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I love Cinnamon-Swirl Bread! This is an easy, homey breakfast bread that is perfect for all those fall and winter holiday traditions, not to mention just about any chilly morning when you want a treat. Don’t you need this coming out of your oven today? Start with the standard one-loaf recipe for Grandmother Bread. Swirl it with all that sugar-and-spice goodness that will make your house smell like a cinnamon bun just exploded inside it and– Ah! I can’t wait. Let’s make it!
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How to make Cinnamon-Swirl Bread:
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 teaspoon yeast
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, sugar, and salt. Let sit five minutes. Stir in the first cup and a half of flour with a heavy spoon. Add the next cup of flour a little at a time as needed, stirring until dough becomes too stiff to continue stirring easily. Add a little more flour and begin kneading. The amount of flour is approximate–your mileage may vary! Continue adding flour and kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic. Let dough rise in a greased, covered bowl until doubled. (Usually, about an hour.) Uncover bowl; sprinkle in a little more flour and knead again.
Now it’s time to play with dough!
Roll dough out on a floured surface into an approx. 12-inch by 7-inch rectangle. Brush lightly with melted butter. Combine 1/4 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Sprinkle sugar-cinnamon mixture over dough.
Roll up, pinching seams at bottom and ends. Place seam-side down in loaf pan. Let rise until tall and beautiful!
In more tips, as promised, to answer questions about bread-making, here are a few things to think about if you’re having trouble getting your bread to rise. First, always, check your yeast for the expiration date. Also, if you use bulk-size yeast (which I do) and store it in the refrigerator, be sure to take it out in advance and let it come to room temperature so you aren’t adding cold yeast to your bowl. If your bread doesn’t rise and your yeast is good, the next thing to look at is the temperature of your water. Your water should be very warm, almost hot, but not boiling hot. You should be able to touch the water comfortably. (Water that is too hot will kill your yeast.)
*If you’re brand new to bread-making and don’t trust yourself to the fingertip test for achieving the proper temperature with your water, hold an instant-read thermometer under the faucet as you’re running water. You want the water to be about 110 to 115 degrees.
Now, what is the temperature in your house as you’re making your bread? It’s hard to get bread to rise in a cold house. My favorite way to counter a cold house is to boil water in a small pot then place the pot on the lower baking rack of the (turned off) oven, place the bread on the top rack, and shut the oven door while the bread rises. I’ve heard other people say they heat the oven briefly on low (around 150 degrees), let it heat up then turn it off and set the bread inside to rise with the oven door open, which would also work just fine. Weather can be another factor. Low air pressure can affect rising time, so if it’s a rainy day, give your dough extra time or use one of the oven tricks as a helper. Also, be sure to knead your dough properly–inadequate kneading can hamper rising. And last but not least–did you forget to add the yeast? (That has even happened to me!)
One more thing–note this part of my directions: “….combine water, yeast, sugar, and salt. Let sit five minutes.” The technical term for this step is proofing the yeast. During this five-minute period, your yeast should bubble at least a little bit as it dissolves. If you see absolutely no activity, something is wrong with your yeast.
(See more bread tips in this post.)
As you can see, I’m multi-tasking here, making one loaf of Cinnamon-Swirl Bread and one regular loaf of Grandmother Bread for dinner and kids’ sandwiches.
Bake Cinnamon-Swirl Bread at 350-degrees for 25 minutes. Makes one loaf. Double, triple, and so on as needed! If desired, drizzle baked bread with powdered sugar icing. (And how could you not desire?)
Powdered Sugar Icing:
Combine 1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, and enough milk (one to two teaspoons) for drizzling consistency.
Watch it disappear as fast as you can take it out of the oven and slice it!
Note: To make Cinnamon-Swirl Raisin Bread, add one cup of raisins to the water-yeast mixture as with Raisin Bread.
See this recipe at Farm Bell Recipes and save it to your recipe box.
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I have a feeling I may be making a lots of bread and sticking to homemade stuff quite a bit from now on. Hubby may get laid off in the coming months and I have been out of the workforce for too many years to get something reliable and close to home quickly. Guess I need to start looking for more contract from home jobs, too! If anyone needs a page-layout/designer type person, please let me know!
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Latigo I hope your situation works out in your favor! I will be thinking Happy Thoughts for You and Yours.
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Thanks for sharing with us!
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so you might want to check that out for more info.
Good luck with the job situation!!
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I am looking for glass pans at garage sales and thrift stores, if not WM though I am mad at them right now because they have NO – did I say NO canning supplies. Monday I am making Suzanne’s pumpkin butter, apricot pepper jelly and Tues the caramel apple jam. Cant wait.
Good Morning everyone!!!
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Tresh in OK
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A ? or two for you….
Approx. how long is that second rise? Also,I have some bulk yeast in my fridge….exactly how much is in 1 packet of yeast? I could probably look that one up on the internet, but it’s more fun to ask you!
Thanks!
BethAnn
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If I’m making French Bread, which is a smaller loaf recipe, I can get away with a teaspoon for two loaves or a tablespoon for three.
I kinda wing it. :smile: But I don’t like to waste yeast, so I use as little yeast as possible that I think will still make the bread come out right.
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- Suzanne, the Farmer’s Wife
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Also, another tip for making homemade bread look more like storebought sandwich bread is slicing with an electric knife. An electric knife allows a smoother, thinner slice.
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All those tips are wonderful…I needed each one of them! I admire how NEAT your work is…I can tell how neatly you work/methodical..I so wish I was that way. I am sooo task oriented, with no patience, for that type of thing or things that take time…YET, I LOVE to spend a whole night, untangling a knot in a necklace…TEDIOUS work. LOL Go figure. My husband is very neat, slow, does beautiful work, so maybe I should make HIM the bread baker…but somehow, I don’t see that happening.
I heard, if you put a wet paper towel, under your cutting board, it keeps it from moving. I tried it and it works.
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I let it rise for an hour, kneaded it lightly and did the cinnamon sugar/butter thing. I put it seam side down in the pan and let it rise again until it looked like yours does above….till it was well above the pan. I noticed when it went to put it in the oven it seemed to deflate a bit. When it was done baking and I cut it, it didn’t look like yours. The cinnamon swirly part was kind of smushed on the bottom and although the top part was light and airy the bottom of the loaf is heavy and dense.
Did I not let it rise long enough in the bread pan. Thanks in advance for your help.
- Suzanne, the Farmer’s Wife
P.S. It does taste delicious although it’s deformed!!!!
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And, I admit shamefully, I did use the whole 1/4 cup of butter! I didn’t completely follow the directions stating to “brush lightly”. I poured it on and smeared it around with my fingers. I bet that’s the problem, because I followed the rest of the directions correctly. I just figured, “More butter? Heck yeah!” Bad idea I guess.
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Thanks!
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In the recipe ingredients, “3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour” is listed. Then in the description you say, “The 4-5 cups flour is approximate” So what is the maximum amount of flour that should be in the loaf?
I had no idea if i should put a maximum of 3 1/2 cups or a maximum of 5!
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We have a local bakery that makes something similar for close to $7 per loaf! My kids love it but due to the cost, it is an extremely rare treat. I am absolutely thrilled that I will now be able to make it at home for a fraction of the cost. I can’t wait to try it!
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I made this cinnamon swirl bread a few days ago, with the intent on using it for french toast. The bread turned out great, except for one thing. When I sliced it, the slices separated at the cinnamon swirl. It was almost like the slice unrolled – does that make sense? Because it did that, I was unable to use as french toast and my children just at the bread by itself with some fruit. I am definitely going to make it again, but how do I keep it from separating or unrolling at the cinnamon swirl?
Thanks and many blessings~
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