Homemade Cinnamon swirl bread is soft and fluffy with delicious cinnamon swirls. For breakfast or, even better, for a special occasion, use each slice to make the most delicious French toast! The cinnamon swirl bread recipe is perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dessert. Instead of purchasing items from the supermarket, make this straightforward, tasty homemade alternative.
This homemade cinnamon swirl bread recipe is a family favourite and only requires a few essential ingredients. It is delicate and chewy, with a very gooey cinnamon swirl inside. For yeast-free bread, see our cinnamon swirl quick bread.
How to Make Cinnamon Swirl Bread?
To make Cinnamon Swirl Bread, you need to form the dough into a thin 189-inch rectangle rather than a thick 9-inch square. On top, sprinkle some cinnamon sugar, and then tightly roll it from end to end. This technique resulted in each slice having more swirls. As it baked, the loaf gradually grew taller. I was astounded by the HUGE difference this one tweak made and knew you would be, too.
Mixing the bread dough is the first stage in preparing it. You need salt, bread flour, water, milk, butter, yeast, and sugar. Because the components of homemade bread are so simple, many people are terrified when the word “yeast” is spoken. I can assure you that making this dough is simple.
You’re on the right track if you wait a few minutes before adding the remaining ingredients after the yeast, sugar, water, and milk have sat. Review my Baking with Yeast Guide before beginning if you need a brief reminder on working with yeasted bread.
Bread flour usage The structure and rise of cinnamon swirl bread cannot be supported by all-purpose flour. If you need some recipe ideas for your leftover bread flour, try any of them! Bread flour is sold directly next to all-purpose flour in the baking aisle.
The dough must first rise twice and rise after preparation until it has doubled in size. Swirl the Dough: Roll out the dough once it has been punched down after waking, and roll back up after sprinkling with sugar and cinnamon.
Second Rise: Put the rolled-out dough in a loaf pan and let it another hour to rise. Congratulations, you are a bread baker with the easiest homemade cinnamon bread recipe in the entire world—Pat yourself on the back.
Ingredients
For the Bread
- one cup of hot whole milk
- Melted four tablespoons (57 grams) of unsalted butter
- 25 grams or two tablespoons of granulated sugar
- One large egg and two lightly beaten egg yolks
- One envelope, 2 1/4 tablespoons instant yeast
- 508 grams (4 cups) of bread flour
- 1 1/4 tablespoons of salt, fine
For the Cinnamon Swirl
- Two tablespoons of melted unsalted butter
- 50 grams (or 1/4) cup) of granulated sugar
- 50 grams (about 1/4 cup) of light brown sugar
- Two teaspoons of cinnamon powder
For the Egg Wash
- One big egg
- one cup of milk
Instructions
- In a sizable bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk together the yeast and 1/4 cup of sugar granules.
- Heat the milk and water together on the stovetop or in the microwave until they are warm to the touch, or about 110°F (43°C). Whisk the yeast and sugar together after adding them. Set for five minutes until the mixture is foamy, with a loose cover.
- Beat in 4 Tablespoons of butter on low speed using a wooden spoon, rubber spatula, or the dough hook attachment until it is just broken up. Add the salt and two and a half cups of bread flour. Mix on medium-low speed, then gradually add just enough bread flour (often about 1/2 cup) to create a soft dough that doesn’t adhere to the bowl’s sides. The dough should be smooth but somewhat soft after 2 minutes of hand or mixer kneading at medium speed. Form into a ball, then put it in a basin that has been lightly oiled. (I make use of the same bowl. I remove the dough, oil the inside with butter or nonstick spray, and then replace the dough ball.) To cover every surface, rotate the dough. Place in a slightly warm setting and cover securely with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Allow to rise for 1-2 hours, or until it has doubled in size. (Use the oven to keep this area warm after preheating the oven to 150°F (66°C). Close the oven door after putting the covered bowl inside. This is your cozy setting.)
- A 9-inch loaf pan should be butter- or nonstick-sprayed-greased. Combine the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, the cinnamon, and the raisins (if using) in a small bowl. Place aside.
- To get rid of the air, punch down the dough. Shape the dough into a nine by 18-inch rectangle on a lightly dusted work surface using a floured rolling pin. On top, sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture, leaving a 1-inch border all the way around. The dough should be neatly rolled into a 9-inch log. To seal, pinch the ends. Place bottom-up, seam-side-down, into the prepared loaf pan. Allow rising for about an hour in a warm atmosphere, with a loose cover, until the dough reaches the top of the pan.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and adjust the rack to the third-bottom position. Brush the loaf’s top with the melted butter from the remaining 1 Tablespoon. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the top of the loaf sounds hollow when lightly tapped and turns golden brown. When baking, tent it with aluminum foil if you see that the loaf’s top is browning too soon. Place on a wire rack after being taken out of the oven. Cool the loaf in the pan for ten minutes, then take it out and let it cool on the wire rack.
- Slice, then dish—cover and store leftovers for up to 5 days at room temperature or one week in the refrigerator. When the bread is toasted in the toaster, it tastes fantastic!
Quick Cinnamon Bread Tips
Ingredients at Room Temperature – I prefer to have the elements at room temperature when I want to make this bread, and it also refers to the egg.
Flour: Be careful not to overfill the measuring cup when putting the flour in. Use a small, light scoop to fill the measuring cup, then use a knife to scrape away any excess.
Baking Times – Cooking times are not constant. Therefore, always check your bread to see if it is done at the 30-minute mark.
Allow Bread to Cool – Be sure to allow the bread to cool in the pan for at least 5 minutes. Move it to a cooling rack after that.
Bread should be lined with parchment paper before baking because removing the bread from the pan is simpler.
Swirling the mixture with the cinnamon and sugar will give the bread a swirled appearance. But be careful not to over-mix the batter with the cinnamon mixture. When you cut the bread, you want to see the swirl.
If you love cinnamon a lot, increase the amount you use. Start with two teaspoons and increase as needed.
How to Store Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread?
Any extra cinnamon bread should be kept at room temperature. Place bread on the counter after wrapping it in transparent plastic wrap. For around five days, the bread will remain moist. This bread is our favorite to serve for brunch, dessert, or an afternoon snack.
Wrap securely in plastic wrap or beeswax uncut quick bread loaves. It can be rewrapped in aluminum foil, in a freezer bag, or placed in an airtight container—Three months maximum of freezing. You can flash freeze muffins or sliced quick bread beforehand to prevent them from squishing during storage.
Your quick bread should spend the night at room temperature after being wrapped in plastic wrap. The quick bread will have a more uniformly wet and crumbly texture and is simpler to slice. If no additional ingredient is included in the filling, the liquid starts to leak out of the swirl, leaving a gap behind and collecting in the pan’s bottom.
A few teaspoons of flour in the filling may significantly affect how well everything comes together and swirls. You are well aware of how risky cinnamon swirl raisin bread is. As awful as you might expect, Sun Maid’s version contains as much sugar as two and a half Oreo Thin cookies.
How to Roll Cinnamon Swirl Bread?
Make sure to coil up very tightly. Roll up and around while slightly stretching the dough in your direction. The dough will be able to rise and maintain its lovely shape as a result. Once you’ve finished rolling, pin the log and set it seam-side down in the pan. You shouldn’t need a lot of extra flour because the dough is so simple to deal with. Dough for cinnamon rolls can also be proofed by letting it rise overnight in the refrigerator.
Because the yeast releases carbon dioxide more gradually during a cold fermentation procedure, the flavor is richer and more nuanced. With our overnight cinnamon rolls, you can experiment with this technique. It all depends on your preferences for the best flour for cinnamon buns. The best flour to use is bread flour if you want more structure. However, all-purpose flour is appropriate if you desire a middle ground. Beginner bakers should typically use all-purpose flour.
How to Prevent Cinnamon Swirl Bread from Separating?
The swirls from each layer separated from one another the first time I prepared this recipe, and I came across a suggestion from Cooks Illustrated when looking for ways to avoid this. After sprinkling the cinnamon sugar over the dough, lightly spraying it with water helps prevent significant separation.
However, you don’t want to use too much water, or the filling will leak. To start the roll, fold about 1/2″ of dough onto itself. Then gradually bring the roll back towards you after each forward roll by using your hands to encourage the dough forward gently.
This backward tension is key to success because it creates the perfect swirl in the dough. Yeast bread will naturally shrink a little after being removed from the oven. A portion of the bread’s volume rises in the range due to steam from the liquid in the recipe.
Depending on how stable the dough is, the bread will shrink little or not as it cools. Place them in a baking pan that has been prepared, flattening them just a little bit. Before rising and baking, the unbaked cinnamon buns shouldn’t be in contact with one another.
How to Serve Cinnamon Swirl Bread?
Toast can be made by using frozen slices that have already been frozen. Both cream cheese and butter taste great on the toast! Apples are arguably the most popular fruit, and the flavor of cinnamon apple is particularly well-liked—additionally, pears pair well with cinnamon. You can also choose any berry, such as blueberries or strawberries.
Any fruit will generally go well with cinnamon rolls. Both use yeasted dough shaped into pinwheels, split into rolls, and dusted with cinnamon sugar. The fact that cinnamon buns contain nuts is one of the main distinctions between the two (usually pecans).
On the other hand, traditionally, cinnamon rolls don’t contain nuts. While cinnamon rolls often don’t have nuts, sticky buns typically do (pecans). Sticky buns are baked in a pan with nuts and sweeteners on the bottom. After baking, they are turned over, and the gooey bottom becomes the topping. The sticky buns get slightly heavier due to the nuts and sugar topping.
Conclusion
Cinnamon swirled bread includes a buttery streusel topping, a cinnamon-sugar interior with dried fruit dots, and the buttery streusel topping on top of each slice. I didn’t think it was possible, but this loaf of cinnamon-swirl bread exceeded my expectations. If streusel isn’t your thing (do such people exist? ), try our recipe for cinnamon bread instead.
If you’re a baker who enjoys cinnamon streusel, you can succeed with our Cinnamon Swirl Bread recipe. If you strictly follow it, you’ll make a beautiful loaf with no gaps in the swirl. To help you make any cinnamon-swirl bread you choose, we’ll go over the elements of this recipe that make it straightforward to follow.
