This is an updated post for the Cinnamon Swirl Bread recipe I tried years ago from one of my all-time favorite baking books, Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.
Back when I first made this I was looking for a different kind of cinnamon swirl bread -- the free-form kind they used to sell in the elementary school cafeteria The school cafeteria bread was more like cinnamon rolls in bread form and they sold it for 10 cents a slice. I remember exactly how that bread looked, smelled and tasted and how its cinnamon aroma made the cafeteria more homey. This bread ended up being more like Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Swirl rather than the kind I was looking for, but we liked it and I've used the recipe ever since with modifications through the years.
As you can see by some of the older pictures, I did not originally use the raisins. The family has decided that they do indeed liked raisins in their cinnamon swirl bread, so now I use the raisins.
Cinnamon Swirl 8x4 Inch Loaf Pan
The original recipe from Dorie Greenspan is double this and fits in one large loaf pan. With a small family, it's always been more practical for us to have smaller loaves. So my adapted version of Dorie's recipe is made in an 8x4 inch loaf pan. This size is larger than a mini loaf, but smaller than a standard. It's a size usually sold in pairs because one large recipe for pound cake or bread typically fits into two. I'm due for a new set of 8x4 inch loaf pans and may order these. The ones I still use today are from Baker's Secret. I'm not sure they even make them now.
Recipe
Cinnamon Swirl Bread – Small Loaf
Ingredients
Bread
- 1 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons sugar plus a pinch
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons just warm to the touch whole milk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- ⅜ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons lightly beaten egg (Using just a yolk is okay too)
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Some orange zest I use just a pinch
- Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg or mace optional
- 1 ¾ to 2 cups bread flour (250 to 280 grams)
Swirl
- ½ tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder optional
- ½ cup moist plump raisins (dark) -- optional
- 1 ½ to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened to a spreadable consistency
Instructions
- Combine the yeast, 2 tablespoons warm milk and a pinch of sugar in a small bowl and let rest.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the remaining ½ cup of milk, the butter and the 2 tablespoons sugar and mix on low speed for a minute or two. You can use the paddle or do this by hand. Dorie uses the paddle in her recipe, but since this is a small batch you might want to just use a spoon or scraper until it's time to use the dough hook.
- Add the salt, egg and vanilla, as well as the zest and the nutmeg and mix for a minute. Add the yeast mixture and beat until fully blended.
- Add about 1 ½ cups (about 210 grams) of the flour and mix until blended. Attach the dough hook. Add ¼ cup of flour (about 35 grams) and begin kneading with the dough hook. If the dough does not come together and almost clean the sides of the bowl, add up to 2 tablespoons more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Keep the mixer speed at a medium and knead the dough for about 3 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic. The dough will be very soft, much too soft to knead by hand.
- Butter a large bowl, turn the dough into the bowl and cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Put the bowl in a warm place and let the dough rise until it is doubled in size, about 1 ½ hours.
- If you are using the raisins, now is a good time to put them in some warm water and let sit for an hour.
- Scrape the dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Using your hands, pat it into a large rectangle. At this point you probably won't be able to pat it into a 10x16 rectangle, so just pat it as close as you can get. Set it on a flat surface (a dinner plate or cutting board) and slide it into the freezer for 30 minutes to firm.
- Grease an 8x4 inch loaf pan (1 pound capacity) Whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and cocoa.
- Put the cold dough on a large work surface lightly dusted with flour, lightly dust the top of the dough and roll the dough into a rectangle about 10x16 inches. If you were able to make a pretty good rectangle before freezing, you should not have to do much rolling.Gently smear about 1 ½ tablespoon of the butter over the surface of the dough–this is most easily done with your fingers. Sprinkle over the sugar mixture and scatter over the raisins (if using -- and make sure to pat them dry!). Starting from a short side of the dough, roll the dough up jelly-roll fashion, making sure to roll the dough VERY snugly. Fit the dough into the pan, seam side down, and tuck the ends under the loaf. The roll will be wider than the pan, so you really do have to tuck in the ends and kind of pinch the whole roll inward to fit.
- Cover the pan loosely with wax paper and set in a warm place; let the dough rise until it comes just a little above the edge of the pan, about 45 minutes.
- Getting Ready to Bake: When the dough has almost fully risen, center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Melt the remaining ½ tablespoon of butter and brush the top of the loaf with the butter. Put the pan on the baking sheet and bake the bread for about 20 minutes. Cover loosely with a foil tent and bake for another 25 minutes or so, until the bread is golden and sounds hollow when the bottom of the pan is tapped. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes, then unmold. Invert the bread and cool to room temperature right up on the rack.
Stephanie says
No sorry, I mean Cook's Country's version.
Stephanie says
Ohhh! I'm EXCITED for the cinnamon bread recipes! I am a "raisin" girl only on certain days. Thanks for the review of Dorie's recipe. I have been eyeing two recipes lately: one from The Bread Baker's Apprentice and one from Fine Cooking Feb/Mar 2012. You have inspired me to get my butt in gear.
Sue says
This looks so good! I've never found a recipe for cinnamon swirl bread that I love so I just make cinnamon rolls. Now that the kids are gone I don't even make those!
Sue says
This looks so good! I've never found a recipe for cinnamon swirl bread that I love so I just make cinnamon rolls. Now that the kids are gone I don't even make those!
Anna says
Thanks for posting, Susan! I'm now trying to make my toast photos as nice as yours.
Katrina, I can see how it would make great cinnamon rolls since the dough is so easy to work with. Plus rolls would give you a higher ration of cinnamon butter to bread. And then there's the whole issue of icing...
Katrina says
I looked back on my TWD baking and ended up making cinnamon rolls with this dough. I just knew the fam would eat rolls more than slices of bread. Looks great!
Susan says
Thanks for the link! I was wondering why this recipe was spiking in my stats. Glad you enjoyed the bread, it is my all-time favourite 🙂
Anna says
Darlene, I think the secret is to really knead it. Ever since I started using the dough hook on my stand mixer, I get great textured yeast bread.
Martha, I don't know what it is about that brand but it always works. Or maybe I've just been lucky.
Beth, thanks for the tip! I am going to hunt down the recipe and give it a try. Fuzz is really enjoying Dorie Greenspan's, though. We toasted it this morning and added a little butter and cinnamon sugar.
Karen, let me know which one you choose. Maybe you should use that other recipe so we can compare notes.
Karen says
Oh boy, I was just looking at a cinnamon roll scones recipe and I have another quick bread cinnamon swirl bread recipe that I am debating about to make today, so maybe I will do yours instead. Yummy!
Beth says
I recently made the cinnamon swirl bread from America's Test Kitchen, and it sounds just like what you're looking for. (I used the raisins, but I'm sure you could leave them out.) My family devoured it, and while I'm a pretty experienced baker, my son didn't believe I'd made it because it looked like it came from a bakery. It's a bit labor intensive, but the results were worth it for a special occasion (or just to satisfy a craving). I think the recipe is from the most recent season...I have the cookbook with the recipes from all seasons, but don't they have their current season's recipes on their website?
Martha in KS says
I am a certified yeast killer. Thanks for the tip about Red Star.
Darlene says
It looks like your bread has a wonderful texture!