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My Homemade Cinnamon Swirl Bread Recipe is an easy white bread recipe full of swirls of cinnamon sugar! This recipe produces a soft, pillowy loaf with a perfectly sweet cinnamon-sugar spiral in every slice. The homemade version is way better than the stuff you buy – it’s fresh and SO GOOD and even bread-making beginners can make it easily.
I used to be scared of making bread until I discovered my easy homemade white bread recipe. Now I make it all the time! 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.
This cinnamon bread uses an yested dough made with milk and butter to ensure a tender, fluffy loaf. The magic happens in the shaping process, where we roll the dough tightly to create those iconic swirls without the dreaded air gaps. It is the perfect bread for morning toast, French toast, or simply enjoying a warm slice with a thick smear of salted butter.
Ingredients in Cinnamon Swirl Bread
- Instant Yeast (Rapid Rise Yeast): You can use any kind of instant yeast – different brands have different names for this. Using instant yeast or rapid rise yeast allows you to skip the initial proofing step in water and mix the yeast directly with the dry ingredients. This significantly reduces the total prep time while still providing a light and airy structure.
- Making bread with active dry yeast is a different recipe so make sure you grab the right kind. (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 is 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.
Click to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions. See below the recipe card for even more information: process shots, variations, FAQ and more.
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Dorothy’s Expert Tips
- To prevent the cinnamon swirl from separating from the dough during baking, lightly mist the rolled-out dough with water after the melted butter but before sprinkling the cinnamon sugar. Then do it again after adding the cinnamon sugar. This creates a glue that keeps the layers bonded as the bread rises and expands in the oven.
- Feel free to add raisins, dried cranberries, or even nuts in the center after you’ve sprinkled on the cinnamon sugar.
- Once rolled, pinch the seam of the bread together before placing in the pan to avoid leaks of cinnamon sugar.
- 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.
Cinnamon Swirl Bread Recipe
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Ingredients
For the bread:
- 5 ½ to 6 cups (682-744g) all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons (38g) granulated sugar
- 2 packets (16g) Fleischmann's® RapidRise® Yeast, 4 ½ teaspoons
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 ½ cups (355ml) water
- ½ cup (118ml) milk, (any kind)
- 2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted or salted butter
For the filling:
- 1 tablespoon (14g) unsalted or salted butter, melted
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Combine 2 cups (248g) 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 (124g) 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 8½ x 4½ 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.
Notes
- To make cinnamon raisin bread, sprinkle 1 cup of raisins over the cinnamon sugar in step 4.
- You can use bread machine yeast in this recipe to make this in a bread machine. I don’t recommend using active dry yeast as the recipe is written.
- Wrap cooled bread well in plastic wrap and freeze for up to a month.
- Homemade bread doesn’t last as long as store bought – enjoy this within 2 days.
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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How to make Cinnamon Swirl Bread from Scratch
- Always whisk instant yeast with dry ingredients before adding liquid.
- 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.) An instant read thermometer is really the best way to measure water temperature – buy one here.
- 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.
- You know when you’re done kneading the dough when you press it with two fingers and it bounces back.
- You can make a single loaf of this bread by cutting the recipe in half.
- For the most professional look, roll the dough rectangle one to two inches narrower than the length of your loaf pan. This ensures the ends of the roll are tucked neatly inside the pan, preventing the cinnamon sugar from leaking out and burning during the bake.
- Just let it rise until it’s double in size – not longer or it might overproof.
Hi, I need some clarification about the amount of flour used. It calls for 5&1/2 to 6 cups. The instructions call for using 2 cups to start with and then adding another cup for a total of 3. Then you stir in enough to make a dough ball and flour the kneading surface. Where do you use the rest of the flour? Thank you!
She mentions it better in the long description.
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.
So good and so easy!! Thank you!
This cinnamon bread is wonderful. And it is easy to make. And the crust is perfect.
Super easy. Thank u for sharing!
Followed to a T. Both loaves turned out spectacular. Very soft and very tasty. I’m hoping it freezes well as store bought cinnamon swirl bread.
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