Cinnamon Raisin Bread
A toasted slice of this Homemade Cinnamon Raisin Bread with a glass of fresh orange juice is the perfect way to start your day!
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If I had to pick, I’d probably say cinnamon is my favorite spice. That’s a hard call for me since there are so many delicious spices out there, but cinnamon is my ultimate go-to spice. Aside from it’s normal uses like on top of oatmeal and in granola, I’ve become fond of adding a dash of cinnamon to my chocolate cakes. (A 1/2 tsp of cinnamon in this Death by Chocolate Cake is pretty darn amazing!) But I think my wife is onto my trick. The other day I baked a batch of these tasty Chocolate Espresso Muffins. When my wife walked in the door, I told her that the muffins had a secret ingredient in them. She just looked at me and said, “Let me guess. It’s cinnamon.” Busted. Except the joke was on her since those muffins didn’t have any cinnamon in them. But I bet they’d be delicious with a dash of cinnamon. Just sayin’. So you can imagine my love for any recipe that calls for cinnamon as a featured ingredient. One of my favorites is this Homemade Cinnamon Raisin Bread. A slice of this bread is absolutely perfect with a cup of hot coffee on weekend mornings!
Back when I was in grad school (and before I got into baking bread), one of my guilty pleasures was picking up a loaf of cinnamon-raisin bread from the store. Toasted with a bit of butter, that bread was pretty darned magical. But this homemade version is better. I kid you not. (Trust me, I know my cinnamon bread!)
The dough for this Cinnamon Raisin bread is soft…very soft. If you’ve ever made any sort of rustic bread or pizza dough, then you’re probably familiar with a stiff bread dough. This dough is not stiff. (On a side note, this flexible plastic bowl scraper is one of my favorite tools in the kitchen. Seriously.) You might even think you did something wrong when you look at this finished dough. Just go with it. It’ll turn out to be one of the tastiest loaves of cinnamon raisin bread you’ll ever eat! Oh, and I’ve also discovered a new trick for toasting this bread. If you have a toaster-oven, then toast a slice of this bread like normal for a minute or two. Then switch it over to broil for another minute or two (watch it closely since it will burn quickly). The top of the slice gets all nice and crispy while the bottom has just a slight crunch to it. Ok, I’ll stop talking about cinnamon raisin bread before you realize how crazy I really am! Enjoy!
Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Ingredients
For the Bread
- 1 cup milk
- 3¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2¼ tsp instant dry yeast
- 1 egg
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup raisins
Instructions
- Heat the milk until just slightly warm to the touch.
- In the bowl of a countertop mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Mix until well combined.
- Add the warmed milk, egg, softened butter and raisins to the mixer bowl. Mix on low speed for 2-3 minutes or until well combined. Increase speed to medium and continue mixing for 2-3 more minutes. (Note: Dough will be loose and sticky. Use a bowl scraper or spatula to help transfer it.)
- Transfer dough to a greased bowl, cover, and place in a warm location (85°F) for 90 minutes, or until dough has almost doubled in size.
- Turn dough out onto a floured countertop. Roll into an 8"x16" rectangle.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and milk to make the Egg Wash. Brush about half of the Egg Wash across the top of the dough. Set remaining Egg Wash aside for later.
- In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle mixture evenly across top of the dough.
- Starting with a short edge, roll the dough into a tight log. (Tip: You may need a bowl scraper or spatula to help roll the dough.)
- Pinch the seam and ends of the dough together to seal. Place dough seam-side down into a greased 9”x5” loaf pan. Cover loosely and place in a warm location for 60 minutes.
- Brush top of the dough with remaining egg wash before baking.
- Bake at 350°F for 38-40 minutes, or until top of loaf is golden brown. (Note: Check the bread after 25 minutes and tent the top of the pan with aluminum foil if the top is browning too quickly.)
This bread looks amazing!! I am definitely going to try to make it. I’m also a huge fan of cinnamon. I put it in almost everything I can get away. 😉
Thank you so much, Tamara! It’s nice to meet another cinnamon fanatic. 🙂
I love cinnamon too! There’s something warm and comforting about it. I’ve never made cinnamon bread before but have always loved the Pepperidge Farm version. This bread looks amazing and I wish I had it for breakfast this morning!
I wish I had some of this bread left, too, Tina! That Pepperidge Farm bread is just magic, but I dare say this one is better because it’s homemade. Give it a shot!! 🙂
This looks like the classic I grew up on, except with your version I can slice it as thick as I want! Gotta make this…
Exactly, Sue! If you want to whack off half the loaf at once at toast it up…then be my guest! 🙂
The bread looks amazing, David! Love the spices- would be a perfect brekkie for Easter. 🙂
It would totally be the perfect brekkie for Easter. I’m going to start using the term brekkie…I love it! Hope your Friday or Saturday or whatever day it is over there is going great! 🙂
YUM. Want to eat it all.
Haha…I’ll make you your own loaf. 🙂
Hmmm, if I lived close enough to you, would I be able to get in on this cinnamon raisin toast and muffins for breakfast routine?? Hahaha this looks great man. I need to get my bread-making skills going.
Yes, you could leave a card outside your door in the evening with your order for breakfast the next day. Just cause I’m cool like that. Haha! You totally need to get your bread skills up and rolling…it’s probably my favorite thing to make!
I love cinnamon! It makes everything taste and smell wonderful, plus it is good for you 😀 This would be absolutely perfect for breakfast. I’m adding this to my list of foods to make for Easter Weekend.
Thank you, Cindy! This is one of my all-time favorite breads…I hope you enjoy it! It would be perfect for Easter Weekend. 🙂
That bread looks so tasty David! I am a fan of a sweet raisin bread in the mornings and I can imagine this one with a little syrup and some cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top for a great start to the day!
Thanks, Corina! Your syrup and cinnamon sugar description there makes me want to go and bake another loaf of this bread ASAP! Thanks for commenting! 🙂
I love cinnamon (and cinnamon rolls and/or bread) so much if someone were to lend me a time machine and ask me to do whatever I want with it; the coordinates I’d start with would be 17th century Sweden. There I would search for the baker who invented cinnamon rolls. Just to give him a very big hug and thank him for creating one of the most delicious things ever.
Don’t you agree?
Btw, this cinnamon bread looks dope David; I could use a slice right now with my cup of coffee!
Oh man, I would totally love to join you on that quest back to 17th century Sweden. I wonder if we could bring some of those original cinnamon rolls back with us? And I wonder if they would still be good? I think we need to figure out how to make this happen. Maybe we could invite Chris to come along, too. 🙂
I am with you, cinnamon is the best spice. Definitely a hard choice, especially with all the lovely spices available. Your bread looks gorgeous and would be perfect right about now…..I am starving! Take care, Terra
Haha…I could totally go for a slice of this bread right now, too, Terra! Thanks so much for stopping by, fellow cinnamon lover! 🙂
Hi~
Greetings from Germany and thank you very much for the recipe!
I have a very grumpy father. It’s a compliment if he says a meal is edible.
I tried your recipe and now he asks me to make one for him every 3 or 4 days.
He’s right, it’s really delicious. 🙂
Wow! Thank you so much, Steffi…your comment totally made my day! This bread recipe really is delicious…and so easy to adapt to other flavors, too. I’m so happy that your father likes it!! 🙂
I have been looking for a good cinnamon raisin bread recipe. I have not made this yet. Just reading the recipe it appears to be a very good recipe, from my baking experience. I used to bake all types of breads but health issues got in the way. I used to be able to bake by “feel”, because I baked all the time, and not just bread. I will be making this bread tomorrow with the help of my daughter. I am waiting for my back surgery. I will definitely be reading your blog and trying out more recipes. Thank you for sharing.
Wow, thank you so much for the comment, Jan! I absolutely love baking, and this is one of my favorite breads. The dough is super soft…but don’t worry one bit. It will produce an awesome loaf of cinnamon raisin bread! I hope you enjoy this bread as much as I do…oh, and come back and let me know how it turns out. Thanks again!
The Cinnamon Swirl ingredients include 2 Tbsp of flour but the recipe does not say how to use it! Since my bread is already in the first 90 minute rise, I will just leave it out this time but would appreciate knowing for the future.
Oops! I can’t believe that got left out of this recipe, Nancy. It’s not a vital component at all, and I have definitely made this bread without that extra bit of flour. I’m going to go ahead and delete it from the recipe just to avoid confusion. Thank you for catching that! I hope you enjoy this bread as much as we do…it’s a favorite around our house!! 🙂
Thanks for your speedy reply. I am eating my first slice now and it is great! So one more question……I would like to bake this closer to breakfast time….without getting up at 3 AM! Is it possible to refrigerate it in the loaf pan after the second rise, then bake it in the morning? I would still need to allow some time for it to cool…but starting at 5 or 6 AM would be much better!
Awesome! I’m so glad you are enjoying this bread, Nancy. But you are totally right…baker’s hours are the worst! I toyed with the idea of opening a bakery, but then I realized I’d have to go in to work at like 2:30am every day. No thanks!
So it is indeed possible to refrigerate this loaf and bake it in the morning. However, I’d recommend refrigerating it after the first rise. The night before, you can basically shape the bread and get it into the pan (step #9), and then cover and refrigerate. Then next morning, pull the bread out as soon as you get up. Let it rise in a warm place for probably closer to 75-90 minutes. (Remember, it’ll be starting out as cold this time so it will take a bit longer.) Once it’s risen, then just bake it as normal. It’s not perfect…but it certainly is a bit easier! I actually posted these Overnight Cinnamon Rolls lately–and the method is pretty similar there. Check out that post here: http://spicedblog.com/overnight-cinnamon-rolls.html
Thanks so much for coming back and letting me know how the bread turned out. I’m glad you enjoyed it as much as we do! 🙂
When I was a child, I would sometimes spend the night at my Grandmother’s house. In the morning I would wake up to the aroma of her homemade cinnamon raisin toast wafting through the house! To this day the smell of cinnamon takes me back to my childhood ! It is my favorite spice and it is so good for you too! As I am sending this reply there is a bowl of your cinnamon bread dough recipe rising on my range! First time trying it and I can’t wait sit to try it! Thanks for making your recipe available ! Mike
I have been using this recipe and it’s delicious! I’m trying to make it more nutritious and healthy by using whole wheat flour, but was wondering if it would work if I substituted it with whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour. Thanks!
Hey Claudia! Thank you so much for being a fan of this recipe…it’s one of my favorites, too. 🙂 You absolutely can use whole wheat flour here. However, I usually only use about 1/2 whole wheat flour. If you replace all of the flour, then the bread can often turn out too dense. You will also need to slightly increase the amount of liquid when you use some whole wheat flour. (Whole wheat flour absorbs more liquid than all-purpose.) I don’t have an exact amount, but I would start with 1-2 Tbsp of extra milk. You’re basically looking for the dough to be the same consistency as when you make it with all all-purpose flour. Does this make sense? Thanks so much, and let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Thank you so much! I made it last night just like you recommended half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour and the extra milk. We had it this morning for breakfast and my family loved it! They were surprised when I told them it had whole wheat flour 🙂
Awesome! I’m so glad this worked out. I actually prefer to use half-whole wheat flour in a lot of my bread recipes because it gives the bread a nice nutty flavor. How much extra milk did you end up needing? It sounds like you are now a pro at making Cinnamon Raisin Bread! You’ve probably thought of this already, but you can use this same base dough recipe and just adapt it for other fillings. Have fun with it…and let me know if you discover a fun new filling idea. I’m always looking for ideas! 🙂
Incredibly tasty, but the top rose way up , leaving the rest of the loaf behind! Big hole at top of each slice! What did I do wrong? This was my first attempt at breadmaking, neophyte that I am, but I refuse to be discouraged.
Hey there, Barb! Well, first of all, give yourself a high-five for baking your first loaf of bread! Once I baked my first loaf, I was hooked…and now all I want to do is keep making different kinds of bread. 🙂
So I can’t say that I’ve ever had just the top of a loaf rise up like you describe. I’m thinking it could be two things, though: (1) When you rolled the dough in Step 8 and 9, did you get it nice and tight? If it was too loosely rolled there, then there might have been an air pocket that just grew as the dough rose. It’s just a guess, but there could be something there! (2) I’m wondering if maybe the dough over-proofed (or over-rose). I’ve included the timing that I use, but if you are at a high altitude or where you let your dough rise is warmer than me, then it could just have simply over-risen. If you make the bread again (and I hope you do…breadmaking is so much fun!), then perhaps watch for the bread to rise about 1″ over the rim of the bread pan instead of waiting 60 minutes like I said in the recipe. Does this make sense? Keep me in the loop if you try again…I want to help solve this problem! Thank you so much for being a fan! 🙂
Thanks Dave! I think your 2nd suggestion was right on the money! I was so proud when my bread rose up about 3″ over the pan. I waited the full 60 minutes…not realizing it was overachieving! I am going to try again tomorrow. Wish me luck.
Hey, Barb! By now I’m guessing you have already made the loaf again. Did it turn out better this time? I can almost guarantee you that the problem before was over-rising. 3″ might look awesome…but 1″ is a good rule of thumb when baking most breads. You’re such an over-achiever! Haha! I hope the 2nd loaf came out better…and I hope you are now addicted to baking bread. There’s something about baking loaves from scratch (and playing with the dough) that is really quite fun!
Second time was perfect. Made bread pudding out of the first one…it was almost TOO good! Thanks for your help. I intend to keep going.
Awesome! I’m so glad the second version turned out better. Have fun bread baking!! 🙂
Thanks for the awesome bread. I make bread every weekend and your recipe was a huge hit with my hubby. I had a cave in the first loaf (I’ll roll it tighter this weekend) but no one complained. Your Cinnamon Raisin bread has replaced Anadama Bread as the favorite !
Thank you so much for the kind comment, Jo! I love baking bread, too…in fact, it’s probably one of my favorite things to do in the kitchen. It’s been way too long since I’ve made this bread…perhaps I need to get a loaf going for this weekend now! 🙂 Thank you for supporting my site!
Hello, found your recipe today and I just mixed up the dough. Unfortunately mine wasn’t soft and sticky. I followed the ingredients as well. Any ideas? I’m going to try another go around and see what happens.
Hey Heidi! Thanks so much for stopping by and trying this recipe…I love making homemade bread, and my wife was just saying the other day that I should make another loaf of this one.
To be honest, I’m unsure what would cause your dough to not be soft and sticky. It’s a really soft dough! I know you followed the ingredients, but I might suggest checking the amounts again? There aren’t too many ingredients here, so the problem sounds like it might come from the ingredient amounts. I did use a large egg in my recipe, although the recipe only lists ‘egg’ not ‘large egg.’ I doubt that would cause the entire batch of dough to be stiff, though. Will you try this one again? I’m thinking the 2nd time might work! Let me know how it turns out, and happy baking!! 🙂
David
Bread looks and sound amazing – I will have to try to make some, I tend to grab it at the grocery.
Popped over to your sight and was reading about all you do with “bread” companies – amazing, congrats on that !!
Reading your mini bio made me homesick. Been 4-1/2 yrs since I’ve been back “home” No family left there, but still love to visit with old friends. Saratoga, Brant Lake and Burnt hills in 2013 – time to go back
Thanks for the recipe !!
Hey Mar! Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting. In truth, we often just buy cinnamon raisin bread at the store, too…especially now that we have a toddler in the house. Toddlers and bread baking seem to be inversely related!
I totally know what you mean about “home” though. I grew up in the Carolinas, and I don’t have any family left in that area anymore. We’ve enjoyed it up here, though. We’re in Clifton Park, and in fact we go to the Burnt Hills vet with our dogs…just down the road! This area is changing so much…definitely worth coming back to visit. (But in the summer…when the weather is nice!)
Ah, know Clifton Park – had dinner at Ravenswood Pub last time we were home, a friend was playing there that night
I do miss stopping at Focastle Farms for Cider Donuts and wandering the shop, I always leave with something 🙂
Graduated from BHBL many years ago – Area has changed tremendously over the years, as do most areas
you go to BH Vet on Goode ST ?
Live next door to the Carolina’s now, NE Tennessee, mountains, but not like the adirondacks 😉
Have a great week !
mar
Ravenswood was right around the corner, and my wife and I have totally gone to watch a friend play there, too. What a small world! Fo’castle still has the best cider doughnuts in the whole area. In fact, we’ll often drive out on the weekends in the Fall just to get one doughnut. (Ok, maybe we bring one home, too!) And, yes, the BH Vet on Goode St is the one we go to. Crazy! And to make it even crazier? I’ve told Laura (my wife) that I want to retire in either the mountains of eastern TN or western NC. I went to camp in Boone, NC and we took several family vacations up in that area…I love it!! I’m so glad you stumbled across my site, Mar! Thanks, and I hope you have a great week ahead, too.
WOW – incredibly small world !!!
Found out a few days too late that one of the guys was playing at Ravenswood last w/e – would have let you know
OMG, I sooo miss Fo’castle cider donuts, they are definitely the best (IMHO) have friends who prefer Knights donuts,
(I do buy my apples for applesauce at Knights if we are up in the fall — about 1 mile past the Vets on Goode st.), but no, Fo’castle wins on Cider donuts and raspberry pie – also have great oatmeal bread !!! Gonna have to make a trip to NY soon !
NE TN is pretty, we’ve been here 22 years, after being in Fl for 18. DH loves it, nice lakes/reservoirs for fishing.
Have been to Boone, only about an hour or so from us depending on time of year Banner Elk is also a pretty area
Have a super week/weekend !
Mar
So we haven’t been to Knights yet, but we actually have some good friends who live out on Charlton Road and we pass Knights whenever we go out that way. Good to know that they have good applesauce apples. I think we made about 6 gallons of sauce this year…come to think of it, I might need an entire year break after last year. Haha! Oh yes…I totally agree with you about Banner Elk, too. I can’t wait to get back down to that part of the country! Hope you have a great weekend yourself! 🙂 And thanks for the apple advice!
BTW David, Knights is seasonal – usually open September until they run out of cold storage apples, maybe January.
Lakeside Farms is a nice place for pies also and cheeses, meats, sauces, jams, etc., other odds & ends and they have fresh veggies, a gift shoppe and restaurant. Had lunch there last time we were home, was good
I’ve not had their pies in a while, but after I left NYin ’78, my Daddy started ordering holiday pies from them if I wasn’t going to be home as my mother was not a baker at all and my sister showed up with a frozen to be baked apple pie first holiday with me gone eeek !! 😉
http://www.lakesidefarmscidermill.com/index.html
M
Hah! Well I think your Daddy’s decision to order pies from Lakeside Farms for the holidays is proof enough for me. I do love to bake, but sometimes (especially during the holidays) it’s nice to lay low and enjoy time with family and friends. Thanks, Mar!!
Just made this today it’s in the oven rising I hope it turns out .
I threw everything in at once will give another update
Hey Lydia! I hope this turns out for you. I’ve never skipped the rising times for this dough, so I’m really not sure what will happen. I look forward to hearing the update!
It came out amazing no more store brought bread for me thank you for posting this recipe.
Awesome!! I’m so glad it worked. And you’re right…this bread is way better than store bought! 🙂