read the recipe before making a recipe and this seems to be the best way to encourage a thorough reading. Sorry for any confusion.

  3. This was soooooo good….the yellow portion fell on the floor during prep which was a bummer but it did not affect the funished product. I just adjusted the cooking time and had the most delicious loaf of bread ever….thank you so much.

  4. I have made this two times as trial runs. The colors come out great and it looks great but some of my layers separate. Am I doing something wrong?

    1. Hi Ramona, I’m sorry that I missed your comment. Do you mean the layers of bread separate? That suggests to me that they were kneaded a bit too long and also didn’t have enough time to rise together to attach.

  5. Could I ask why you microwave the milk and eggs.. would allowing them to come to room temp work just as well, or heating them on the stove for a bit? Just want to make sure I’m not missing something h that microwaving specifically does.. microwave scrambled eggs puff up a bunch and skillet eggs do t. Thank you!

    1. Hi Christi,
      In order to activate the yeast, we need our the “activating liquid” to be 90F. This won’t cook the eggs. I like adding the egg to the milk because sometimes when you add an egg to hot milk, some pieces will become cooked – but I don’t find that they do if the egg is whisked in prior to microwaving.

  6. This looks amazing! I’m curious though, the dough is basically double-kneaded and then rolled out. How do you avoid a dense, flat loaf? Is there a reason to knead the whole mass of dough before adding dye, rather than dividing into portions after stirring the ingredients together and kneading each portion with dye just once?
    One of your other reviewers mentioned that their coloring came out pale, but I’m going to try to get pastels on purpose- this would make awesome French toast for Easter breakfast!

    1. Hi Ellie,
      I can totally see how the dough seems like it’s double kneaded but you’re not fully kneading the dough when adding the food dye – you’re just kneading it enough to incorporate the color, about 30 seconds to a minute max. I haven’t had an issue with the bread coming out dense, but if you’re worried about that you can try to portion out the dough before kneading – but that will be messier and a bit harder than dividing the kneaded dough. You can also cut the kneading time short by a couple minutes and finish each dough ball off by hand.
      I’d love to hear how yours turns out – Easter French Toast is such a great idea!

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