Makes 1 big, beautiful glistening loaf
You get a double cinnamon hit—in the bread as well as in the swirl. After sprinkling on the cinnamon sugar, feel free to add some raisins to the mix.
By tepid, we mean the milk should be the temperature of a baby’s bath—just barely warm.
2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups whole milk, warmed to tepid
1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter melted but not hot
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus 2 teaspoons for the swirl
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/4 cup for the swirl
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, plus 2 teaspoons for the swirl
1 egg, beaten
Sprinkle yeast over warm milk; let stand until yeast dissolves and starts to expand, about 5 minutes; whisk in butter.
Meanwhile, pulse 4 cups of flour, salt, 1/4 cup of the sugar, and 2 teaspoon of the cinnamon in the work bowl of a food processor. Add milk mixture; process until it forms a soft, rough mass, about 30 seconds. (Dough will firm up as butter solidifies.)
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface to form a smooth ball; place into a vegetable cooking spray-coated large bowl and then cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm place until dough doubles, 1 1/2 to 3 hours, depending on room temperature. Mix remaining 1/4 cup of sugar with remaining 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and flour.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface, stretching it into a 20-by 9-inch rectangle; brush with egg and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. With the 9-inch side facing you, roll dough into a tight cylinder and place it in a vegetable cooking spray-coated 9-inch loaf pan.
Cover pan with a damp towel; let rise until almost doubled in size, 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours, depending on room temperature.
Ten to 15 minutes before baking, heat oven to 350 degrees. Brush dough with remaining egg wash and bake until crust is brown and interior registers 190 degrees, about 45 minutes. Turn loaf onto a wire rack to cool. (Cooled loaf can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature a day or two or wrapped loaf can be placed in a zipper-lock bag and frozen up to 1 month.) Slice, toast, serve!
I have yeast issues as well. I am finding, though, that the more I do it, the easier it gets and the more my confidence builds. And, like you, I am impatient about waiting for the dough to rise. I am more of a “mix it up, stick it in the oven to bake and then enjoy” kind of person.
Is that one stick of butter in the recipe? Do you use salted or unsalted? Thanks for this. It looks good. You might like to try the yeast rolls on the blog The Church Cook. That recipe uses both yeast and baking powder. It is refrigerated before use and is really super easy to work with. There is even a cinnamon roll variation. They are the best I’ve ever had.
Cinnamon Swirl bread is comfort food at it’s finest! Yum…
love,
cathy b. @ brightbakes
Annie, yes, it’s 1 stick of butter. Thanks for the catch!
Yum! I think I need to make this today. DO you think this recipe would double ok?
We’re with you–two loaves are better than one! The recipe should double just fine.
You did a fantastic job, Maggy.
Congratulations on conquering a fear!! 🙂
MMMMMM its rising in my kitchen right now!
One of my friends makes delicious loaves of cinnamon bread every Christmas, but I’ve never made it myself. I’m definitely going to try your recipe!
Looks delicious! I am going to try it this weekend. When making bread I turn my oven on to it’s lowest setting to just heat up then turn it off and the residual warmth is a good draft-free place to rise dough.
Oh, how wonderful to be a mother-daughters cooking trio! This bread looks beautiful! I just found your blog through USA Weekend and so glad! So sorry that I missed Pam when she came to Savannah. 🙁
That bread looks fabulous! I’m actually surprised that it rises well with the cinnamon. I was always told that cinnamon and yeast didn’t get along. I’ve never actually tried it, but yours looks fabulous, so it must have been an “old wives tale”
Yummy bread and easy to make on a snowy winter day!
Do you think it would be possible to slice the dough like cinnamon rolls and bake them in a muffin tin to make individual rolls?
I don’t see any reason why this wouldn’t work. After it rises once, cut it and put it in the muffin tins. Let it rise again in the tins, then bake. Let us know how it turns out. Good luck!