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This bread not only tastes amazing but those thick cinnamon swirls make it gorgeous enough to impress any guest! WIth the perfectly golden outside and delicious cinnamon flavor on the inside, you will come back to this again and again!

If you love homemade cinnamon-flavored foods as much as I do then you MUST TRY these cinnamon rolls, snickerdoodles, and this cinnamon honey butter. They are all the perfect amount of sweet!

Cinnamon swirl bread all sliced up.

Homemade Cinnamon Swirl Bread

This bread is one of my kid’s favorite things to eat as a snack or even toasted up for breakfast. I used to buy the cinnamon bread from Costco, which my kids went crazy for, but after making this recipe, I’ve never gone back! This cinnamon swirl bread is so easy to make! If you have never made any bread before, this is a great place to start. Plus, it’s sweet and delicious so you won’t regret it!

My favorite part about this bread is that it isn’t too overpowering on the cinnamon flavor. It’s just the right amount so that I’m not too overwhelmed when I take a bite. I like to bake a few loaves up so that we can have it for the week. When I am looking to make a large breakfast then I cook it with this casserole, bacon, and maybe even some muffins. This is a great one to add to any brunch that you might want to host!

Ingredients for Cinnamon Swirl Bread

This bread has the perfect amount of cinnamon in it to make it taste absolutely amazing. See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for a list of exact ingredient measurements.

  • Active Dry Yeast: 1 packet is enough for a loaf of this bread.
  • Milk: Make sure to get the temperature of the milk just right so that you dont kill the yeast.
  • Sugar: This is just enough sugar to sweeten it up without making it too sweet.
  • Egg: A room temperature egg will mix in so much better.
  • Butter: I used unslated butter that was softened to room temperature.
  • Salt: The salt will enhance all of the other flavors in the bread.
  • Flour: All purpose flour works great for this bread.
  • Ground Cinnamon: This not only creates a great taste but that gorgeous swirl that really makes the bread look fancy!

Cinnnamon Bread Instructions

This cinnamon swirl bread is super delicious and can be topped with some cinnamon butter to take it to the next level! If I were you, I would make a couple of loaves of this. It’s going to fly off of your counter!

  1. Mix ingredients: In the bowl of a mixer whisk the yeast and warm milk together and let the yeast dissolve. Add ¼ cup sugar, the egg, butter, salt and 2 ½ cups of flour. Mix on medium speed until fully combined. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour 1-2 tablespoons at a time until the dough is soft and tacky but not sticky.
  2. Knead dough and let it rise: Switch from the paddle attachment to the dough hook and knead on medium low speed for 5-6 minutes, until the dough is smooth. Place in a greased bowl and cover. Set in a warm place and let rise for about 1 hour, until doubled in size.
  3. Punch down dough and add cinnamon: Punch the dough down and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out to a 18×9 inch rectangle. In a small bowl mix together the remaining ¼ cup of sugar and cinnamon. Leaving ½ inch edge, sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the dough. If the cinnamon sugar is having trouble sticking to the dough, you can very lightly mist the dough with water from a spray bottle. You can also mist the top of the cinnamon sugar to prevent large holes from forming between the layers, but be careful to not mist too much otherwise the cinnamon sugar can leak out.
  4. Roll it up and let it rise: Starting with the short end, roll the dough up. Make it a tight log by slightly stretching the rolled end towards you as you roll. Pinch the seam together. Place in a greased 9×5 in. pan seam side down. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for about 1-1 ½ hours, until doubled in size.
  5. Preheat oven, add egg wash and bake: Preheat the oven to 350°. Once doubled in size, mix together the egg and milk for the egg wash. Brush the top of the loaf with the egg wash and then bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the pan and cool on a cooling rack.
6 pictures showing how to make the dough, spread it, roll it and put it in the pan.

Bread Baking Tips

Homemade bread is the absolute best and this cinnamon swirl bread is no exception. Here are a few things that you should keep in mind when baking this so that it turns out just right.

  • Yeast: Because I used active dry yeast in this recipe, it needs to be proofed in warm liquids. In this case, that is milk! Make sure that you double check the temperature of yuor milk (it should be no warmer than 110 degrees). If it’s too hot it will kill your yeast and your cinnamon swirl bread won’t rise.
  • Roll it tight: When you are rolling up the bread, make sure to roll it up tight and don’t forget to pinch the dough closed. Doing this makes it rise well and keep its shape!
  • Don’t open the oven: Maybe this goes without saying but I thought I would remind you just in case! I know that when you bake something, it’s tempting to open up the oven to check on it but don’t do it! This lets out all of the hot air and can cause your bread to bake unevenly. Use the oven light instead!
A loaf of cinnamon swirl bread with the inside swirl showing.

Can I Freeze This?

Yes! In fact, I love to slice this cinnamon swirl bread after baking and then freeze it into slices. Then, I can take it out and toast it on the go! Wrap each slice with plastic wrap and then put them in a ziplock bag that is labeled with the date. Take them straight from the freezer to the toaster and you have yourself a delicious (and quick) breakfast or snack!

Slices of cinnamon swirl bread on a cutting board.

How to Store Leftovers

This cinnamon swirl bread will last about 5 days in a sealed, airtight container on your counter. Don’t put it in your fridge, it will dry out!

Butter being spread on a slice of the bread.

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Cinnamon Swirl Bread

By: Alyssa Rivers
This bread not only tastes amazing but those thick cinnamon swirls make it gorgeous enough to impress any guest! WIth the perfectly golden outside and delicious cinnamon flavor on the inside, you will come back to this again and again!
Prep Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 12 slices

Ingredients 

Egg wash

  • 1 large Egg
  • 1 Tablespoon Milk

Instructions 

  • In the bowl of a mixer whisk the yeast and warm milk together and let the yeast dissolve. Add ¼ cup sugar, the egg, butter, salt, and 2 ½ cups of flour. Mix on medium speed until fully combined. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour 1-2 tablespoons at a time until the dough is soft and tacky but not sticky.
  • Switch from the paddle attachment to the dough hook and knead on medium-low speed for 5-6 minutes, until the dough is smooth. Place in a greased bowl and cover. Set in a warm place and let rise for about 1 hour, until doubled in size.
  • Punch the dough down and turn it onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out to an 18×9 inch rectangle. In a small bowl mix together the remaining ¼ cup of sugar and cinnamon. Leaving ½ inch edge, sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the dough. If the cinnamon sugar is having trouble sticking to the dough, you can very lightly mist the dough with water from a spray bottle. You can also mist the top of the cinnamon sugar to prevent large holes from forming between the layers, but be careful to not mist too much otherwise the cinnamon sugar can leak out.
  • Starting with the short end, roll the dough up. Make it a tight log by slightly stretching the rolled end towards you as you roll. Pinch the seam together. Place in a greased 9×5 inch pan seam side down. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for about 1-1 ½ hours, until doubled in size.
  • Preheat the oven to 350°. Once doubled in size, mix together the egg and milk for the egg wash. Brush the top of the loaf with the egg wash and then bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the pan and cool on a cooling rack.

Nutrition

Calories: 182kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 5gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 40mgSodium: 166mgPotassium: 84mgFiber: 2gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 158IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 34mgIron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Bread
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!

About Alyssa Rivers

Alyssa Rivers is the author of 'The Tried and True Cookbook', a professional food photographer and experienced recipe-developer. Having a passion for cooking, her tried and true recipes have been featured on Good Morning America, Today Food, Buzzfeed and more.

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2 Comments

  1. Yesterday attempted a recipe abd the dough never raised. Well today I did this recipe and got the dough to rise. I accidently put the whole 1/2 cup of sugar whoops. I hope that didn’t ruin it. I was looking for other comments hoping I could find one about mixing brown sugar and cinnoman along with the white sugar? Would that still work? I wish they had a video of the rolling process so I know if I am rolling it right?

    1. Hey Sarah I’ve been making this recipe for quite a while as its one of my favourites and mixing brown sugar and cinnamon with the white suagr is fine as long as you don’t add the cinnamon to the dough (unless you want it extra cinnamony) I have also tried adding brown sugar and white sugar into the actual dough and it turned out just as good. If your worried about the way you roll it up just search up a recipe on cinnamon rolls on YouTube they are rolled the same way the only difference is they are cut. Hope this helped have fun baking!!!