Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Like a slightly less rich cinnamon roll!
Texture: The bread is soft and fluffy and toasts up beautifully.
Ease: Totally doable, but more of a weekend baking project.
Pros: Beautiful and comforting recipe you can freeze.
Cons: None!
Would I make this again? I already have. It’s a favorite!
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This Cinnamon Swirl Bread is like a cozy, warm hug in bread form!
Homemade bread will forever and always be the definition of comfort food to me – add cinnamon and sugar to the mix, and you’ve got yourself the most aromatic, delicious, perfectly cozy breakfast of all time.
This bread dough is a dream to work with. Super soft, supple, and pliable. It comes together in a snap.
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You don’t need to be a master at working with yeast to bake this recipe, I promise!
I’ve included a bunch of homemade bread baking tips below to ensure your success in the kitchen.
This is a super fun recipe to make with little ones, too. I find the transformation of simple ingredients like flour, yeast, and liquid into an amazing tall loaf of aromatic bread to be a magical one. It’s almost meditative!
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Cinnamon Swirl Bread
What Type of Yeast for Cinnamon Swirl Bread?
- I like to use instant yeast (also called “rapid-rising” or “fast-acting”) because it can cut the dough’s rising time by as much as 50%. It can be added right in with the dry ingredients, and no proofing is required.
- Active dry yeast and instant yeast can be used interchangeably.
- To encourage active dry yeast to start its activity without having to proof, be sure your milk is warm, around 120°F.
- Whatever you do, make sure your milk isn’t too hot (140°F+), as this will kill your yeast.
Do I Have to Use Bread Flour? Can I Use All-Purpose Flour Instead?
Bread flour contains a higher percentage of protein than all-purpose flour, which helps develop the gluten in the dough. Gluten is the backbone of any bread’s structure and since we are adding ingredients that prohibit gluten development (butter, eggs, sugar), this dough needs that additional protein to develop its structure and prevent it from falling flat. If you don’t have bread flour, feel free to experiment by using the same amount of all-purpose flour, but keep in mind that your dough will need to be kneaded for longer and the texture of the Cinnamon Swirl Bread won’t be the same.
Can I Knead This Dough By Hand Without A Mixer?
I haven’t tried that, but if you’re up for a good workout, feel free to give it a try. Check out my How to Knead Dough article here for all my kneading tips.
How to Roll Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Be sure to roll a very tight coil. Do this by stretching the dough slightly towards you as you roll up and around. This will allow the dough to rise and keep its beautiful swirl. Pinch and seal the log once you’re done rolling and place it seam-side down in the pan. The dough is very easy to work with so you shouldn’t need much additional flour.
How to Prevent Cinnamon Swirl Bread from Separating
The first time I made this recipe the swirls completely separated from each layer. In researching how to prevent this, I found a tip by Cooks Illustrated. Very lightly misting the cinnamon sugar with water after sprinkling on the dough helps to prevent major separation. You don’t want to use too much water, though, otherwise the filling will leak out.
The Best Loaf Pan for Cinnamon Swirl Bread
- I like to use a metal loaf pan for baking Cinnamon Swirl Bread. Metal conducts heat most efficiently, so it’s able to heat up and cool down quickly.
- Whatever you do, make sure you’re using a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan.
- Anything smaller and you’ll have too much dough which will balloon over the top and sides of your pan.
- If you’re using a glass or ceramic pan, reduce the oven temperature to 325°F and extend the baking time by about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Learn more about Glass vs. Metal Baking Pans here.
How to Store Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Store the bread in an airtight container or ziptop bag at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can also slice and freeze the bread for toast.
How to Serve Cinnamon Swirl Bread
If making toast, you can toast frozen slices directly from the freezer. The bread is delicious with butter, but also with cream cheese!
How to Make French Toast with Cinnamon Swirl Bread
This bread makes AMAZING French toast! Use my favorite French toast recipe here, following the ‘drying out’ step in the directions to avoid soggy cinnamon swirl French toast.
More Breakfast Recipes You’ll Love:
- Banana Bread
- Double Chocolate Banana Bread
- Gooey Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
- Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Bites
- Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts
Cinnamon Swirl Bread
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Ingredients
For the bread:
- 1 cup (237 grams) warm whole milk
- 4 tablespoons (57 grams) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg plus 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
- 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) instant yeast
- 4 cups (508 grams) bread flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons fine salt
For the cinnamon swirl:
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
For the egg wash:
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the milk, butter, sugar, egg, egg yolks, and yeast. Whisk to combine.
- Add the flour and salt, attach the dough hook, and knead on low speed until a rough dough comes together. Increase to medium speed for about 5 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and supple. Add more flour if the dough is unbearably sticky, just a couple tablespoons at a time. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise until puffy and almost doubled in size, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
- Punch the dough down. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll it into an 8 by 18-inch rectangle. With a pastry brush, brush all over with a thin layer of the melted butter. Combine the sugars and cinnamon and sprinkle over the buttered dough, leaving a 1-inch border on each long side.
- Using a spray bottle, lightly spray the cinnamon sugar with water to moisten. This will prevent too much gaping between the swirls. Roll into a very tight log, pinching the ends to seal to prevent the filling from leaking out and bubbling over while baking.
- Place the log seam side down in a lightly greased 9 by 5-inch loaf pan. Cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap and allow the bread to rise for about 1 hour, until it’s domed about 1-inch above the edge of the pan.
- In a small bowl, beat the egg and milk. Brush gently all over the top of the dough.
- Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until deeply golden brown. If using a glass or ceramic baking dish, drop oven temperature to 325°F and bake for about 1 hour. An instant-read thermometer should register at least 185°F at the center of the loaf. Tent the loaf loosely with foil if it begins to brown too much.
- Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before removing to slice. Store the bread in a plastic bag at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can also slice and freeze the bread for toast.
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This post was originally published in 2020 and has been updated with additional baking tips. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
I enjoyed making this recipe. It was easy to make and came together nicely. It produced a nice hearty white bread, without much butter or sugar. It will be interesting to try as French Toast or with butter, cinnamon and sugar on top. It was fantastic toasted with butter.
This was an easy recipe and the dough was easy to handle. Next time I would use much more filling and a little salt.
Can you use a bread machine to mix the dough?
We haven’t made this recipe using a bread machine, but you’re welcome to give it a try! The first steps (mixing, kneading, and first proof) should work in a bread machine, but I’d recommend finishing the instructions as written. However, if you’re up for an experiment, please let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
I hav made many cinnamon swirl breads. This one is the best! I made 4 of them this Holiday season. I add about 1/2 teas. of flour to the filling to prevent separation of the swirl. It works. Otherwise a great recipe.
Do you do this in addition to sprinkling with water or instead of? TIA
Love this recipe! I’ve made this bread 5 times, it comes out perfect every time! This my go to cinnamon bread recipe and I highly recommend it!
Lena
looooovveeee this recipe!
Can this bread be made in a bread machine?
Thank you.
Hi Celia! We haven’t tried that, so we can’t say for sure! The dough mixing, kneading, and first proof may work in a bread machine, but the rest (shaping, filling, rolling, then the second proof, and baking) will need to be done by hand and baked in the recommended pan. Let us know how it goes if you give this bread a try! Happy baking 🙂
This recipe is so good! I added 1/2 cup of raisins to the bread dough and did a slow overnight proof in the fridge. It was so delicious thank you!
The main reasons I loved this bread is the fact that I added the salt to the wet ingredients instead of the dry, and while I was waiting for the bread to rise in the pan in my cool oven, I had a brain f-rt and put the oven on to pre-heat. Caught it after ten or so minute and my husband said, just let it cook! Which I did. And the bread came out great. Very forgiving, which is what I need as a new bread baker. Thanks Tessa!
thanks now besides all the white bread I make I need at least three of these a week for people, seriously I love this recipe top notch , thank you