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Homemade Cinnamon Bread is an easy white bread recipe full of cinnamon sugar! This bread is better than buying store bought cinnamon swirl bread – it’s fresh and SO GOOD.
If you’re loving making homemade bread, then give this cinnamon bread a try – you can even add raisins if you want!
This post was originally sponsored by Fleischmann’s Yeast®.
Table of Contents
- My Cinnamon Bread Recipe is EASY
- What kind of yeast is best to make bread?
- What ingredients are used to make homemade bread?
- How to make Homemade Cinnamon Bread
- Do you have to use a stand mixer?
- How do you form cinnamon bread?
- Serving Cinnamon Swirl Bread
- Expert Cinnamon Bread Tips
- Cinnamon Bread Recipe FAQ
- Homemade Cinnamon Bread Recipe Recipe
My Cinnamon Bread Recipe is EASY
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. I’m going to show you step-by-step how EASY it is to make your own bread at home.
(If I’m being honest; one of my fears about making homemade bread was that it’s SO EASY to do I’ll make it all the time and then eat loaves and loaves of warm crusty carbs. Spoiler alert: #TRUTH)
Make your own cinnamon swirl bread and you never have to buy store bought again!
What kind of yeast is best to make bread?
Working with yeast is very easy, especially when you use Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® Yeast. That little yeast packet knocks both of my fears out of the water.
Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® Yeast is INSTANT yeast and is easier to use because you don’t need to proof it: you just mix it into the dry ingredients. Proofing yeast is what always has scared me about it but by using instant yeast, that fear is gone.
The other reason I like this yeast? The term “Rapid Rise” is true; there are only two rising periods but they only total an hour. You give the dough a 10 minute rest and then let it rise 45 minutes before baking; making homemade cinnamon bread is no longer an all day affair.
What ingredients are used to make homemade bread?
Rapid Rise Yeast: Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® Yeast is the one I recommend. You can use any kind of instant yeast.
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.
Milk and Water: these are the liquids you’ll use to make the bread. Milk is used to enrich the dough and give it the creamy color, plus for flavor.
Butter: bread needs fat to be soft and moist and using butter adds flavor.
Salt: for flavor – it’s necessary to add at least some salt to the recipe.
All-Purpose Flour: this recipe was written using AP flour
Cinnamon: for the filling
How to make Homemade Cinnamon Bread
1. Dry Ingredients: Whisk the yeast with some of the flour, sugar, and salt.
2. Wet Ingredients: You’re going to 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).
I highly recommend an instant-read thermometer when working with yeast. It helps take the guesswork out!
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.)
3. Mix: Once you have the milk hot enough, add it to the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer.
4. Mix, adding more flour: 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.
5. Knead: 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.
6. Rest: Let the dough rest for just 10 minutes.
Do you have to use a stand mixer?
No, but it helps. If you’re using a stand mixer, you’re going to beat it for 2 minutes, then add more flour, mix for 2 more minutes, then add more flour until it becomes a ball. Using a stand mixer also helps with kneading; you’ll only need to knead this bread for about 6-8 minutes.
If you don’t have a stand mixer, don’t worry. Mix it with a hand mixer or by hand until you can’t anymore, then knead it, adding flour, until it forms a ball that springs back when pressed with two fingers.
How do you form cinnamon bread?
This bread recipe makes two loaves, so cut the dough in half.
Simply roll out your dough into a rectangle. Then brush with melted butter.
Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
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 bread pan that’s been sprayed with 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.
Preheat your oven and place the pans on top of the stove to rise!
PRO TIP
Then simply bake until golden brown. 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.
Serving Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Warm cinnamon bread is the perfect breakfast with or without melted butter on top. We didn’t even need it toasted; just warm from the oven.
Feel free to toast the bread and top it with butter or eat it plain. We also like it with peanut butter.
Have leftovers? Make French Toast with it!
Luckily, we had a friend to give one loaf too. The other one didn’t last the day!
Making homemade bread is so simple, you’ll be doing it in no time.
Expert Cinnamon Bread 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.
- Leftover Cinnamon Swirl Bread is perfect for French Toast
- You can divide the recipe in half and make just one loaf easily!
- 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.
- Leftover Cinnamon Swirl Bread is perfect for French Toast
- You can divide the recipe in half and make just one loaf easily!
Cinnamon Bread Recipe FAQ
If you slice it and the rings separate it’s because it wasn’t rolled tight enough. The tighter the roll the better it sticks together. This comes with practice!
The rising of the yeast forms the gluten to make a fluffy bread.
I have not tested this with nondairy milk and butter but I have made other similar recipes with it. I think that using nondairy butter sticks and nondairy milk will work just fine.
Other favorite yeast recipes:
- This is my go-to White Bread Recipe.
- Homemade Dinner Rolls are another easy bread recipe!
- Cheesy Ranch Breadsticks are one of our favorite side dishes!
- Looking for another sweet bread? Check out my homemade monkey bread!
- Cinnamon Rolls are another favorite!
Have you made this recipe?
Tag @crazyforcrust on Instagram or hashtag it #crazyforcrust
Homemade Cinnamon Bread Recipe
Ingredients
For the bread:
- 5 1/2 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 packets Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® Yeast 4 1/2 teaspoons
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons butter
For the filling:
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Combine 2 cups flour, sugar, dry yeast and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and stir until blended. Combine water, milk and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH in 15 second increments until very warm but not hot to the touch (120° to 130°F. Butter won’t melt completely). Add to flour mixture.
- Beat 2 minutes at medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally. Add 1 cup flour; beat 2 minutes at high speed, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in just enough remaining flour so that the dough will form into a ball.
- Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic and springs back when lightly pressed with 2 fingers, about 6 to 8 minutes. Cover with a towel; let rest for 10 minutes.
- Cut dough into 2 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a 12 x 7-inch rectangle using a rolling pin. Brush each piece with melted butter. Stir together the cinnamon and sugar for the filling and sprinkle on each rectangle.
- Beginning at short end of each rectangle, roll up tightly. Pinch seams and ends to seal. Place, seam sides down, in two 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 inch loaf pans that have been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Cover with towel; let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
- Bake in preheated 400ºF oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans by running a knife around the edges and invert onto wire rack.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Recipe Nutrition
Also find the Beginner’s White Bread recipe at Fleischmann’s® Yeast!
**Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!**
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!
Last Updated on May 20, 2022
forgot to add, kneaded by hand for six minutes (no stand mixer), and the consistency came out PERFECTLY. Used bread flour.
Made this recipe, doubled cinnamon mix, squeezed ends, rolled it tightly, turned out perfect. I did brush the top with egg whites, but I think i will mix butter next time for nice gloss, and added sour-cream diamond pattern glaze.
When I was making the bread it said to put 5 1/2 to 6 cups of flour when I added the 5th cup of flour my dough didn’t come together it started to crumble and when I let it sit for the 10 minutes it didn’t rise could it be the milk and water wasn’t worm enough or something else now I’m at the 45 minutes part in the loaf pan it rised also I didn’t have none stick spray so I used butter instead will that make a difference I hope it turns out great.
It doesn’t sound like you kneaded it. Did you knead it until the dough was elastic?
Making this tomorrow do I use a dough hook or paddle on my stand mixer?
I used the dough hook! Helps with kneading.
My bread doesn’t seem to rise! Has another 20 min. But doesn’t seem to be raising.What should I do? Or what could be wrong? Help
Are you using instant yeast? And did you make sure your water was the correct temp? It also could take longer if it’s cold in your house – it’s best to let bread rise in a warm place.
I doubled the filling recipe and used half brown sugar and half white sugar. The first time I made this recipe it seem like they’re just was not enough filling so when I made it again I doubled the filling and added a little bit of cardamom ginger and a little bit of allspice this time. I have also added dried cranberries about a cup full and ended up frosting the top with just a plain drizzle icing more for looks And a tad bit more sweetness. I also spread butter on the top of the hot bread after I took it out of the pan to keep the crust soft.
I mixed cardamom,brown sugar,white sug,cinnamon and a little ground ginger in my filling. Used half butter and half extra virgin coconut oil in the dough and to spread on the inside before I sprinkled on the cinnamon mixture. The bread was fast to rise and turned out beautiful. I will maybe add some cranberries or raisins next time.
My go-to cinnamon bread recipe! Amazing for toast, French toast, or on its own. Also freezes GREAT.
Question…this recipe sounds awesome, but my family won’t eat 2 loaves. If I make one as cinnamon bread, can I use the other one to roll out and make pizza? If so what temperature should I cook it at, and roughly how long would I cook it?
Thanks 🙂
I have’t used this as pizza but I don’t see why not. You can also half the recipe really easily and just make one loaf!
Would you be able to use BREAD Flour instead of All Purpose Flour in this recipe ?
Yes you can, should be the same amount.
Just had my first slice of this amazing cinnamon bread, soooooooooo delicious. My house smells amazing. This bread was so easy to make. I have to control myself so I don’t eat the whole loaf. Have to freeze the other as soon as it cools so I won’t be tempted. Will definitely make again.😘😘😘❤️❤️❤️❤️
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