Delicious cinnamon bread with raisins and a brown sugar and cinnamon swirl. With plenty of raisins and a cinnamon crunch coating on the outside!
If you are looking for a fabulous cinnamon bread recipe, this is it! Complementing the pretty cinnamon swirl inside is a crispy cinnamon and brown sugar coating on the outside. And of course, there are raisins, for a classic flavour combination.
Beyond all the fabulous flavours and the tender crumb, you’ll love that this cinnamon swirl bread is free from the dreaded gaps that often plague cinnamon swirl bread!
Not a raisin fan? Simply omit the raisins and enjoy this loaf as a fabulous cinnamon bread without raisins, sure to satisfy any cinnamon bread lover!
Ingredient and substitutions
A few notes about the ingredients …
Bread Flour and All-Purpose Flour – This recipe specifies half bread flour and half all-purpose flour, for the ideal texture. If you only have one or the other, but not both, you can use what you have, though expect to adjust the total amount of flour needed either up or down a bit.
Raisins – I typically opt for Thompson raisins in bread, but golden raisins or Sultanas (or a mixture of raisins), will work just as well here. Be sure to plump the raisins as directed. I’ve found that unplumped raisins tend to rob the moisture from the bread, resulting in a drier loaf. As noted above, you can also simply omit the raisins for cinnamon bread without raisins.
Honey – Honey is used as the sweetener in this bread. If you don’t have honey, you can substitute white or brown sugar or maple syrup in equal amounts.
How to make cinnamon bread with raisins
- If using a scale to measure the ingredients, add all of them except the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix to combine, then knead in the butter. Once the butter is incorporated, knead at Speed 2 for 10 minutes.
- The finished dough will look very sticky, but resist the urge to add more flour to the bowl.
- Remove the dough to a generously floured work surface and knead in more flour as needed, only if the dough is sticking to your hands or the work surface.
- Form the dough into a ball and place it into a greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, plump the raisins by setting them to soak in hot water. Set aside.
- Prepare the cinnamon and brown sugar mixture by adding to a small bowl, then stirring together until well combined. Set aside.
- When the dough has doubled, remove to a work surface.
- Pat and stretch the dough out into an 18×12-inch rectangle.
- Sprinkle about 2 heaping Tablespoons of the cinnamon mixture into the centre of the rectangle. Drain and pat dry the raisins and scatter about half of them over the cinnamon mixture.
- Fold one-third of the dough over the top of the cinnamon and raisins.
- Scatter 2 more Tablespoons of cinnamon and the remaining raisins overtop.
- Fold the empty third up overtop of the cinnamon and raisins, then scatter 2 Tablespoons of cinnamon mixture on top.
- Roll up the dough from the short end, rolling tightly and pressing down into the dough with your fingertips as you roll, which will cause the roll to widen as you roll it.
- Place the rolled dough into a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Press the remaining cinnamon brown sugar mixture over the top of the loaf, then cover it with plastic wrap and let rise, for about 30-40 minutes.
- Before baking, use a serrated knife to make 3 diagonal slashes in the top of the dough.
Recipe video
Recipe tips!
- The dough for this bread is quite sticky when being mixed. As such, it is best made in a stand-mixer if possible. If attempting to make this dough by hand, use techniques for kneading sticky dough and add just enough flour to create a just-kneadable bread. Knead the dough by hand for 10-12 minutes.
- It is required to cover the loaf loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil after 10 minutes of baking, to avoid the loaf getting too dark, as the sugar in the brown sugar and cinnamon coating is prone to getting dark as it bakes.
- This is a big, beautiful loaf, so be sure to use a 9×5 inch loaf pan (preferably metal, for the most even baking). I haven’t tested this loaf in a smaller loaf pan. It may just be too much dough for the smaller pan.
- Always allow bread to cool before slicing, to avoid a gummy loaf.
How to enjoy this cinnamon bread with raisins
Enjoy this lovely bread out of hand with butter or it also makes lovely toast!
Use leftover cinnamon raisin bread for French Toast or Bread Pudding.
Storing and freezing
After allowing the bread to cool completely, transfer it to a bread bag and store it at room temperature for about 3 days.
For longer storage, wrap well and freeze for up to 3 months.
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Get the Recipe: Cinnamon Bread with Raisins
A fabulously delicious cinnamon bread with raisins and a cinnamon and brown sugar swirl. With plenty of raisins and a cinnamon crunch coating on the outside.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups (300 g) lukewarm water, about 105F
- 2 1/4 teaspoons Active dry or instant yeast
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons (30 g) runny honey, or substitute maple syrup, white sugar or brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons (12 g) fine table salt
- 2 1/2 Tablespoons (35 g) butter, at room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups (225 g) all purpose flour, plus more as needed
- 1 3/4 cups (225 g) bread flour, *see Note 1 below
Filling:
- 1/3-1/2 cup (50-75 g) raisins
- 1/3 cup + 1 Tablespoon (75 g) brown sugar, well-packed
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- Pinch allspice, optional
Equipment
- 9×5-inch loaf pan (metal loaf pan highly recommended)
- Aluminum foil (for covering the loaf during baking as detailed below)
Instructions
- Tip! If you have a kitchen scale, use the gram measurements provided, for the best accuracy. If you don't have a kitchen scale, be sure to measure the flour using the stir, spoon and level method.
- Add the lukewarm water to the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the yeast and honey. Stir and let stand for about 5 minutes (or up to 10 minutes if using Active Dry yeast).
- Add the all-purpose flour, the bread flour and the salt to the bowl. Using the kneading attachment mix the dough at Speed 2 until it comes together into a shaggy dough. Begin adding the butter in several pieces and continue to mix until it is incorporated into the dough.
- Continue to knead the dough on Speed 2 for 8-10 minutes. The dough will be very sticky. It will wrap the dough hook a bit, but will continue to be sticky on the bottom of the bowl. Resist the urge to add more flour to the bowl at this point, but if your dough isn't wrapping the dough hook at all, you can add up to 1/4 cup (30g) more flour to the bowl. Tip! You can refer to the step-by-step photos or the recipe video above this Recipe Card to see what the finished dough should look like.
- Remove the dough from the bowl with a silicone scraper to a generously floured work surface. Coat the dough in flour and begin kneading, adding more flour just as needed, if the dough sticks to your hands or the work surface. Once the dough is no longer sticky, form it into a ball and place it into a greased bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set to rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
- While the dough is rising, add the raisins to a small bowl, cover with hot water and set aside. This is called plumping the raisins. The reason to plump raisins is that dried raisins in bread dough will rob moisture from the bread dough, resulting in drier bread. Plumping them with moisture before adding them to the dough prevents this. Allow the raisins to soak until just before ready to use. When ready to use, drain the raisins and pat dry with paper towel.
- Mix together the cinnamon and brown sugar mixture by combining the brown sugar, cinnamon and allspice in a small bowl and stirring together until well combined. Set aside.
- Once the dough has doubled, remove the dough to a floured work surface and gently deflate. Press and stretch the dough into an 18×12-inch rectangle, with the long side closest to you. Tip! The dough should be very easy to press out and stretch, so a rolling pin shouldn't be necessary. If your dough isn't as cooperative, you can use a rolling pin.
- Have a 9×5-inch loaf pan (preferably a metal loaf pan) ready. Spray with cooking spray and set aside. (This is a large loaf! I haven't tested a smaller 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan, but I feel that there would be just too much dough for the smaller loaf pan.)
- Tip! If the instructions for filling and shaping the loaf aren't clear, refer to the step-by-step photos or the recipe video above this Recipe Card.
- Sprinkle about 2 heaping Tablespoons of the cinnamon mixture into the centre third of the rectangle. Scatter about 1/2 of the raisins over the top of the cinnamon mixture. Fold the right side third of the rectangle over top of the section just covered with cinnamon. Sprinkle about 2 heaping Tablespoons of the cinnamon mixture onto the top of the piece just folded. Scatter the remaining raisins over top. Fold the empty left side third over top, then sprinkle about 2 heaping Tablespoons over the top of the dough. You should have a rectangle about 6 inches wide and 12 inches long. The shorter 6-inch side should be closest to you.
- To shape the loaf, from the shorter side, begin rolling the dough very tightly. With each roll, press down into the dough with your fingertips at the edge of the roll as it meets the flat dough, which will cause the dough roll to widen as you roll and press. PInch the seams together once rolled completely. The dough roll will have a fat tube in the middle with a short spiral on each end that is about 9 inches wide. Place the loaf into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle and press the remaining cinnamon mixture onto the top of the loaf. Grease a piece of plastic wrap and place it over top of the loaf pan. Set the loaf to rise until doubled, about 30-40 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400F (regular bake setting/not fan-assisted). *If using a glass loaf pan, reduce the oven temperature to 375F. The baking times listed are for a metal pan. A glass pan may be different.
- When the loaf has risen (it should crest the pan by about 1 inch in the centre of the pan), use a serrated knife to cut 3 diagonal slashes into the centre part of the loaf.
- Place the bread in the oven and set the timer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes of baking, loosely cover the loaf with a sheet of aluminum foil. Continue to bake covered loosely with foil for an additional 30-40 minutes (40-50 minutes total), or until the loaf reaches 195-200F internal temperature when tested with an instant-read thermometer.
- Remove the loaf from the oven, then immediately remove the loaf to a cooling rack to cool. Tip! Allow the bread to cool before slicing, to avoid a gummy loaf.
- Once cooled, store the loaf in a plastic bag or airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. Freeze well-wrapped up to 3 months for longer storage.
Notes
Note 1: If you don’t have bread flour, you can replace the bread flour with more all-purpose flour, though the bread texture will be somewhat different. You will probably need a bit more flour overall if using only all-purpose flour to bring the dough to the consistency described.
The dough for this bread is quite sticky. As such, it is best made in a stand-mixer if possible. If attempting to make this dough by hand, use techniques for kneading sticky dough and add just enough flour to create a just-kneadable bread. Knead the dough by hand for 10-12 minutes.
It is critical to cover the loaf loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil after 10 minutes of baking, to avoid the loaf getting too dark, as the sugar in the brown sugar and cinnamon coating is prone to getting dark as it bakes.
Be sure to read the notes above this Recipe Card, for more tips on making this bread. You will also find Step-by-Step Photos and a Recipe Video that you might find helpful.Â
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 212kcal, Carbohydrates: 42g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 6mg, Sodium: 413mg, Potassium: 108mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 10g, Vitamin A: 75IU, Vitamin C: 0.3mg, Calcium: 22mg, Iron: 1mg
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Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
