Did you ever have bread like this as a kid? I remember seeing it at Kroger and begging my parents to buy it for me. I always thought it was SO cool. At a certain point in my childhood, I stopped seeing the bread in stores which was obviously particularly sad.

I’m especially glad that I’ve been able to re-create it as an adult:)

The recipe itself is a familiar white sandwich bread recipe but with a little food coloring to represent the colors of the rainbow. When I first set out to cook this, I thought that it would be pretty difficult. However, besides being a little time consuming to mix in the colors, it’s a truly unfussy recipe!

Ingredients needed to make Rainbow Bread

The ingredients for this method are listed fully down in the recipe card but let’s briefly go over the pantry staples needed including a few substitutions you can make as desired!

Flour – we’re using all-purpose flour for this method. I’ve never tried it but you can also try making this with a gluten free 1-1 flour.
Active dry yeast – to help the dough rice properly.
Vinegar – about 1/2 tablespoon of white vinegar.
Butter – I use unsalted butter but salted is fine as well.
Honey – a little honey to sweeten the bread but maple syrup also works well.
Food coloring – I went around with a few different types of food dye for this dish but decided that GEL FOOD coloring was ultimately the go-to for this bread. It results in a particularly vibrant color and is relatively unfussy to mix into the dough.

How to make it

The full written recipe is down in the recipe card but here’s a speedy visual overview of how to make it!

Make the dough. It’s a simple and standard yeast dough that comes together either in a stand mixer or in a large bowl by hand.

Let it rise and divide it. Once the dough has done it’s first rise, divide it evenly into 6 pieces. For this dish, the 6 pieces do not need to be exactly even so don’t stress it too much.

6 bowls of bread dough, each a different color: red, yellow, blue, orange, green, purple

Color the dough. I used gel food dye to color my dough. You add a few squirts individually and then fold the dough together to incorporate the coloring. It can take 3-5 minutes of kneading to properly mix the food dye in.

I suggest using kitchen grade gloves for this so your hands don’t get stained from the dye.

Food dye that I used

I went around with a few different types of food dye for this dish but decided that GEL FOOD coloring was ultimately the go-to for this bread. It results in a particularly vibrant color and is relatively unfussy to mix into the dough.

THIS is the exact one that I used from Amazon but other food gels would work as well.