Always a crowd-pleaser, this cinnamon-flavored bread is not overly sweet and is perfect for any occasion. Skip buying the loaf at the store and make it at home instead, your whole house will smell amazing with the cinnamon scent wafting throughout. For another cinnamon-filled treat, try making my king cake recipe, homemade star bread, or my sock it to me cake recipe.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Bread flour — bread flour has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour, which helps produce a chewier loaf of bread. Instant yeast — to make things easier, this recipe uses instant yeast so you can skip blooming it. Make sure the yeast has not expired. Milk — milk adds flavor and a touch of sweetness to the bread. I do not recommend swapping for low-fat milk as whole (or 2%) milk leads to a richer, softer bread. Butter — always use unsalted butter as the recipe already includes salt. Using unsalted butter prevents the bread from being overly salty.
How to Make Cinnamon Swirl Bread
In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer whisk together the flour, yeast, ¼ cup sugar, and salt.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the milk, butter, water, and then cook until the mixture reaches 130°F
With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture. Then add the eggs and mix at medium speed until the dough is soft and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise until doubled in size.
In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ¼ cup of sugar and the cinnamon.
Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
Roll the dough into a 9×15-inch rectangle.
Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the dough, leaving a ½-inch border at one short end.
Starting at the short end opposite the border, roll the dough up into a log. Place the log seam-side-down into a prepared loaf pan. Cover and place in a warm place until the dough has almost doubled in size. Bake for 1 hour. Let the cinnamon swirl bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
The time it takes for your dough to rise depends on the temperature of your kitchen. The ideal temperature for dough rising is 75 to 78F. It may take over an hour for the dough to double in size. If your kitchen is cold, place the dough inside an OFF oven with just the light turned on. Avoid adding too much flour by measuring your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake leading to dense bread. The best way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one, then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off. Eggs need to be at room temperature and not fridge-cold as they’ll incorporate better into the bread dough. Place the eggs into a bowl of warm water for a couple of minutes to quickly bring them to room temperature if you have forgotten to take them out of your fridge ahead of time. I recommend using a light-colored metal pan such as aluminum as they heat up and cool down quickly. If you use a glass or ceramic loaf pan, the bake time may have to be adjusted. An instant-read thermometer is handy for this recipe to check the temperature of the milk and butter as well as checking the bread for doneness. If the liquids are too hot (above 130°F), you risk killing the instant yeast. If you want to add raisins to this cinnamon swirl loaf, you can sprinkle it on the cinnamon sugar.
How do I store leftovers?
Leftover cinnamon bread will last about 5 days at room temperature in a sealed, airtight container or wrapped in plastic.
Can I freeze this?
You sure can. You can freeze the entire loaf by wrapping it in plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or at room temperature before reheating it to serve. Alternatively, you can wrap and freeze individual slices in plastic wrap. Place them in a freezer-safe bag to freeze. Then, you can toast them in the toaster from frozen. You can freeze for up to 3 months.
How to serve cinnamon bread?
While warm from the oven, serve the cinnamon bread with some butter, my honey butter recipe, or my apple butter recipe. If the bread is a little stale from being left out, then use it for my French toast recipe!
How do I keep my bread from getting gaps?
To keep the cinnamon swirl bread from getting gaps, be sure to roll the dough as tightly as possible. You can also spritz the dough with a bit of water to help the layers stick together more before rolling the dough.
Can I make this without a mixer?
If you do not have a stand mixer, then you can mix the ingredients together with a wooden spoon, hand mixer, or spatula and then knead the dough together on a lightly floured surface. If you’ve tried this Cinnamon Swirl Bread recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
