Cinnamon Bread

This home baked Cinnamon Bread is perfect for breakfast and requires only a handful of basic ingredients ! Learn to make this easy loaf, with step-by-step instructions. Using my straightforward recipe, you’ll be rewarded with a delicious bread, hosting gorgeous swirls of cinnamon sugar throughout.

This Cinnamon Bread is absolutely delightful! Slightly sweet with swirls of cinnamon sugar throughout, this gorgeous loaf is finished off with a shimmering egg wash. My bread recipe is incredibly easy to make, using kitchen and pantry staple ingredients you will most likely already have on hand! Sure to impress, this bread is perfect for everyday breakfast, or afternoon tea.

Why Make This Recipe

• Easy, Straightforward Recipe
• Step-by-Step Instructions
• Uses A Short List Of Simple, Kitchen & Pantry Staple Ingredients
• Delicious Cinnamon Swirl Bread Loaf

There’s nothing like the smell of fresh home baked bread, filling your house with heavenly aromas on a crisp day! This cinnamon bread is one of my favorite breads to bake for fall, especially because it’s so easy and I usually have all the ingredients I need in my pantry. Delicious, soft, slightly sweet, it’s the perfect loaf!

Ingredient Notes

• Flour – We only need good old fashioned all purpose flour!
• Salt – Believe me, salt makes all the difference, so don’t skip this!
• Yeast – I used active dry yeast today. You can use instant yeast as well, the difference really is that active dry yeast needs to be activated first, whereas with instant yeast it’s not necessary.
• Milk – It’s super important to make sure your milk is lukewarm. The best temperature of the milk should be anywhere from 95 degrees to 105 degrees for this. You don’t really want anything warmer, as it will kill the yeast.
• Sugar – Sugar is important when making bread, it’s what makes it soft and tender by absorbing some of the water and slowing down the formation of gluten strands. Sugar is what feeds the yeast.
• Butter – I always use unsalted butter, especially in breads, because we already add salt, so this way I can control how much salt is added to my bread. Did you know that small quantities of butter is added to breads because it results in a higher rise and a crisper crust!
• Eggs – Eggs make yeast breads finer and richer, help provide color, volume and also bind the ingredients together. 
• Vanilla extract – Without this, your bread may taste a little flat.

How To Make Cinnamon Bread

Make The Dough

1. Prep the yeast mixture: Add the milk and butter to a saucepan and melt over medium heat. Do not let the milk boil, the milk should be warm, no more than 105°. Sprinkle the yeast over it and whisk it a bit. Let it rest for 10 min.
2. Combine sugar and eggs: In the mixer bowl, add the eggs, 1/2 cup of sugar and vanilla extract and mix well until light and fluffy.
3. Start the dough: In another large bowl mix the flour and salt together. Next, add the yeast mixture to the mixer bowl with the egg and mix until it’s well blended.
4. Add Flour: Add half the flour mixture to the mixer and mix until well combined. Add the remaining flour and continue mixing for another 5 minutes.
5. First Rise: Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Let it rise until it doubles in size in a warm place.

Assemble And Bake

1. Roll the dough: First, grease a loaf pan with butter or spray it with cooking spray. Roll out the dough on a floured work surface until it’s a bit wider than the loaf pan and about 1/4 inch thick.
2. Make the loaf: In a small bowl mix the 1/3 cup of sugar and cinnamon together and spread the cinnamon sugar evenly over the dough. Roll the dough and pinch the ends sealed.
3. Second Rise: Place it in the prepared loaf pan with the sealed side down. Let the bread rise again until doubled in size, around an hour.
4. Prep for Baking: Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Brush the bread with the beaten egg and sprinkle some more sugar and cinnamon on top, if preferred.
5. Bake: Bake for about 35 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. The loaf is done baking when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the bread reads 195 F°.

FAQs & Expert Tips

FAQs

Tips

1. The secret to making great bread is the yeast. If using active dry yeast, always make sure you proof the yeast first! This means that you’re proving that your yeast is alive. You usually proof it with warm water or milk, and sugar. When these 3 ingredients are combined, the yeast starts emitting bubbles of carbon dioxide.
2. One thing to remember about your yeast, is that it is a living organism and over time it will lose activity, even if you’ve never opened the jar or package. So if you don’t bake often, buy the smaller yeast packages rather than a big jar of yeast.
3. Do NOT boil the milk, if it does start to boil, please, please let it cool, it needs to be warm, not boiling hot. If it’s over 105 degrees, the yeast will die! The ideal temperature of the milk or water milk should be anywhere from 95 degrees to 105 degrees.
4. It’s very important that you place the dough in a warm place to let it rise! I always warm up my oven first till it reaches 200 F degrees, shut off the oven then place the bowl with the dough in there. Not only is this a draft free environment for your dough, but because of the heat it also speeds up the rising process.
5. Be generous with the butter when greasing your loaf pan, you don’t want the cinnamon bread to stick!
6. The longer you roll out the dough, the better it will look as you cut it and expose lots of cinnamon swirls.

Storing

To maximize the shelf life of your homemade cinnamon bread, make sure to let it cool thoroughly before storing! Place in a plastic storage bag, breadbox, or wrap in foil and store at room temperature. Cinnamon bread should ideally not be refrigerated, as the bread will dry out and become stale faster than at room temperature. Properly stored, your bread will last about 4 to 5 days.

Freezing

Slice the cinnamon bread, or leave the loaf whole and wrap tightly with aluminum foil, plastic freezer wrap, or place in heavy-duty freezer bag and freeze. Properly stored, your bread will keep for 3 months.

More Related Recipes

• Cinnamon Rolls
• Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls
• Coffee Cake
• Apple Pecan Cinnamon Rolls
• Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Originally shared Oct 2012.