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.
9x5-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 18x12-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 9x5-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.