Nothing makes the whole house smell better than homemade bread baking in the oven!
Table of Contents
❤️ Why you'll love it
Homemade cinnamon bread is an easy white bread with a gooey cinnamon and sugar swirl in the center.
My recipe is topped with more cinnamon and a thick blanket of buttery vanilla glaze to make it extra special. You can add raisins or dried cranberries if you like them.
Be sure to read to the end where I share how to get your bread to rise into the big, soft billowy loaves you love.
🧾 Ingredients
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- active dry yeast
- ground ginger
- sugar
- buttermilk
- vanilla
- kosher salt
- Bread flour is higher in protein that all-purpose flour and the bread rises better and has a nicer crust. You can substitute all-purpose flour but your results may be a little different.
- baking soda
- butter
- cinnamon
- Confectioner's sugar
🥫 Storage
Homemade bread is best the first day but you can wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.
You can freeze this delicious cinnamon bread for up to 4 months.
📖 Variations
- substitute instant yeast - just skip the proofing step and add the yeast in with the dry ingredients
- you can use non-dairy milk, low fat milk, or whole milk in place of the buttermilk - just omit the baking soda
- add ½ to 1 cup of raisins to the dough
- or ½ to 1 cup dried cranberries
- add a little vanilla extract to enhance the sweet flavor
- after the dough is rolled up cut into slices for cinnamon rolls. Let rise and bake 15 minutes.
- use brown sugar in the cinnamon filling instead of white sugar
- it makes the BEST French toast ever
💭 Tips
Expert Tip: Knead in ½ cup or so of raisins for old fashioned cinnamon raisin bread. You can also just sprinkle them on the cinnamon sugar mixture before rolling.
- This is a very similar dough to my "never fail Buttermilk bread recipe". If you follow the instructions it will work - period.
- Make sure to let the dough rise in a warm place to rise. If it's too cool it will take a longer time.
- It's important to roll the bread tightly when you are shaping the loaf. If you roll it too loosely it will separate as you slice it - it'll still be good, though.
- Sometimes the bread and the swirl separate just because life happens. Don't worry about it - it's still delicious and, look at you, you've created bread!
- You can mix an egg yolk and a teaspoon of water and brush it lightly on the dough before adding the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Sometimes that helps the layers stick together better.
- If the crust seems to be browning too fast cover it lightly with aluminum foil.
👩🍳 FAQs
It's not hard to find a cinnamon yeast bread recipe on the Internet. There are plenty of them and they are good but when you add buttermilk the texture of the crumb becomes pillowy soft and it just takes the cinnamon swirl bread right over the top. Really, you have to try this!
If you really need to use regular milk just omit the baking soda and substitute the milk in equal measure for the buttermilk.
I really like Vietnamese cinnamon but if you can find Korintje it is really deliciously flavorful.
Yes, you can. Don't glaze it, though. Let it cool to room temperature then wrap it tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. I like to slice it before freezing and add parchment paper between the slices to keep them from sticking together. That way when I want a slice of toast I don't have to thaw the entire loaf.
📚 Related recipes
Once you start making this homemade cinnamon bread recipe you'll be hooked!
I love, love, love making bread. Here are some of my family's favorite recipes.
- Basic white bread is perfect for beginning bakers. It's simple, with step by step images, and comes out light and fluffy!
- Sometimes you just need big, fluffy, homemade cinnamon rolls!
- Yeast donuts are easier to make that you might think and they're good with powdered sugar, sugar, glazed, or cinnamon topping!
- Try this easy Crockpot cinnamon raisin bread - no kneading!
- This honey bun twist is a vintage recipe that's perfect for brunch.
🍽️ Serve with...
How about these easy egg bites with a buttery slice of cinnamon bread toast on the side?
Finish up with a hot caramel latte.
📞 The last word
Next time try this Mexican Day of the Dead Bread. It's traditionally served the first week of November but the slightly sweet flavor is delicious any time!
The one thing that gives people the most trouble with bread dough is getting bread to rise properly. Usually it's something simple. Here are my favorite ways to get those big, puffly loaves -
- Make sure the dough is in a warm spot (at lest 75F) with no drafts.
- You can put it in a cold oven with a bowl of boiling water on the rack beneath it and leave the light on.
- Check out one of these ingredients that will help your bread rise, too.
Get ready to wow your family! This cinnamon swirl loaf is so good! It makes any day a special one.
And the cinnamon toast is out of this world!
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Old Fashioned Cinnamon Bread
Print Pin Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 2 packages active dry yeast, I usually use 2 tablespoons because I buy in bulk
- Pinch of powdered ginger
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ cup warm water, (110F)
- 2 cups warm buttermilk, (110F)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 6 cups white bread flour, divided use
- ¼ cup butter, melted and cooled so that it is warm to the touch but not hot.
- ½ cup raisins, optional - more or less - see notes below
Filling
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons cinnamon, more or less, to taste. I like A LOT of cinnamon!
Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Cream , as needed for consistency
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl mix the yeast, ginger, sugar, and warm water.
- Set aside for 5 minutes or until foamy.
- Whisk the buttermilk, vanilla, ½ cup sugar, salt, and baking soda together and add it to the yeast mixture.
- Add three cups of flour and mix until smooth, about 3 to 5 minutes on low of a stand mixer.
- Pour in the lukewarm butter until it is totally mixed into the batter.
- Add the rest of the flour, one cup at a time, keeping mixer on low speed.
- When dough pulls from the sides of the bowl remove it from the mixer to a lightly floured surface. Knead until elastic and smooth.
- You can also knead in your mixer according to manufacturer's directions.
- Place in greased bowl, turn to grease the top, and cover with a clean tea towel.
- Allow the dough to rise for 1 ½ hours, or until double.
- Punch down.
- Divide into two equal sized balls.
- Roll each out into a 8-inch wide rectangle about 10 inches long.
- Brush each with the ¼ cup melted butter.
- Mix the ½ cup sugar and the cinnamon together until evenly colored.
- Spread over the dough rectangles, reserving about 2 tablespoons of the mixture.
- Roll each loaf tightly and place into greased loaf pans.
- Use a pastry brush to coat the tops with melted butter and sprinkle with the reserved cinnamon mixture.
- Cover loosely with a clean tea towel and allow to rise for 45 minutes, or until it is just about the tops of the bread pans.
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Bake for 30 minutes. You can cover the tops with foil if they brown too fast.
- Remove loaves from oven.
- Allow to cool in pans for 10 minutes.
- Gently run a knife around the edge between the bread and the pan to loosen it.
- Turn out and top with the glaze.
- Cool completely on a rack.
- Cover the loaves as they cool if you want soft crusts.
Glaze
- Mix the confectioners sugar, melted butter and vanilla until smooth.
- Add a little cream or milk to thin it if needed.
Notes
- If you'd like to add raisins to this recipe you can knead ½ cup or so of raisins right into the dough. If you prefer them to be in the cinnamon swirl just sprinkle them on top of the sugar mixture before rolling up the loaf.
- Dried cranberries are delicious in place of the raisins above.
- This is the same basic dough as my "never fail Buttermilk bread recipe". If you follow the instructions it will work - period.
- It's important to roll the bread tightly when you are shaping the loaf. If you roll it too loosely it will separate as you slice it - it'll still be good, though.
- Substitute brown sugar for the white sugar in the filling for a sweeter flavor.
- Sometimes the bread and the swirl separate just because life happens. Don't worry about it - it's still delicious and, look at you, you've created bread!
- You can mix an egg yolk and a teaspoon of water and brush it lightly on the dough before adding the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Sometimes that helps the layers stick together better.
- If the crust seems to be browning too fast cover it lightly with aluminum foil.
- You can also make cinnamon rolls out of this recipe, just follow the instructions until you've rolled the dough and cinnamon up. Then cut the loaf into about 8 slices horizontally, let rise, and bake them for about 15 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
First published March 2016. Last updated January 17, 2022 for readability and structure.
Kim says
The cinnamon rolls were very good.
I think I will add nuts and raisins next time to the cinnamon mixture
Maureen Kleditz says
First let me say this was delicious! I wasn’t sure about using 2Tablespoons of yeast so I only used 1, other than that I followed the recipe as written. I’m wondering if I should have used 2?, it seemed like it may be a typo? Please let me know!
Marye says
Hi Maureen. The recipe is correct as written.
Pam says
This was alot easier than I expected and turned out delicous. Could this be made and sit for about 12 hours on the first rise, or would it be better to do the rise and then once its in the pans just refridgerate and bake the next day. If goes in refridgerator, should you then put in a warm place to rise for 45 min to bake. I am very new to yeast bread making. Thanks for all the wonderful recipes
Kathleen M. says
Hi Marye - can you shape the loves, place in bread pans and refrigerate overnight before baking? Thanks very much!
Marye says
yes you can
Donna says
This is awesome cinnamon raisin bread. But I do have a question. Since you recommend using glass pans and I only have my heavy aluminum pans. Do I raise the temperature by 25°? This is what I was always taught in 4-H that when you use a glass pan it is 25° cooler than a metal pan. So I’m going to assume I just reverse that.
Marye says
Yes that's a good practice to be safe. Saying that, I never-ever change the temperatures. I just watch more carefully.
Corey Glenn says
Would I be able to divide this up into mini loaves for gifts and how many do you think it would make? Thanks...Love everything you print!!!
Rose says
Do you think this be mixed in a bread machine?
Marye says
Possibly? I don't have a bread machine so I am not familiar with the technique.
Susan Sims says
First, thank you for your service to our country! Great recipe! I halved it and tried my hand with one loaf. I used hydrated golden raisins and used the raisin water to proof the yeast. I kneaded some raisins in the dough and sprinkled some on the filling. I also used your egg yolk tip. Put it on dough, then butter, etc. My loaf stayed perfectly intact. I baked at 350 for 40 mins to internal temp of 195. It turned out fantastic and my hubby loves it. Thanks for this easy recipe!