Cinnamon Swirl Bread

I’ve recently started making my own bread, and I’m enjoying it. So far I have only tried two recipes: a no-knead baguette and Dutch oven bread. The Dutch oven bread has become a favorite since it is ready in only a couple of hours. That’s part of what attracted me to this Cinnamon Swirl Bread. Time-wise, it falls between the two recipes I just mentioned. It’s not as quick as the Dutch oven bread, but it doesn’t need an overnight rise like the baguette recipe so I’m expecting this to be same-day bread. I’m also a little nervous because this recipe is a touch more complicated than the others I have made. Things didn’t go so well the first time I made the baguette, and I’m hoping that’s not the case here. Let’s find out!

This deliciously fragrant, homemade cinnamon swirl bread is beyond delicious fresh and even better as toast!

Recipe Author: Mel at Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Get the recipe

The Ingredients

I usually have a few ingredients on hand, but I was pleasantly surprised to find I had all of this recipe’s ingredients. Since I don’t keep dairy milk around, I did use powdered milk. I did have to mix it up as I baked, but I would have had to warm up regular milk anyway. Not much of a difference, really.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread Ingredients
All-purpose flour, warm milk, egg, light brown sugar, instant yeast, butter. cinnamon, granulated sugar, and salt

The Process

This recipe has several phases since it needs 2 rises. Here’s how it went:

  • 25 minutes to prep
  • 1 hour 30 minutes for the first rise
  • 6 minutes to prep
  • 1 hour for the second rise
  • 50 minutes to bake
  • 10 minutes to cool
  • 4 hours 1 minute total

The recipe lists a total time of 3 hours, but that only includes time for the prep work plus both rises. I have a feeling it’s an error.

Prep & The First Rise

The prep work for this recipe actually wasn’t too difficult, but I did make sure I read and re-read this recipe before I started. The notes mention the recipe can be halved to make a single large loaf, so that’s what I decided to do.

First up was making the cinnamon sugar. All I had to do was mix up the ingredients in a small bowl and divide it. The real work was still to come.

This is one of those situations that makes me even more grateful for my stand mixer. And that it came with a dough hook. After adding the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl, I slowly added the milk. Once the dough cleared the sides of the bowl, I set a timer and let the mixer knead it for 8 minutes.

The dough has come together and cleared the sides of the bowl
Step 2: The dough has come together and cleared the sides of the bowl

When it was ready, I put it into a greased bowl and covered it with greased plastic wrap. Tip: Sprayable canola oil comes in very handy for this recipe. I set the bowl by the window and let the dough do its thing over the next hour and a half.

Kneaded dough before first rise
Step 2: Kneaded dough before the first rise
Dough has doubled in size after first rise
Step 3: Dough has doubled in size after the first rise

More Prep & The Second Rise

The dough had easily doubled in size by the time I returned. It was time to make it into a loaf. The dough needed to be stretched into an 8″ x 14″ rectangle for this step.

Tip: To keep things accurate, I used a paper guide (there was no way I could eyeball it!). I wrapped a large cutting board in plastic wrap and slid the paper guide under the clear plastic. Then I shaped the dough into the size and shape of the paper. Perfect!

Dough sprinkled with cinnamon sugar mixture
Step 4: Dough sprinkled with cinnamon sugar mixture. You can see the paper size guide underneath the plastic wrap.

Next, I lightly sprayed the dough with water and added the cinnamon sugar. I didn’t take into account that the original recipe is for 3 loaves, so I only added 1/3 of the mixture. I could have used it all. Oh well, I have leftovers for cinnamon toast.

Anyhoo, once the cinnamon sugar was added, I rolled the dough, pinched the edge closed, and placed it into a greased 9' x 5' loaf pan for the second rise. Once again, I covered the dough with greased plastic wrap and left it to rise for another hour.

Baking & Cooling

My Cinnamon Swirl Bread was finally ready to bake! I brushed the top with melted butter, sprinkled on more cinnamon sugar, and put the pan into the oven. The recipe says the bread can bake from 40 to 60 minutes. I’m a bread novice, so I chose 50 minutes and crossed my fingers.

The top of the loaf was pretty brown after 30 minutes, so I tended it with a piece of foil and let it finish. Then I let it cool for 10 minutes, removed it from the pan, and let it finish cooling to room temperature on a wire rack (I didn’t time that).

It was too late to take photos by the time the bread had cooled. I ended up wrapping the loaf tightly in plastic wrap and taking them the next day. I was so relieved when I sliced into it and found it had baked perfectly!

So how was it?

Clear & Accurate Directions
Accurate Time(s)
Appearance
Taste
Being a bread noob, I wasn't sure how this Cinnamon Swirl Bread would work out, but I'm pleased to tell you it was brilliant! I halved the recipe and ended up with a big loaf of cinnamon-sweet goodness that was perfect for busy mornings (along with a cup of coffee, of course!). The instructions broke things down into manageable steps, and I didn't have a bit of trouble. Despite that, this recipe took much longer than the time listed. After reading it over, I'm convinced the time listed is in error. Yes, this recipe did take 4 hours (at least for me), but the results were worth it!
The Hungry Pinner
The Hungry Pinnerhttps://www.hungrypinner.com
I'm Candice, and I'm The Hungry Pinner. I created this blog to share my love for cooking and my experiences with the MANY recipes I've found on Pinterest over the years. Join me as I blog my way through those recipes to find out if they are worth trying yourself.

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Being a bread noob, I wasn't sure how this Cinnamon Swirl Bread would work out, but I'm pleased to tell you it was brilliant! I halved the recipe and ended up with a big loaf of cinnamon-sweet goodness that was perfect for busy mornings (along with a cup of coffee, of course!). The instructions broke things down into manageable steps, and I didn't have a bit of trouble. Despite that, this recipe took much longer than the time listed. After reading it over, I'm convinced the time listed is in error. Yes, this recipe did take 4 hours (at least for me), but the results were worth it!Cinnamon Swirl Bread