Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Makes 1 Loaf
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp warm water (plus additional water if necessary)
- 2½ tsp instant yeast
- 2 tbsp honey
- 3½ cups all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting work area)
- 1½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup dry milk powder
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces
- non-stick cooking spray
- 1 cup raisins (optional)
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1½ tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp flour
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water (or ¼ cup egg substitute)
Special Equipment
- dough whisk
- bowl scraper
- 9” x 5” loaf pan
- plastic wrap
- pastry brush
- foil
- instant-read thermometer
How-to
- In a medium-sized bowl add the water, yeast, honey and flour (it is helpful to reserve the last ½ cup of flour to add slowly while mixing, to get the correct consistency; it may not all be needed - Susan explains in the video how weather can affect the consistency of dough)
- Finally, add the salt, milk powder and butter and mix (can be done in stand mixer or with a dough whisk) until dough forms a "shaggy mass" that begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. If dough is too dry, add extra water, 1 tbsp at a time. If too wet, add the ½ cup of reserved flour, a little at a time. A dough scraper is a handy tool to finish bringing the dough together
- Lightly flour your hands and work surface and knead 5-8 minutes, giving the dough a quarter-turn on each knead, until dough is elastic and springs back to the touch (or use electric mixer with dough hook)
- Transfer to a bowl coated with non-stick cooking spray. Cover with plastic and allow to rise 1-1½ hours until doubled in size
- After dough has risen, place on work surface and roll or pat dough into an 8" x 15" rectangle
- If adding raisins, sprinkling them in evenly. Fold dough in half, then in half again to fold raisins into dough. Stretch dough out gently again to 8" x 15"
- Mix sugar, cinnamon and flour together in a small bowl
- Brush top of dough with egg wash and sprinkle evenly with cinnamon and sugar mixture
- Starting with the short end, roll the dough into a tight log. Tuck the ends under, and place the loaf, seam-side down in a 9" x 5" loaf pan coated with non-stick cooking spray and a sheet of parchment paper
- Drape loosely with plastic wrap and let dough rise for 45-60 minutes, or until it has risen about 1" over the top of the pan
- While dough is rising, preheat oven to 350º
- Remove plastic and bake 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, cover top with foil to prevent the bread from getting too brown. Bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer indicates an internal temperature of 190º
- Remove bread from pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing