Cinnamon Swirl Bread
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. For the record, my two main goals in life are to
1) raise sweet-smelling, sensitive, caring boys (and now a girl, too!) and
2) help everyone conquer making and baking yeast breads at home.
A year or so ago, I started doing more informative step-by-step posts on different kinds of breads to help with goal #2 (goal #1 is still a mighty work in progress, particular the sweet-smelling part). And then I stopped. I think baby #5 had something to do with that.
Before the hiatus, we got through step-by-step bagels and ciabatta bread. And then an in-depth post on the basics of whole wheat bread.
My goal is to inspire and insist and beat into the ground that bread-from-scratch can be conquered by anyone. It doesn’t have to be intimidating!
I’m back today with a look at classic and delicious cinnamon swirl bread – the pictures I included for the tutorial are mainly for the shaping and rolling.
You can check out this post for a great lesson on the perfect texture of bread dough and working with yeast in general.
I make this bread most often when I need a nice homemade food idea for someone.
It’s perfect for a new neighbor (or an old neighbor!), a friend’s birthday, an add-on for a take-in meal or new mom tray, a thank you token or for any number of reasons.
The deliciously fragrant, cinnamon bread is so divine as toast (or french toast) that I usually include a note with the bread stating just that.
And usually when I make it, I bake up a couple extra loaves to stash in our freezer because nothing says I love you on a lazy Saturday morning like whipping up cinnamon swirl french toast out of thin air (a.k.a. from the freezer).
Instant rock star status, friends, instant rock star status.
The dough recipe for this bread is different than my standby whole wheat bread recipe(s). It’s a richer, more tender dough (almost like a challah bread dough) and is truly delicious if you are looking for a show-stopping cinnamon swirl bread.
However, I think you could easily take the method from this recipe, which is quite specific for getting the perfect cinnamon swirls, and apply it to your favorite whole wheat or regular bread dough.
On a closing note, I’m putting together a tutorial and in-depth look at wheat and wheat grinding. If you have any questions about that subject, let me know and I’ll add it to the list of things I’ll address.
Trust me, you might think talking about grinding your own wheat is, like, totally boring, but I promise, it’s going to be loads of fun.
One Year Ago: Rosemary Chicken and Wild Rice
Two Years Ago: Magical Layered Brownies
Three Years Ago: Delmonico Potato Bake
Halving: the recipe can be halved, yielding one loaf baked in a larger pan, 9-inch by 5-inch. Flour Amount: as with all yeast doughs, I never use the flour amount called for in the recipe as a hard fast rule (unless a weight measure is given and then I pull out my kitchen scale). Because humidity, temperature, altitude and a multitude of other factors can impact how much flour you need in your yeast doughs, I always judge when to quit adding flour by the texture and look and feel of the dough rather than how much flour I've added compared to the recipe so use the flour amount in this recipe as a guideline. Yeast: this tutorial on yeast may help identify how a perfectly floured dough should be. Also, I've used half whole wheat flour in this recipe with good results. As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from The Cook’s Country Cookbook