Cinnamon Swirl Bread Recipe

Nothing makes the whole house smell better than homemade bread baking in the oven!

❤️ 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

📚 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

4.71 from 31 votes

Old Fashioned Cinnamon Bread

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Sweet, tender cinnamon bread with a gooey swirl and buttery vanilla glaze is just right for breakfast or as a snack anytime. Raisins optional. Some baking experience needed

Course Bread

Cuisine Amercian Heritage

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Rising: 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 3 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings:24 slices

Calories:234

Author:Marye Audet-White

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Equipment Needed

• ▢
  Heavy Duty Stand Mixer
• ▢
  Glass Bread Pans
• ▢
  insta-read thermometer

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• ▢ 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

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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.

You'll find more helpful tips and variations in the body of the post.

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 234kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 204mg | Potassium: 68mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 213IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 1mg

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.

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First published March 2016. Last updated January 17, 2022 for readability and structure.