This delicious Cinnamon Crunch Skillet Bread features sweet yeast bread, with a crunchy cinnamon sugar coating.
I don’t handle the time change thing very well. I guess the theory is that you’re supposed to sleep an extra hour on Sunday morning. But that only works if you’re actually still physically capable of sleeping past the time previously known as 6:30 am. I apparently am not, and so it was that I found myself browsing Pinterest at 5:30 am on a Sunday morning.
Seeing as I had a looooong morning ahead of me, I decided I needed to bake up something yeasty and full of cinnamon. Of course, a braided brioche bread was probably beyond me at that early hour, so I started with a simple sweet dough, twisted it all up and stuffed it all in to a cast-iron frying pan. And added some glaze. I needed some glaze, for my insatiable sweet tooth.
I swear, the family wandered in to the kitchen far more than normal when this bread was baking. The scent was intoxicating, sort of like when you’re at the mall and getting close to the Cinnabon™ store. We could hardly wait to get at it! It was lovely and crunchy on the outside and fluffy and sweet on the inside. It was a perfect Sunday morning treat and the consensus was that if in future I can’t sleep in, I should always bake instead :)
Get the Recipe: Cinnamon Crunch Skillet Bread
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 3 Tbsp. white sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. fine salt
- 3 tsp. instant or dry active yeast
- 1 cup milk, warmed to 105-110° F.
- 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil or melted butter
For brushing the dough:
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
For coating the dough in:
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Streusel topping:
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp. butter, cold
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
Glaze:
- 2 cups icing/confectioners sugar
- 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/8 tsp. Salt
Instructions
- Make the dough: Proof the yeast in 1/4 cup of warm water. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the warmed milk, vegetable oil and proofed yeast. Knead with the dough hook until dough is smooth, adding more flour by the Tbsp. as necessary. Remove dough to an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise to doubled, about 60 minutes.
- Grease a skillet and set aside.
- Divide dough into two pieces and roll into a rope about 3 feet long. Place the dough on to a long piece or parchment or foil wrap and liberally brush with melted butter mixed with the vanilla. Pour the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture evenly alongside the buttered ropes and then roll the ropes in the mixture until evenly covered. Pinch the end of the ropes together and then twist them together, pinching the other end once all twisted together.
- Place twisted ropes into the skillet, starting from the centre and winding it around. (If you have some melted butter left over from brushing, feel free to drizzle it over the dough). Cover the skillet with greased plastic wrap and let rise until doubled.
- Meanwhile, prepare the streusel topping by combining dry ingredients and cutting in the cold butter with a fork. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Once dough is doubled, sprinkle with streusel topping and bake for for 40-45 minutes, covering it with foil after 25 or 30 minutes if is dark enough.
- Meanwhile, prepare the glaze by combining the wet ingredients and adding to the powdered sugar. Stir well until smooth. Pour evenly over bread once it has cooled a bit.
Any tips on a finish temperature to know when to take it out?
I just came across you website and feel in love. I might try them all :)
Hi Katie, I always aim for 195F for anything bread-ish. Enjoy and thanks!
Hi, I’m wondering if this braided coil could be baked just on a regular tray? Does it hold its shape or does it need a form of some sort? I just love braided coils but don’t even have a round dish big enough.
Hi Kama, Yes, you can bake in on a regular tray. The skillet does help keeps it’s shape, so on a tray, maybe make a ring out of tinfoil strips to keep it a bit contained as it rises.
Thanks for replying! I will definitely give it a try.
Lovely! My friends have given in and started buying me food/drink-scented candles so that I can stop making excuses to make them delicious smelling (and tasting!) foods that will fatten them up, because I have such a sweet…nose? (Just kidding, they ask for more sweets and complain only retrospectively when their jeans stop fitting) I swear I get full off of scents alone, and this looks absolutely delightful :) Can’t wait to try it for the next sleepover breakfast!
I can definitely relate, Ala :) This will more than satisfy in the scent department and it tastes really great, too. Perfect for sleepovers.
Wow, I want to dive right into that yummy looking skilly bread. Fantastic recipe :) and drool worthy photos!
Thanks so much, Suzanne.
Maybe I missed it somewhere in the instructions, but what size skillet did you use here? Seems like the perfect make-ahead to pop in the oven Christmas morning!
Hi Elizabeth, this recipe is not too particular about what size skillet. My particular skillet is 8 inches across the bottom/10 inches across the top (not sure if that makes it an 8-inch or a 10-inch, but I’m thinking 8, because it has an 8 stamped on the handle :) If your skillet is larger than that, no worries. It will still rise and cook just fine. It may be a little shorter, as a smaller skillet tends to make it rise up once it hits the sides. And yes, would be perfect for Christmas morning. See April’s comment above about refrigerating overnight.
I just enjoyed this delicious treat for breakfast. Amazing! I made it last night and before the second rise, put in in the skillet then refrigerated it overnight. Took it out 2 hours before baking. Worked great! And right now I’m making your soft cheese bread for dinner!
April! I was so glad to read your comment – first, because I’m glad you enjoyed the bread – but, because you tried the overnight fridge rise. I was so tempted to suggest doing this in my post, but didn’t, because I hadn’t actually tried it. Now you have and it clearly works great. Perfect for getting a head start on the morning treat (for those that aren’t up at 5:30am ;) Thanks!
Jennifer M you and this bread are amazing!! Thanks for yet another skillet recipe. Thanks again we loved it!
Thanks you so much, Heather and so glad you enjoyed it. Everything tastes better from a skillet I say :)
I’m going to have to skip dinner and eat this instead!
I heartily endorse this idea!
I agree that your inability to sleep was to everyone’s benefit! This stuff sounds pretty insanely wonderful. LOVE the pretty shape and the description of texture! Yum. I can’t wait til my brain catches up to this dumb time change, too.
Thanks Sophie. I miss the ability to sleep in (really!), but on the up side, I have seen some great sunrises and am actually quite productive in the early hours :)
We loved this impromptu bread. Making the last bit in to a bread pudding tonight!
What a fabulous bread, I adore that twist and cinnamon crunch!
Thanks so much, Laura.
Another great recipe I can make in my skillet…..yeah! Love it :)
Thanks Liz. This bakes up just perfectly in a skillet.
it looks delish!
Thanks so much, Dina. Just enjoyed the last piece tonight with my coffee. Still good :)
Oh dear – this looks dangerously good
Indeed, Jacquelyn :)