Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Easy peasy cinnamon swirl bread.  A different method stops the cinnamon swirl from separating.

I’ve been lusting after some good old cinnamon swirl bread for a long time now. Trouble was, I needed to find a cinnamon swirl bread recipe that used bread flour, since I’d bought quite a bit of it.

I finally had some success on AllRecipes, but it was a bread machine recipe, and I didn’t want to make this with Crisco..so I changed the recipe slightly to include butter and omit one step and ingredient–coating the inside of the swirl with butter. Instead, I used an egg wash.

Slices of soft and sweet Cinnamon Swirl Bread

The egg wash is something that King Arthur recommends…to prevent the swirly part from separating.  When King Arthur Flour talks about technique, I tend to obey it because they are the ultimate authority IMO on bread baking.

And…they are right again!  When you cut this bread, it cuts in a neat slice.  I thought I might miss the buttery flavor in the swirl, but I honestly don’t notice it missing.  I also painted the tops of each loaf with the leftover egg wash so it’d shine very nicely.

FYI, this is not a high-rising bread.  Most recipes I read had said as much.  One said to use a smaller loaf pan if you want a bigger dome, i.e. 8 x 4 x 3-inch.  The pans I have these in are not exactly standard loaf pans, they are 1.5 Q deep rectangular casseroles actually, but the volume is somewhere in between a “standard” loaf pan and a “small” loaf pan so it works.  These are from the Temp-Tations bakeware 16 piece set, for those wondering.

Crust is baked with an egg wash for shine

Not only is this bread heaven just by itself, it makes wonderful toast when it’s lathered in butter and just think of the fantasmogoric FRENCH TOAST this would make!!

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

• Dough:
• 1 1/2 cups very warm water water
• 2 tbs butter or margarine, softened
• 3 tbs sugar
• 2 tbs milk
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp SAF yeast (instant yeast/bread machine yeast)
• 4 – 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 
  
• Filling:
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 
  
• Glaze & Filling Wash:
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp water

Combine all dough ingredients in the bowl of a sturdy stand mixer -OR- place in a bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer.


If using stand mixer with dough hook, gently blend the dough ingredients on low speed, then knead for 5-8 minutes at speed recommended for dough hook use.  On a Kitchen Aid, this is speed #2.  


(If using a bread machine, use DOUGH cycle and remove after cycle completes.)


Place about 1 tsp of oil in a large bowl.  Place kneaded dough in the bowl, coat one side with the oil.  Turn oil-side up and cover with greased plastic wrap.  Let rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 1 hour or until dough is double in bulk.  


(I use the “oven rise” method since my house is drafty.  Just turn on your oven on any temp and run the oven for one minute after the heat comes up.  Turn off oven and place dough in the oven for the rise period)


When dough has doubled in bulk, punch down and divide into 2 equal-sized balls.  


Grease two 9 x 5 x 4-inch loaf pans.


Beat the egg with the teaspoon of water and set aside. Mix the brown sugar & cinnamon and set aside.


Roll out dough in a 12 x 6-inch (approximate) rectangle. Brush the top with the egg wash.


Evenly distribute 1/2 of the cinnamon sugar over the egg-washed surface.  Roll up from the short end and seal seams.


Place in prepared loaf pan.  Repeat with other ball of dough.


Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled, about 1 hour.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  


Bake loaves for 30-40 minutes or until they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.  After about 15 minutes into the baking, brush tops of loaves with the egg wash again.  This makes it shine and promotes browning.


Remove from pans immediately and cool on racks.


Makes 2 loaves.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

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