My co-worker is pregnant and every night a few hours before our shift ends she has a slice of cinnamon bread toasted with almond butter. The smells are just amazing, especially at 4am when all you want is to be in your bed and for the shift to be over. This morning the lovely wafting smells of cinnamon and sugar followed me from the hospital to home and in my heart (or perhaps it was my stomach talking) I knew I needed to make cinnamon swirl bread. A quick search to my new food network favorite Pioneer Woman revealed a recipe for what promised to be a mouthwatering delight. If you haven’t worked with yeast before I highly recommend checking her site out for detailed instructions on making this bread. Bread making can be highly rewarding, make your house smell amazing and be lots of fun, but when the yeast doesn’t work it also can be very very disappointing and frustrating. Not to mention either way it turns out it is time consuming. Best to do on a day when laundry needs to be done and the house needs cleaning. Or if you have several netflix shows to catch up on..
One of the trickiest things about working with bread is figuring where in your house is the spot that it will be warm enough to rise but not so warm that the bread will be baking a little. I find each season there is a different prime spot in the house, and each new house has a new spot that works well. This cold wood-burning house has been challenging to find the goldilocks just right spot. And since the weather is now above freezing (read as highs of 40s…) we really have only been building a fire once a day to warm the house and then letting it burn off so the house is even colder than my old city apartment. It took a couple failed attempts at this bread before I was finally able to find a spot that didn’t freeze my bread or start to bake it in the bowl.
The end result was well worth the challenge. Immediately I had two very thick slices fresh and hot from the loaf. And by the end of the day the whole loaf was gone, I even had to hold back so that I could share half of it with my roommates. None for the pup though 😉 This is sure to be a revisited recipe, perhaps next time if it lasts long enough I can try it toasted or as french toast. Though somehow I doubt it’ll make it that far..
HOMEMADE CINNAMON BREAD
- 1 cup Milk
- 6 Tablespoons Butter
- 2-1/2 teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
- 2 whole Eggs
- 1/3 cup Sugar
- 3-1/2 cups All-purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1/3 cup Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
- Egg And Milk, Mixed Together, For Brushing
- Softened Butter, For Smearing And Greasing
Melt butter with milk. Heat until very warm, but don’t boil. Allow to cool until still warm to the touch, but not hot. Sprinkle yeast over the top, stir gently, and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
Combine flour and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix sugar and eggs with the paddle attachment until combined. Pour in milk/butter/yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add half the flour and beat on medium speed until combined. Add the other half and beat until combined.
Switch to the dough hook attachment and beat/knead dough on medium speed for ten minutes. If dough is overly sticky, add 1/4 cup flour and beat again for 5 minutes.
Heat a metal or glass mixing bowl so it’s warm. Drizzle in a little canola oil, then toss the dough in the oil to coat. Cover bowl in plastic wrap and set it in a warm, hospitable place for at least 2 hours.
Turn dough out onto the work surface. Roll into a neat rectangle no wider than the loaf pan you’re going to use, and about 18 to 24 inches long. Smear with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Mix sugar and cinnamon together, then sprinkle evenly over the butter-smeared dough. Starting at the far end, roll dough toward you, keeping it tight and contained. Pinch seam to seal.
Smear loaf pan with softened butter. Place dough, seam down, in the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix a little egg with milk, and smear over the top. Bake for 40 minutes on a middle/lower rack in the oven.
Remove from the pan and allow bread to cool. Slice and serve, or make cinnamon toast or French toast with it.
Double Batch 