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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 and full of cinnamon flavor. 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®.
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 my cinnamon bread recipe at home – it has the perfect cinnamon sugar ratio to butter and bread!
(If I’m being honest; one of my fears about learning how to make cinnamon bread was that it’s SO quick and 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 homemade cinnamon 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.
Ingredients Needed
- 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: a full tablespoon of cinnamon for the filling
How to make Cinnamon Bread
- Whisk the yeast with some of the flour, sugar, and salt.
- 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).
- 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.)
- Once you have the milk hot enough, add it 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.
- 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.
How do you form cinnamon bread?
- This cinnamon bread recipe makes two loaves, so cut the dough in half.
- Simply roll out your dough into a rectangle. Then brush with melted butter. Stir together the 1/2 cup of granulated sugar with the ground cinnamon.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture. 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.
- 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.
Tip From Dorothy
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 my cinnamon bread recipe in half and make just one loaf easily!
- Just let it rise until it’s double in size – not longer or it might overproof.
- You can divide the recipe in half and make just one loaf easily!
Storage
Store bread tightly covered with plastic wrap in an airtight container. Because it is homemade and doesn’t have all the preservatives store bought bread has, it will only last about 2 days.
You can freeze the bread once it’s cooled – wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to a month.
Leftover Cinnamon Bread is perfect for French Toast
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.
Cinnamon Swirl Bread Recipe
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.
Recipe Video
Recipe 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.
Recipe Nutrition
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!
I only changed 1 thing. I used heavy cream instead of milk and this is the best bread recipe I found in a long time! Loved it. I halfed it as said and made cinnamon rolls with the second part. Perfection!
This is an excellent recipe & sooooooo easy to make! I halved the recipe. I also baked at 400 for 15min, then covered the top with foil, baked another 10min. It was perfect!!! Sliced it right out of the oven & added a little whipped butter. SOOOOOOOOOOOO DELICIOUS!!!!! Thank you for sharing this recipe with us!!!
It’s amazing how fast this comes together. It’s not sugary, and not a cake for sure. But if left on the counter it will disappear very quickly!
Personally I add vanilla to both the bread and the butter for the filling.
I forgot to leave stars!
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