Cinnamon Swirl Bread Recipe

Written by Emily on September 2, 2022 in Breads, Snacks

Soft and fluffy brioche bread with sweet cinnamon swirls.

This Cinnamon Swirl Bread recipe yields soft and fluffy bread with thick swirls of sweet cinnamon. This is a homemade, sweet, yeast-risen bread recipe that tastes delicious.

This cinnamon swirl bread is a delicious treat that you can whip up when trying to impress some important guests or feeling super fancy. Homemade bread itself is delicious, but, think about the added sweet cinnamon sugar goodness that comes in beautiful swirls… perfection.

Cinnamon swirl bread works for breakfast or dessert, toasted with a slather of butter, or slathered with cream cheese icing; a slice is wonderful on its own or with a cup of coffee or tea.

It is a thing of beauty and you’ll never believe how easy it is to make. This bread is a yeast bread meaning there is yeast and rise time involved. The dough needs to rise or proof twice; once in the mixing bowl where the flavor of the bread is developed and then, in the baking loaf pan where the lightness and fluff of the bread are determined. The best part, it is easy to make. Just a few ingredients, a couple of hours for rising time, and you’ll be enjoying delicious slices of cinnamon swirl goodness.

You can pretty much use any variation of a standard bread dough recipe and get a decent loaf of bread. But for this one, to get a deliciously tender, soft, rich bread, we are using an enriched dough. The enriched dough has the main ingredients of standard bread dough and contains a higher amount of fat, sugar, and eggs resulting in an enhanced taste and richness.

So why wait? Make this perfectly fluffy, delicious cinnamon swirl bread right in your kitchen. With just a few basic ingredients, you can whip up this cinnamon swirl bread and leave your house smelling fantastic. The hardest part about this recipe is all of the waiting, especially when the bread is in the oven filling your place with those amazing fresh baked cinnamon bread aromas.

Ingredients Required to make Cinnamon Swirl Bread

For the dough:

Active dried yeast – 1 tablespoon
Sugar – ¼ cup + 2 tablespoon
Warm water – ½ cup
Salt – 1 teaspoon
Butter – 4 tablespoon
Eggs – 2
Milk – 2/3 cup, warm
All-purpose flour – 4 cups

For the cinnamon filling:

Light brown sugar – ½ cup
Cinnamon powder – 2 teaspoon

For the egg wash:

Egg – 1
Whole milk – 1 tablespoon

How to Make Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Prove the yeast: In a bowl, add ½ cup of warm water. Into that add 1 tablespoon of active dried yeast and 2 tablespoons of sugar and mix well. Set it aside and let it prove. After 5 minutes it must’ve frothed and risen. Discard the yeast mixture if it has not frothed and repeat the process with a fresh batch of yeast.
Make the dough and first rising: In a large bowl, add in the proven yeast mixture, ½ teaspoon salt, 2/3 cup milk, 2 eggs, 4 tablespoon butter, and ¼ cup sugar, and mix well. Add 4 cups of all-purpose flour to this mixture and stir it with a wooden spoon until you’re not able to mix anymore. Invert the contents to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough for 15 minutes or until it’s springy to the touch. Or, you can knead the dough using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment for 15 minutes or until the dough is springy to the touch. Oil a bowl well and transfer the dough into the bowl and cover it with a kitchen towel. Leave it for 2 hours in a warm spot in the kitchen for the dough to proof. After 2 hours, the dough must’ve doubled in size. Knock out the air from the dough.
Prepare the cinnamon filling: In a small bowl, add ½ cup of light brown sugar and 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon and mix it well. Keep it aside for later
Shaping the loaf and second proofing: After 2 hours of proofing, on a lightly floured clean work surface, roll the dough into a long rectangle of the same width as the bread loaf tin. Apply a layer of softened butter onto the dough’s surface. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar filling already prepared on top. Tightly roll the rectangular dough into a loaf. Oil the bread tin well and transfer the dough loaf into the tin. Cover it and leave it to prove for another 2 hours. Preheat the oven to 180 C.
Baking the bread: After 2 hours, the dough must’ve proved well. In a small bowl, prepare an egg wash by mixing 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of milk. Brush the top of the dough with the egg wash. Bake the dough in a preheated oven at 180 C for 50 – 55 minutes.
Apply butter and enjoy: When the bread is right out of the oven, apply butter generously on all sides. Slice the bread and enjoy it as it is or with a cup of coffee or tea.

Love Cinnamon Swirl Bread? Checkout my Other Bread Recipes here:

Masala Bread Recipe

Easy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Soft and Fluffy Milk Bread Loaf

Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

Easy Vegan Pizza Rolls

Cinnamon Swirl Bread Recipe

Recipe by EmilyCourse: Breads, SnacksDifficulty: Easy

Servings

slices

Prep time

minutes

Baking time

minutes

Calories

0.130

kcal

Rising time

hours

Total time

hours

minutes

Ingredients

For the dough:
Active dried yeast – 1 tablespoon
Sugar – ¼ cup + 2 tablespoon
Warm water – ½ cup
Salt – 1 teaspoon
Butter – 4 tablespoon
Eggs – 2
Milk – 2/3 cup, warm
All-purpose flour – 4 cups
For the cinnamon filling:
Light brown sugar – ½ cup
Cinnamon powder – 2 teaspoon
For the egg wash:
Egg – 1
Whole milk – 1 tablespoon

Directions

In a bowl, add ½ cup of warm water. Into that add 1 tablespoon of active dried yeast and 2 tablespoons of sugar and mix well. Set it aside and let it prove. After 5 minutes it must’ve frothed and risen. Discard the yeast mixture if it has not frothed and repeat the process with a fresh batch of yeast.
In a large bowl, add the proven yeast mixture, ½ teaspoon salt, 2/3 cup milk, 2 eggs, 4 tablespoon butter, and ¼ cup sugar, and mix well. Add 4 cups of all-purpose flour to this mixture and stir it with a wooden spoon until you’re not able to mix anymore.
Invert the contents to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough for 15 minutes or until it’s springy to the touch. Or, you can knead the dough using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment for 15 minutes or until the dough is springy to the touch.
Oil a bowl well and transfer the dough into the bowl and cover it with a kitchen towel. Leave it for 2 hours in a warm spot in the kitchen for the dough to proof.
Meanwhile, prepare the cinnamon filling. In a small bowl, add ½ cup of light brown sugar and 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon and mix it well. Keep it aside for later.
After 2 hours, the dough must’ve doubled in size. Knock out the air from the dough.
On a lightly floured clean work surface, roll the dough into a long rectangle of the same width as the bread loaf tin.
Apply a layer of softened butter onto the dough’s surface. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar filling already prepared on top. Tightly roll the rectangular dough into a loaf. Oil the bread tin well and transfer the dough loaf into the tin. Cover it and leave it to prove for another 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 180 C.
After 2 hours, the dough must’ve proved well. In a small bowl, prepare an egg wash by mixing 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of milk. Brush the top of the dough with the egg wash.
Bake the dough in a preheated oven at 180 C for 50 – 55 minutes.
When the bread is right out of the oven, apply butter generously on all sides. Slice the bread and enjoy it as it is or with a cup of coffee or tea

Recipe Video

Notes

Your bread will need to rise twice. Once in a bowl where the flavor of the bread is developed, and then in the loaf pan where the lightness and fluff of the bread are determined. While it’s rising, it should be in a warm area – but it shouldn’t be too hot. If you don’t let it rise two times, or it doesn’t rise long enough, your bread won’t be as light and fluffy.
Pay attention to your yeast. Expired yeast won’t turn out good bread, and using water that’s too hot will kill it.
Make sure you knead your dough well enough. Dough that isn’t kneaded well enough will not be able to develop gluten, which will result in flat, dense bread. Whether it’s with your hands, or with a mixer, knead it well and long until it is springy to touch.