Cinnamon Swirl Breakfast Bread

It’s time to dust off that bread machine and give it a whirl for something incredibly delicious: our cinnamon swirl bread recipe! Cinnamon swirl bread is just like your favorite local independent bakery used to make it, only better because it’s baked in your own home. A light glaze on top makes it extra delicious for dessert and it’s just as tasty as a cinnamon swirl breakfast bread, with or without butter.

Ingredients for Cinnamon Swirl Bread 

•  Milk: 2% milk is a liquid ingredient that helps form a dough; feel free to use a milk higher in fat.
• Eggs: Eggs contribute to the bread’s structure and texture.
• Butter: Butter helps make a tender bread and adds a little richness to the flavor. It’s also mixed into the filling with cinnamon and sugar.
• Sugar: Sugar makes the bread slightly sweet and helps the loaf stay moist. It also sweetens the gooey filling.
• Bread flour: Bread flour forms the base for this delicious breakfast bread, designed to rise and be chewy when baked into bread.
• Active dry yeast: Yeast helps the bread dough rise.
• Cinnamon: The butter, sugar and cinnamon team up to create the lovely cinnamon swirl twirling through the bread loaves.
• Confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract: These ingredients blend together with milk to create a sweet, tasty glaze for the cinnamon swirl bread.

Directions 

Step 1: Mix the dough in a bread machine

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Place the milk, water, eggs, butter, salt, sugar, bread flour and yeast in the bread machine pan, using the order suggested by your bread machine’s manufacturer. (This should be listed in the general instruction booklet.) Select the “dough” setting and turn the machine on; check the dough after five minutes of mixing and add 1 to 2 tablespoons water or flour if needed.

Step 2: Add cinnamon and sugar

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When the cycle completes, turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide it in half. Roll each portion into a 10×8-inch rectangle. Brush them with melted butter. Combine the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle the mixture over the dough.

Step 3: Make dough loaves

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Roll each dough portion tightly in a jelly-roll style starting with a short side. Pinch the seams and ends to seal. Place the dough rolls seam-side down in two greased 9×5-inch loaf pans. Cover them and let them rise in a warm place until their sizes double, for about one hour. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Step 4: Bake the bread

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Bake the loaves for 25 minutes. Cover each with foil, then bake until golden brown, for 5 to 10 minutes longer. Remove the loaves from their pans and set them on wire racks to cool completely.

Step 5: Make the glaze

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In a large bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and enough milk to achieve the desired consistency. Drizzle the glaze mixture over the warm loaves. The glaze will harden a bit in a few minutes.

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Recipe Variations 

• Add raisins: Raisins taste delicious in a cinnamon bread; just add a handful or two into the dough 5 to 10 minutes before the last kneading cycle ends. Here’s a raisin cinnamon bread recipe to try that doesn’t require a bread machine.
• Add nuts: Chopped walnuts or sliced almonds are also excellent in a cinnamon bread. These should be added a little before the end of the last kneading cycle, as with the raisins.
• Add chopped apples: Peeled and chopped tart apples such as the Granny Smith variety turn this into a cinnamon apple bread. Chop the apples small and add them in near the end of the final kneading cycle, or try our apple cinnamon bread recipe.  To enjoy the apples yet another way, try our applesauce cinnamon bread recipe for a deliciously moist treat.

How to Store Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Keep the cooled cinnamon swirl bread in a bread bag or an airtight container on the counter where it will last for about three days, depending upon heat and humidity. Stored this way in the refrigerator, it’ll keep for a couple more days.

Can you freeze cinnamon swirl bread?

Yes, this bread freezes well so it’s great for enjoying one loaf now and one another time. Wrap the bread thoroughly in plastic and then in foil and place it in the freezer where it will keep for a month.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread Tips

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What is bread flour?

Bread flour has a higher protein content, which makes it able to produce more gluten. More gluten makes for a chewier bread so it’s quite handy for sourdough or even for pizza dough. Bread flour is sometimes called strong flour or high-gluten flour. This article explains the most common flour types and how they’re best used.

Can I use all-purpose flour instead?

Yes, all-purpose flour may be used in place of the bread flour, but the end result may be slightly less chewy and less airy. All-purpose flour generally makes bread that’s a little more dense than one made with bread flour.

Can I make this without a bread machine?

Yes! The key difference is kneading the bread by hand. This article spells out the proper way to convert this and other recipes meant for bread machines.