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My father’s ruling on cinnamon swirl bread was simple. It was for toast, with butter, on Saturday morning, and anybody caught eating it plain on a Tuesday had some explaining to do. My mother bought the loaf from the bakery downtown for years. Then one winter she decided she could bake it herself, and the bakery never saw us again. Her loaf was soft and white and a little sweet, made with milk and butter, and every slice had a dark cinnamon spiral running all the way around it. The house smelled like the bakery, and my father stood at the toaster like a man waiting for a train.
The bread itself is an easy, forgiving dough. The part that makes it look like the bakery loaf is the swirl, and the swirl is where homemade cinnamon bread usually goes wrong. A loose roll, too much butter in the filling or too little rising leaves a big hollow gap between the layers, and the cinnamon falls out the bottom of the slice. The fix is an egg wash instead of butter, a filling with a spoon of flour in it, and a roll pulled tight and pinched shut. Here is how to roll it so the swirl never leaves a gap in the bread.
Why this cinnamon swirl bread works
- Milk and butter in the dough. They make a soft, tender, slightly rich crumb that toasts golden.
- Egg wash under the filling. Beaten egg glues the layers together. Butter makes them slide apart and leaves a gap.
- A spoon of flour in the cinnamon sugar. It soaks up the moisture the sugar draws out in the oven, so no syrupy pocket forms.
- A tight roll and a pinched seam. Rolling snugly with no air trapped inside is what keeps the spiral closed.
- A full second rise. Dough that has risen well above the rim bakes evenly and does not tear away from the swirl.
Ingredients
Makes one 9x5 inch loaf, about 12 thick slices. The measurements are in US cups with grams in brackets.
For the dough
- 1 cup whole milk, warmed to lukewarm (240ml)
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant or active dry yeast (one 7g packet)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar (50g)
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (55g)
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (405 to 440g)
For the swirl
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg, beaten, for brushing
To finish
- 1 tablespoon melted butter, for brushing the top
The milk should feel just warm on your wrist, about 105 to 110 degrees. Hot milk kills the yeast. If you use active dry yeast, let it stand in the warm milk with a pinch of the sugar for 5 minutes until foamy before mixing.
How to make cinnamon swirl bread
- In a large bowl, stir together the warm milk, yeast and sugar. Add the egg, softened butter and salt, and stir well.
- Add 3 cups of the flour and stir until a shaggy dough forms. Turn it out onto a floured counter and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, adding the rest of the flour a spoonful at a time, until the dough is smooth, soft and only slightly tacky.
- Put the dough in a buttered bowl, cover it and leave it in a warm spot for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until doubled in size.
- Mix the swirl filling: sugar, cinnamon and the tablespoon of flour, stirred together until the color is even.
- Butter a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Punch the dough down and roll it out on a lightly floured counter into a rectangle about 8 inches wide and 18 inches long, an even 1/4 inch thick. Pop any big air bubbles.
- Brush the whole surface with beaten egg, leaving a 1 inch strip bare along one short end. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the egg and press it down lightly with your palm.
- Starting from the short end with filling, roll the dough up tightly, pulling it gently toward you after each turn so no air is trapped. Pinch the seam firmly shut along its whole length, then pinch the ends closed.
- Lay the loaf seam side down in the pan. Cover and let it rise for 45 to 60 minutes, until the top has risen about 1 inch above the rim.
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees (175°C) while it rises. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until deep golden and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath, or reads 190 degrees inside. Cover loosely with foil after 25 minutes if the top browns fast.
- Brush the top with melted butter. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out and cool completely on a rack before slicing, at least 1 hour.
Tips that make the difference
- Roll the rectangle evenly thick. Thin spots stretch and tear, thick spots leave a dough knot in the middle of the slice.
- Do not overfill. More sugar than this melts into syrup and pushes the layers apart.
- Let the loaf cool completely before cutting. Warm bread squashes under the knife and the swirl smears.
- Slice with a serrated bread knife and a light sawing motion.
Variations
- Raisin. Scatter 1/2 cup raisins (75g) over the cinnamon sugar before rolling.
- Brown sugar swirl. Use light brown sugar in the filling for a darker, more caramel ribbon.
- Glazed. Drizzle the cooled loaf with 1 cup powdered sugar (120g) whisked with 1 1/2 tablespoons milk.
- French toast. Day-old slices make the best cinnamon French toast there is.
Storage and make-ahead
Keep the loaf wrapped in plastic or in a bread bag at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Do not refrigerate it. The cold makes the bread go stale faster.
Freeze the sliced loaf, well wrapped, for up to 3 months, and toast the slices straight from the freezer.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my cinnamon bread have a gap in the swirl?
The roll was loose, the filling was spread over butter, or the loaf was underproofed. Brush with egg, add a spoon of flour to the filling, roll tight and let it rise fully above the rim.
Can I make the dough the night before?
Yes. After kneading, cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight. Let it warm for an hour before rolling.
Can I use bread flour?
Yes. Bread flour makes a slightly chewier, taller loaf. You may need a little less of it.
How do I know it is baked through?
It sounds hollow when tapped underneath, or a thermometer in the center reads 190 degrees.
Slice it thick, toast it, butter it while it’s hot, and save it for Saturday morning if you can. My father never could.
Cinnamon Swirl Bread (Bakery Loaf with a Tight Swirl and No Gap)
Homemade cinnamon swirl bread like the bakery loaf: a soft, lightly sweet milk and butter white bread rolled tight around a thick ribbon of cinnamon sugar, so every slice has a dark spiral and no hollow gap. Best toasted with butter.
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk, warmed to lukewarm
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant or active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg, beaten, for brushing
- 1 tablespoon melted butter, for brushing the top
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir together the warm milk, yeast and sugar. Add the egg, softened butter and salt, and stir well.
- Add 3 cups of the flour and stir until a shaggy dough forms. Turn it out onto a floured counter and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, adding the rest of the flour a spoonful at a time, until the dough is smooth, soft and only slightly tacky.
- Put the dough in a buttered bowl, cover it and leave it in a warm spot for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until doubled in size.
- Mix the swirl filling: sugar, cinnamon and the tablespoon of flour, stirred together until the color is even.
- Butter a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Punch the dough down and roll it out on a lightly floured counter into a rectangle about 8 inches wide and 18 inches long, an even 1/4 inch thick. Pop any big air bubbles.
- Brush the whole surface with beaten egg, leaving a 1 inch strip bare along one short end. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the egg and press it down lightly with your palm.
- Starting from the short end with filling, roll the dough up tightly, pulling it gently toward you after each turn so no air is trapped. Pinch the seam firmly shut along its whole length, then pinch the ends closed.
- Lay the loaf seam side down in the pan. Cover and let it rise for 45 to 60 minutes, until the top has risen about 1 inch above the rim.
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees (175°C) while it rises. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until deep golden and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath, or reads 190 degrees inside. Cover loosely with foil after 25 minutes if the top browns fast.
- Brush the top with melted butter. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out and cool completely on a rack before slicing, at least 1 hour.
