Is it just us, or are the most comforting breakfasts all cozy, sweet dishes? It’s tough to beat the classics: pancakes, waffles, French toast. But if you want to take it up a notch, treat your family to a cinnamon bread recipe.
This is one of our favorite easy bread recipes for beginners. It’s fun to make, from rolling out the soft, pliant dough to sprinkling with cinnamon sugar and rolling into a tight coil. And when you cut into the freshly baked cinnamon bread loaf, that distinctive spiral is so pretty and tasty. It’s totally worth all the effort.
The simplest recipes for homemade bread call for just flour, water, salt and yeast. This recipe for cinnamon bread is made with enriched dough, which contains added milk, sugar and eggs. Enriched doughs are soft, rich and flavorful (think of classic brioche or hot-cross buns!), but they tend to be a bit denser. Keep a close eye on the instructions, which call for two rises before baking.
The good news is that enriched breads tend to keep well, so you can enjoy your cinnamon bread with breakfast and snacks for a few days!
Ingredients for Cinnamon Bread
- Yeast: Not all types of yeast will work in this recipe. We call for active yeast, but you can also use instant yeast. If you don’t use yeast very often, consider keeping it in the freezer to preserve its freshness. Here are more tips on how to use yeast in all of your baking adventures.
- Milk: Classic bread recipes generally call for water as the liquid component, but enriched breads like cinnamon bread often use milk as well. This makes for a rich, flavorful, moist dough. You may use most kinds of milk, from whole to skim, or even dairy-free milk alternatives.
- Sugar: Cinnamon bread calls for sugar in the dough and in the swirl. Stick to plain granulated white sugar for the bread itself. You can try another type of sugar for the swirl portion. Try swapping all or part of the white sugar with turbinado sugar or brown sugar.
- Eggs: It’s best to bake with room-temperature eggs. If you forget to take them out of the fridge in advance, pop uncracked eggs into a bowl of very warm water to bring them up to temp quickly.
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour for this cinnamon bread recipe. Don’t use bread flour, which has a higher gluten content that would be too dense for this recipe. Don’t swap in an alternative flours, either. If you want a gluten-free option, try this gluten-free cinnamon raisin bread recipe instead.
- Cinnamon: Spicy, aromatic cinnamon is one of our favorite ingredients, and it’s mandatory in the swirl of this bread. Most types of cinnamon work well here. For the fullest flavor, make sure your spice jars aren’t old.
Directions
Step 1: Make the dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water. Add the milk, 1/2 cup sugar, eggs, butter, salt and 3 cups flour. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Stir in just enough remaining flour to form a soft, pliable dough.
Editor’s Tip:Â We keep the flour measurement open-ended because many factors will affect the wetness of bread dough, including the temperature and humidity of your kitchen, the size of your eggs and so on.
Step 2: Knead the dough
Turn the dough onto a floured surface. Knead until it becomes smooth and elastic, six to eight minutes.
Editor’s Tip:Â One of our best bread-baking tips is to learn the signs that your bread is fully kneaded. The easiest way to tell is to do what bakers call the “windowpane test.” Simply stretch a bit of dough between your fingers, and if the dough tears, keep kneading. If it stretches to form a translucent “window,” the bread is ready to rise, or “proof.”
Step 3: Complete the first rise
Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about one hour.
Step 4: Roll the loaves
Grease two 9×5-inch loaf pans. In a small bowl, mix the cinnamon and remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Set aside.
Punch down the dough. Turn it onto a lightly floured surface, and divide in half.
Roll each portion into an 18×8-inch rectangle.
Sprinkle each with about 1/4 cup cinnamon sugar, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edges.
Roll up jelly-roll style, starting at a short side and rolling up. Pinch along the seam to seal.
Place the rolled loaves in the two prepared loaf pans, seam side down.
Step 5: Complete the second rise
Cover the pans with kitchen towels. Let the bread rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Near the end of the rise, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Step 6: Bake
Bake the loaves until golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the loaves from the pans to wire racks, and let cool completely.
Recipe Variations
- Add texture: In Step 4, sprinkle in raisins, sultanas (golden raisins), chopped walnuts or mini chocolate chips along with the cinnamon sugar.
- Layer the spices: While it may seem strange to change the cinnamon in cinnamon bread, you can play with the spices here. Adding a dash of nutmeg, cardamom or Chinese five spice takes the bread in a slightly different flavor direction.
- Hurry it up: In a rush to enjoy homemade cinnamon bread? Don’t have any yeast? No problem! Try our cinnamon swirl quick bread recipe.
How to Store Cinnamon Bread
Leftover cinnamon bread should be stored at room temperature. Allow it to cool completely, then store in an airtight container, plastic bag or bread box for two to three days. You can also keep cinnamon bread in the refrigerator, where it will last up to five days. Note that the crust will get a bit softer in the fridge than at room temperature.
Can you freeze cinnamon swirl bread?
Yes, you can freeze bread, including cinnamon bread! Freeze the bread in slices, partial loaves or entire loaves. Allow the bread to cool completely, then wrap it up in plastic, or seal in a freezer-safe bag, and pop in the freezer. It will keep for up to four months. Single slices are easy to reheat directly in the toaster. Whole or partial loaves can be thawed in the refrigerator before slicing and enjoying.
Cinnamon Bread Tips
How do you prevent large gaps in cinnamon swirl bread?
Sometimes, baked cinnamon bread gets gaps between the cinnamon-sugar swirl and the bread. This tends to happen as the bread rises during baking; steam simply forces open the natural seams in the bread. Our recipe tries to avoid this by using only sugar and cinnamon in the swirl. Recipes that call for butter or oil can actually make the problem worse because they make the seam slicker and more prone to bursting open. The good news is that the looser bread will still taste delicious.
How should I grease the pan when making this cinnamon bread recipe?
Greasing your pan makes it easier to slide the bread out after it’s finished baking. Grease the pan thoroughly using shortening, oil or butter. Spread evenly over the bottom and all sides of the pan, paying special attention to the corners. Then sprinkle the pan with flour to prevent sticking.
How do I serve cinnamon bread?
Use a serrated knife to cut the bread into slices, which prevents the crust from tearing. Enjoy the bread warm or at room temperature. It also tastes delicious toasted and spread with your favorite type of butter. Or slather cinnamon swirl bread with a favorite jelly or jam (apricot or raspberry are especially good), or with a rich portion of Nutella. This makes some dynamite French toast, too.
