May 13th, 2008

cinnamon raisin swirl bread

cinnamon raisin swirl bread 2

i used to be very intimidated by foods with swirls in them. not intimidated by the food itself, but by making them. i just couldn’t fathom how someone could shove a swirl of cinnamon and sugar and raisins into a loaf of bread. then i saw a recipe for it and felt like an idiot.

mixer and swirl bread

the dough itself is rolled out with a pin into a rectangle, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, and then jelly-rolled from the short end. the loaves come out soft and fluffy. i put a pan of water in the bottom of the oven during the baking so the bread doesn’t dry out.

cinnamon raisin dough

i’ve been eating a few pieces toasted with a pad of butter with pretty much every meal this week. if you don’t think you can eat two loaves, give one to someone you want to be your best friend because this bread is awesome.

cinnamon raisin swirl bread 1

cinnamon raisin swirl bread 3

cinnamon raisin swirl bread
makes two loaves, but it’s easy enough to halve this one.

1 package dry instant yeast
2 1/4 cups warm water
3 Tbsp and 1/4 cup sugar, separated
1 Tbsp salt
4 Tbsp butter
6-7 cups flour
1 cup raisins
1 Tbsp cinnamon

1. dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup of water and 1 Tbsp of sugar. let stand for five minutes.

2. stir in the remaining 1 3/4 cups warm water, 2 Tbsp sugar, salt, 2 Tbsp melted butter, 3 1/2 cups of the flour and all of the raisins. beat until smooth (either by hand or stand mixer), adding the remaining 3 or so cups of flour until the dough is easy to handle (not too sticky but still moist).

3. turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. place the dough in a greased bowl, roll it around so all the dough is coated, cover with a towel and let it rise in a warm place until doubled (about an hour).

4. mix together 1/4 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp cinnamon in a small bowl.

5. punch down the dough, divide in half, and roll them out on a floured surface so they are both about 18 x 9 inches. you may need to roll, let the dough rest, and roll again so you get the right size.

6. sprinkle each rolled out loaf with 1 Tbsp of water and half of the sugar and cinnamon mixture.

7. roll the dough from the short end and pinch the seams shut. you should have a 9 inch long rolled up piece of dough. place into a greased loaf pans. brush the tops of the loaves with 2 Tbsp melted butter and let them rise for 1 hour.

8. bake at 425 F for 30 minutes. the loaves should have a dark golden brown top. remove and place on a wire rack to cool. you can freeze the loaves, although i don’t know how long they’ll keep, since i usually finish both off within a week.


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16 comments so far ↓

  1. celine | May 15, 2008 at 4:03 pm

    I wouldn’t mind having this for every meal either!

  2. katy | May 15, 2008 at 4:31 pm

    ah! i kept thinking to myself — but how do you get the swirl? now i see — looks awesome! i love cinnamon bread.

  3. Lori | May 15, 2008 at 6:21 pm

    I make this as well. Its a great thing to make. I sometimes subsitute half of the white flour for whole wheat.

  4. ShopLittleGifts | May 15, 2008 at 6:25 pm

    Ok, those pictures are really tempting. I really want to give your recipe a try. I love making bread - it’s such a rewarding experience to see a mass of dough turn into something golden brown and yummy. What’s the thickness of the rolled out dough? I’m going to add this to my weekend to do list. Thanks!

  5. Jessica@Foodmayhem.com | May 15, 2008 at 6:58 pm

    You did such a nice job with the swirl, it’s so round and so even.

  6. sharon | May 15, 2008 at 7:04 pm

    Quite a beautiful loaf!

  7. RecipeGirl | May 16, 2008 at 1:34 am

    How funny. I have been looking all over the place for a good cinnamon-raising swirl bread to make (that wasn’t over complicated.) This looks like a great one. We’re headed out of town for a few days, but I’d love to try this one when we return! Love your pictures too :)

  8. Patricia Scarpin | May 16, 2008 at 7:58 am

    Wow, that is beautiful! I love how the cinnamon is beautifully spread inside the bread. The loaf looks so tender and delicious….

  9. Rosa | May 16, 2008 at 11:06 am

    Oh, lovely! Yes, it isn’t that difficult to make and it tastes gorgeous! Yours looks wonderful!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  10. petebakes | May 16, 2008 at 1:41 pm

    @ShopLittleGifts - i’m not sure how thick it was when i rolled it out, but if you stick to making it a 9×18″ rectangle, you should be good. i suppose you could roll it out thinner so you end up with more and tighter swirls. remember too that the dough will rise and puff up in the loaf pan for about an hour before you bake it.

  11. kelly | May 17, 2008 at 9:30 am

    thank you for posting this! i’m going to make this bread today. i’m working my way up from making pretzels. this is the first time in my life i’ve made things with yeast. i used to think it was intimidating but now i LOVE it! beautiful pictures and a recipe i can follow easily! kudos!

  12. Susan/Wild Yeast | May 18, 2008 at 3:18 pm

    You did a great job of shoving that swirl into your loaf :) Looks beautiful.

  13. Y | Jun 12, 2008 at 6:48 am

    Great looking bread. That swirl is absolutely perfect :)

  14. Missy | Aug 18, 2008 at 7:44 am

    I’ve got to say, this was far far far easier than I anticipated it would be. I made this yesterday and it was my first attempt at making any bread and it came out wonderfully. I kept one loaf and shared the other, now I’m wishing I hadn’t. It was fantastic and the recipe was definitely a keeper! It was great toasted with a little peanut butter and I can’t wait to use it for french toast later in the week! Thanks again!

  15. Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread | The Stephford Diaries | Aug 20, 2008 at 12:31 pm

    [...] Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread: So yet again, I was going thru blogs that I like and I came across this. I often buy this type of bread in the grocery store (which has an ingredient list that’s a mile long and is full of names I can’t pronounce) for toast and the like in the morning. Plus if I was going to do it, I was really going to make a bread that I wanted to eat. Again, I decided on one that got awesome reviews from the blogger. I also wanted to try one from a blogger I trust (meaning that their food always looks amazing and I’ve tried something that they’ve posted before and liked it). [...]

  16. tj | Oct 9, 2008 at 7:17 pm

    my brother is makin this right now

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