Homemade Cinnamon Bread

Published OnAugust 11, 2025

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This Homemade Cinnamon Swirl Bread Recipe is an easy white bread recipe full of swirls of cinnamon sugar! The homemade version is way better than the stuff you buy – it’s fresh and SO GOOD and full of cinnamon sugar swirl. It makes two loaves, freezes great, and tastes amazing!

A close-up of a loaf of cinnamon swirl bread, sliced to show the spiral pattern inside, resting on a wire cooling rack with a light background.

I used to be scared of making bread until I discovered my easy homemade white bread recipe. Now I make it all the time! Once I got over my fears, making bread became one of my favorite things to do. If you’re a beginner bread maker or are scared of yeast and baking your own bread, don’t be. It’s so easy to make my cinnamon bread at home. The bread dough is simple to make and adding the cinnamon sugar swirl makes it even better than plain bread.

Various baking ingredients labeled: a bowl of flour, packets of yeast, a cup of milk, a bowl of butter, a bowl of cinnamon, a cup of water, a bowl of salt, and a bowl of sugar arranged on a white surface.

How to make Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Instant Yeast (Rapid Rise Yeast): You can use any kind of instant yeast – different brands have different names for this. Making bread with active dry yeast is a different recipe, but if you want to make cinnamon bread in a bread machine, you can use this same recipe using bread machine yeast.
I use a combination of Whole Milk and Water to enrich the dough. You can also use nondairy milk if you prefer.
Bread needs fat to be soft and moist so we use butter in the dough.
Salt: for flavor – it’s necessary to add at least some salt to the recipe.
You’ll use a full tablespoon of cinnamon for the filling, plus granulated sugar or brown sugar to make that delicious swirl.
You can use a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment to make life easier or you can stir with a wooden spoon until you can’t anymore, then use your hands to work the dough until it comes together.
Because of the instant yeast, this bread only needs a 10 minute rest after kneading and one rise after adding to the pans. This cuts down on the time it takes to make homemade bread!

Click to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions and below the recipe card for process shots.

Slices of cinnamon swirl bread are placed on a cooling rack, showing a spiral pattern of cinnamon inside the soft, golden-brown bread. A butter knife is visible in the background.

A loaf of cinnamon swirl bread rests on a cooling rack, with one slice cut and two more slices in the background. The bread has a golden-brown crust and a visible cinnamon spiral inside.

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Dorothy’s Expert Tips

An instant read thermometer is really the best way to measure water temperature – buy one here.
Just let it rise until it’s double in size – not longer or it might overproof.
You can divide this recipe in half and make just one loaf easily.
Feel free to add raisins, dried cranberries, or even nuts in the center (like when you’re making cinnamon rolls).
You know when you’re done kneading the dough when you press it with two fingers and it bounces back.
You know when cinnamon swirl bread is done baking when it’s a nice rich golden brown, dry, and dusty looking on top. If you were to take the bread out of the pan and tap on the bottom, it will sound hollow, and the internal temperature of the bread should be between 190-200°F.

Step by Step Photos and Instructions

How to make cinnamon bread with Fleischmann's RapidRise Yeast

Whisk the yeast with some of the flour, sugar, and salt. Be sure to read all the instructions: you’re not going to add all the flour at once!
Add milk, water and butter to a microwave safe measuring cup or bowl. Then heat that in the microwave in 15 second increments until it’s very warm (think hot bathwater). Heat the milk mixture to between 120°-130°F, or very warm if you’re going by touch. (The butter may not melt all the way.)
Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix the dough adding more flour until it forms a shaggy dough. If you’re using a stand mixer, continue mixing to knead the dough into a smooth dough (it will pull away from the sides of the bowl).
Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead the dough, working it back and forth, until it forms a ball that springs back when touched with two fingers. Let the dough rest for just 10 minutes.
Simply roll out your dough into a rectangle with a rolling pin. Use a pastry brush to spread the melted butter. Stir together the 1/2 cup of white sugar with the ground cinnamon. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar filling. If you want to make cinnamon raisin bread, now is the time to sprinkle about 1 cup of raisins in the middle of the dough.
Tightly roll up the dough and place each piece in a greased loaf pan (I use nonstick cooking spray). Be sure to lace it seam side down in the pan. Cover it and let it rise about 45 minutes. It’ll about double in size. Put the loaves in a warm place for rising. I like to preheat my oven and place the pans on the top of the stove.
Then simply bake until golden brown in preheated oven. You do need to wait at least 5-10 minutes before removing the bread from the pan…and resist the urge to cut it too soon.

Cinnamon Bread is SO EASY to make at home! This simple white bread recipe is turned into cinnamon swirl bread and is the perfect from scratch recipe – with or without raisins. You never need to buy store bought again! You can even make cinnamon bread in a bread machine!