Homemade Cinnamon Swirl Bread
I've been obsessed with all things bread lately and have been testing recipes like crazy because of it. Here we have some insanely tasty and well tested cinnamon swirl bread. It took me quite a few times to get this recipe how I wanted it. I'm used to that though, I always get a fail or two before I'm satisfied with the end product. At least you know my recipes are thoroughly tested, right?
I'm not sure why I decided I need to make a cinnamon swirl bread for you before I made a plain bread recipe. I'm telling you, I'm always after the sweets. I should have probably made the white bread recipe since I bought myself a pullman pan to use on it, but I haven't began writing said white bread recipe. I get ahead of myself from time to time if you haven't noticed.
Anyway, I have some things that I've learned from my fails that I wanted to share with you.
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- Don't let the dough rise more than doubled. It will leave you with a dry and crumbly bread. 🙁
- When you punch down the dough after it has risen, be sure to knead it to get all of the air out of it before shaping it. Any air left in the dough will cause large holes in your dough.
- Shape the dough next to the pan you plan on using so you can make sure it will fit inside the pan.
- Use egg wash inside of the dough rather than butter to make things stick. The butter tends to run out and make a delicious syrupy bottom to the bread making it soggy and not great for toasting.
- Roll the dough up as tight as you possibly can. Once the dough is rolled up, pinch the end piece into the roll and roll it a few times back and forth to remove any air bubbles.
- Tuck in both open ends of the bread by pushing the dough inside the bread and then pinching the dough together on the outside. This will seal the ends in leaving a nice butt of the bread and keeping all the brown sugar inside of the bread.
- While the bread is still hot, I like to rub a tablespoon or two of stick butter onto the bread. The butter leaves it shiny and gives it a final bit of flavor.
I don't think my mom made homemade bread much as I was growing up, but I think I remember most of the times that she did. I was seriously amazed by how the bread would rise underneath the tea towel. Then there was the taste of homemade bread which is superior. Call me weird, but I also still love to see that perfectly domed bread top. If you've been around for a bit you know that odd things satisfy me. haha
Homemade Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Ingredients
Bread
- ¾ cup warm water 110°
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- ½ cup butter cubed
- ⅓ cups plus 1 teaspoon. granulated sugar divided
- 5 ¼ cups bread flour divided
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Filling
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon butter optional
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add in the yeast, warm water, and the 1 teaspoon of sugar. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes until it gets foamy.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, add the butter and milk. Place into the microwave for 2 minutes. Stir. Check to make sure it's not over 110 degrees F. If it is, let it sit for a few minutes to cool.
- Add the yeast mixture into the large bowl with the butter and milk. Stir.
- Add the remaining sugar and whisk to combine.
- Add 4 cups of bread flour and beat with a stand mixer and dough hook. If the dough still sticks to the bowl, add the remaining 1 cup of flour a little at a time until the ball forms and no longer sticks to the sides.
- Mix the dough with the stand mixer on medium/high for about 5 minutes to knead it. The dough should stretch thin enough to see light through it without tearing. If it doesn't stretch, keep kneading the dough with the mixer until it can pass the test. The dough will also become smooth.
- Add the vegetable oil to a large bowl. Roll the ball of dough into the vegetable oil until it's coated.
- Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and place into a warm place to rise for about 1 hour or until doubled.
- Once the dough has doubled, punch it down. Divide the down into two equal balls.
- Lightly flour a clean work surface with a couple of tablespoons of flour. Knead the dough to remove all of the air. I worked mine for about 4 minutes to release any air.
- Press the dough into a rectangle form. Compare the width of the dough to your 9x5 inch loaf pan to make sure it will fit. Try to roll the dough so it increases in length and not width. Repeat with the second ball of dough.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease two 9x5-inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray.
- Prepare the filling.
Filling
- In a small dish, add the egg and 1 tablespoon of water. Whisk using a fork until well combined. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, add the brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir to combine.
- Using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash on the top of both rolled out pieces of dough.
- Divide the cinnamon brown sugar between the two pieces of rolled out dough. Sprinkle the cinnamon brown sugar on top of the egg wash. Spread the mixture out evenly to cover all of the egg wash.
- Roll both pieces of dough up as tight as you can to form two loaves. When they're all roll up, pinch along the seam to close the bread up. Give it a few rolls back and forth to help remove any additional air bubbles.
- Push the ends into the bread and fold the new edges down underneath the bread. That will seal in the cinnamon and sugar.
- Place the bread into the loaf pan. Cover the loaves with plastic wrap and let rise for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Remove the plastic wrap and brush the top of both loaves with the egg wash.
- Place them into the preheated oven and let bake them for 40 - 45 minutes or until done.
- Let the bread rest for about 20 minutes and remove from the loaf pan. Rub the loaf of bread with the tablespoon of butter.
- Wrap the bread in a bread bag or plastic wrap to stay fresh and store at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)
This is a wonderful recipe and I've made it about a gazillon times. I did change the light brown sugar to dark and added more cinnamon. Also, I use 3 loaf pans 350 at approximately 33 minutes.
MAKES 2 Loaves not 1. Two 9 inch bread pans are needed. I'm glad I'm not an inexperienced baker or this would have been a huge mess in my oven if I would have only made 1 loaf.
You got a ton of swirlies in that bread--you must've really rolled it out thin! It's gorgeous! I actually wrote a post about how to keep the swirls from coming apart. For anyone who has issues with egg (for any reason) you can also put some cornstarch or other starch in the filling. That will act as glue just like the egg!
So impressive that you made this...looks perfect! Thanks for sharing at Welcome Home Wednesdays!
All your testing sure paid off, because this bread looks amazing! It's like the Platonic ideal of cinnamon swirl bread. Thanks for all of the helpful tips--they're invaluable!
I AM over from the linky. love cinnamon flavors and had to pin this for future reference.
The number of eggs needs to put in the bread mixture was not in your ingredients list, but in the instruction it says to put it in together with the remaining sugar.
I decided to take the eggs out after the first recipe test and forgot to remove it from my directions. Fixed now! Thanks for catching it!