What is Your Go-To Recipe for Cinnamon-Swirl Bread?

[BakerAunt]

Today I had a great desire for cinnamon swirl bread. I do not have a go-to recipe, since I do not bake it that often. I ended up at the KAF site and selected P.J.'s recipe because I've always like the way she talks to the baking community. She is one of us, Of course, I played with the recipe, substituting in some oats and white whole wheat flour, a tablespoon of flax meal, and of course buttermilk, which meant deleting the special dried milk. I was a bit rushed, so I may not have let the second rise go quite long enough, but it is a respectable looking loaf from the outside. The test will be when I cut into it tomorrow morning--a breakfast that I am anticipating. I will report back on taste and texture then.

Addendum: The good news is that the swirl mostly stayed together, at least as far as I've cut into the bread. The filling was made by sprinkling a tablespoon of cinnamon, mixed with a tablespoon of sugar. I then drizzled water over it, which is something I learned from a Bernard Clayton recipe (a wonderful orange-cinnamon bread). He misted it with water, but my spray bottle is back in Texas, and thus the drizzle. What is disappointing is that there is not much cinnamon flavor, even when I toast the bread. If I make this recipe again, then I will either double the filling, or maybe use the cinnamon filling from the KAF wholegrain baking book's Dark and Dangerous Cinnamon Buns.

In the meantime, I thought that I would ask community members: What is your go-to recipe for cinnamon-swirl bread? What do you think makes a great cinnamon-swirl loaf?

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• This topic was modified 8 years, 5 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This topic was modified 8 years, 5 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This topic was modified 8 years, 5 months ago by BakerAunt.

[luvpyrpom]

Mine is KAF Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough bread. Taking a break from sourdough right now so haven't tried any other cinnamon swirl bread. Will be interested what others like.

For me, what makes a great loaf is the lack of separation between the swirls (mine always tend to separate in various degrees) and to have cinnamon swirl visible. I've had the swirl "disappear" after baking.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 5 months ago by luvpyrpom.

[Rascals1]

It will be interesting to see the responses

[Mike Nolan]

I haven’t made it in a LOOONG time, but I have a recipe for cinnamon raisin bread posted in my recipes here. I’ve used sour cream, applesauce, yogurt and various combinations of the three. They’re all good. The KAF Vermont Maple Oatmeal bread is pretty good, too.

See Raisin Bread.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 5 months ago by Mike Nolan.

[BakerAunt]

Mike: I actually looked at your recipe, but I didn't have sour cream, applesauce, or yogurt on hand here, and since we head back on Saturday, I did not want to buy what might be left over. I'll have to give your recipe a try when we are home again. I almost tried the Vermont Maple Oatmeal bread.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 5 months ago by BakerAunt.

[wonky]

I generally use my "Amish white Bread" recipe, but I usually enrich it with some extra butter, and an egg. Of course I have to adjust the flour somewhat due to those changes. I also prefer to use brown sugar, mixed with the cinnamon, instead of white. I beat an egg, and paint" the dough with it, and then sprinkle on the cinnamon/sugar mixture. This seems to prevent the swirl from separating.

[wonky]

BakerAunt...here you go. This is the original recipe, however I use l/3 cup of sugar for the two loaf recipe not the 2/3 cup as called for in the recipe. However, when I make cinnamon swirl bread, I use the 2/3 cup. This is a really nice soft bread. This bread is my DH favorite, and if I want to really make it tender and soft, I also add some tangzhong. I also sub l/8 cup butter, and 1/8 cup lard for the oil. Oh boy, when I actually make all these changes, I think I should stop calling it "Amish White Bread" and call it something like "Crazy Wonky's white bread." Oh, and I forgot, the original recipe called for 2 cups of warm water, but I sub with 2 cups warm milk. I guess I never realized how much I have changed this recipe til now when I had to write it down. I always "mess" with recipes, and most times it works great.

2 Cups warm water
2/3 cup sugar
1 l/2 TB inst. yeast
2 l/2 tsp. salt
6 cups AP flour (I have never used this much..probably closer to 5 cups)
1/4 Cup veg. oil

Add all ingred. to lg. mixing bowl (I use my KA) except I put 3 cups of the flour, and beat on medium with paddle beater for 4 minutes. Remove the paddle beater, and add the bread hook. Add addl flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead for an additional 8 minutes.

I'm sure you know the procedure from here, so I won't repeat it. This makes two beautiful high rising loaves. Bake at 350 for approx. 30 minutes or til an instant read thermometer reaches 200 degrees. I usually use an egg wash also.

Oh...I also add 2 tsp. white vinegar.

Oh man, I have shamelessly butchered the orig. recipe haven't I.

For cinnamon swirl, I first paint the dough with a beaten egg, and sprinkle with cinnamon/brown sugar. I usually take my rolling pin, and after sprinkling on cin/sug mix, I roll over it to get good contact with the egg on the dough. I usually do not get the separation when using this method.

Now that I have completely confused you, I have a mental picture of you pulling your hair out, as you try to follow this mess. Please let me know if you make this, and what you think of this recipe. I hope you enjoy it. Your baking friend...Crazy Wonky.

[BakerAunt]

Thank you, Wonky! I will copy this recipe and put it in my "to bake" file. You have definitely made this recipe your own, and that is what baking is all about!

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