Swirled with a spiral of sweet cinnamon filling, this soft bread needs little to make it great. Enjoyed plain or toasted and slathered with butter, slices are easy to devour. Our Baker’s Cinnamon Filling makes the swirl a cinch, leaving you (and any small helping hands) more time for the fun stuff: spreading, rolling, and (of course) eating!
To make the dough: Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess.
Combine all the dough ingredients and mix and knead — by hand, mixer, or bread machine set on the dough cycle — until the dough is soft and smooth.
Cover the dough and let it rise until it's nearly doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
To make the filling: Once the dough has risen, combine the filling ingredients in a small bowl, stirring until smooth. Set aside.
To shape the loaf: Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface and roll or pat it into an 8" x 24" rectangle.
Spread the filling over the dough, leaving a 1" strip bare along one of the short sides.
Starting with the filling-covered short side, roll the dough into a log, then pinch the side seam and ends to close. Place the log, seam-side down, into a lightly greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan.
Cover the loaf and let it rise until it’s crowned 1/2" to 1" over the rim of the pan, 1 to 2 hours depending on the warmth of your kitchen. Toward the end of the rise time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
To bake the bread: Bake the bread for 40 to 45 minutes, tenting it lightly with aluminum foil about halfway through to prevent overbrowning. It should be golden brown, and a digital thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 190°F.
Remove the bread from the oven and as soon as you’re comfortable handling it, turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool. Cool completely before slicing.
Storage information: Store bread, well wrapped, at room temperature for several days. Freeze (sliced for easy direct-from-the-freezer toasting) for longer storage.
Are you psyched to make this bread, but don't have any Baker's Cinnamon Filling on hand — and don't want to wait for it to be delivered? Try our Cinnamon Bread recipe.
A certain amount of "gapping" in any kind of swirl bread is pretty common; but there are measures you can take to reduce its incidence. Read our blog post, 5 ways to reduce the gap in cinnamon swirl bread.
