This homemade cinnamon swirl bread recipe is a family favorite and requires only a handful of basic ingredients (just 8!). It’s soft and tender with the most unbelievably gooey cinnamon swirl inside. Each yeasted bread slice tastes fabulous on its own, but try it toasted with some honey butter… unbelievable! For a no-yeast version, see my cinnamon swirl quick bread.
I originally published this recipe in 2015 and have since added new photos and made a few changes to the recipe steps, which are outlined in the post below.
Homemade cinnamon swirl bread is one of life’s greatest treasures. Hot & fresh out of the oven, the smell alone will captivate a large crowd. The bread is buttery soft and the hypnotizing swirls are deliciously sweet. This recipe is basically a simplified version of my cinnamon crunch bread.
You know I love a good cinnamon sugar swirl (I mean, have you tried this cinnamon swirl banana bread??) But honestly, there is nothing on earth quite like the craft of homemade yeast bread. Isn’t it so satisfying? That’s why I have so many homemade yeast bread recipes on this website. Everyone’s favorite!
One reader, Michelle, commented: “One of the best recipes for cinnamon swirl out there. The bread is fluffy like you would find in a bakery and it has just the right amount of cinnamon and sugar, without being too gooey. We made our first loaf last night and by morning it was gone, so we have to make a second loaf. ★★★★★”
Baking with Yeast Guide
Are you a yeasted bread beginner? Reference this Baking with Yeast Guide whenever you work with baker’s yeast. I include practical answers to all of your common yeast questions.
Updated & Improved Cinnamon Swirl Bread Recipe
This recipe has seen some updates over the past decade, and I want to show a quick comparison photo. When I first published this recipe, I shaped the dough into a thick square and rolled it up. This gave me very little swirl inside the baked bread. Now I roll it out into a thinner 8×20-inch rectangle. I brush the rolled-out dough with egg white, and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top. The egg white helps the cinnamon sugar stick, and helps prevent large air gaps in the baked bread.
This method produces more swirls in each slice. The loaf also rises taller as it bakes. I still can’t believe the BIG difference these SMALL changes make. Look at the slices:
How to Make Yeasted Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Today I’m teaching you how to become a bread-baking professional (well, close to it!). This recipe is very similar to my sandwich bread recipe, but it’s a little sweeter. Follow my tips and soon you’ll bake homemade croissants or croissant bread, homemade bagels, cheese bread, and even star bread. With only a handful of basic ingredients, your kitchen will transform into a bread bakery!
- Prepare the Dough: The first step is to mix the bread dough. You need yeast, sugar, water, milk, butter, bread flour, and salt. The thing about homemade bread is that the ingredients are SO basic, but throw the word “yeast” in there and many feel intimidated. I promise it’s not difficult to throw this dough together. As long as you give the yeast, sugar, water, and milk a few minutes to sit before adding the other ingredients, you’re on the right track!
- Use Bread Flour: All-purpose flour doesn’t have enough strength to support the rise and structure of cinnamon swirl bread. Bread flour is sold right next to the all-purpose flour in the baking aisle, and if you need some recipe inspiration for your leftover bread flour, try any of these recipes.
- Knead the Dough: Do you know how to do this? If not, I have an entire tutorial and video for How to Knead Dough.
- First Rise: The dough must rise twice. After you knead the dough, let it rise until doubled in size.
- Swirl the Dough: After the dough rises, punch it down, then roll it out. Brush with egg white, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, and roll back up.
- Second Rise: Place the rolled dough into a loaf pan and let it rise for 1 more hour.
- Bake: Pat yourself on the back because—congratulations!—you’re a bread baker with the simplest yet tastiest homemade cinnamon bread recipe in the world.
These Step-by-Step Photos Will Help:
These are the ingredients you need:
Here is the dough after kneading:
Let the kneaded dough rise until doubled in size, like this:
Punch it down to release the air, and roll it out into an 8×20-inch rectangle:
Using a pastry brush, brush the surface with a beaten egg white. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top:
Roll it up into a 9-inch log, place into a loaf pan, and let it rise once again. Here is the dough before and after this 2nd rise:
Before baking, lightly brush the top of the loaf with melted butter.
The bread takes about 40 minutes in the oven. Use an instant-read thermometer to check the internal temperature of the baked bread. This guarantees you won’t under-bake or over-bake the bread. The bread is done when the center is 195–200°F (90–93°C). An instant-read thermometer is an incredibly helpful bread-baking tool; you can also use it at the very beginning of the bread-making process to check the liquids are warmed to the right temperature to activate the yeast.
Gaps can form between the dough and cinnamon swirl in your homemade cinnamon swirl bread. It’s happened to me plenty of times! It’s the moistened dough separating from the dry cinnamon-sugar mixture as it bakes. To help prevent this, make sure you are brushing the dough with egg white before adding the cinnamon sugar. Additionally, you can use a toothpick or thin skewer to poke 3 holes in the top of the risen loaf right before baking; this will help steam escape.
I still can’t decide which is best: the smell of homemade cinnamon swirl bread baking, the buttery and fluffy interior, or the hypnotizing, gooey, sticky, delectable cinnamon swirl.
Try it with a swipe of homemade honey butter or cinnamon butter. And, you’ll definitely want to use this bread to level up your French toast game, especially if you use it for apple cider French toast!
Become a Bread Baker with My Approachable Recipes:
- Homemade Bread Bowls
- Multigrain Bread (so soft!)
- Whole Wheat Bread
- Soft Pretzels & Soft Pretzel Rolls
- Homemade Breadsticks
- Dinner Rolls
- No-Knead Honey Oat Bread
- Homemade Pizza Dough
- Homemade Flatbread Pizza
- Cinnamon Raisin Bagels
Here are all of my bread recipes and video tutorials.
Homemade Cinnamon Swirl Bread
- Prep Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours, 45 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This homemade cinnamon swirl bread recipe is a family favorite and only requires a handful of basic ingredients. It’s soft and fluffy with the most unbelievably gooey cinnamon swirl inside! See recipe Notes for freezing and overnight instructions. You can also reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (120ml) water, warmed to about 110°F (43°C)
- 1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk, warmed to about 110°F (43°C)
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7g) instant or active dry yeast (1 standard packet)*
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar, divided
- 4 Tablespoons (1/4 cup; 56g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature and cut in 4 pieces
- 3 cups (390g) bread flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the Swirl & Topping
- 1 egg white, beaten
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: Whisk the warm water, warm milk, yeast, and 2 Tablespoons of sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Loosely cover and allow to sit for 5–10 minutes until foamy and frothy on top. *If you do not own a stand mixer, you can do this in a large mixing bowl and in the next step, mix the dough together with a large wooden spoon or silicone spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle. A hand mixer works, but the sticky dough repeatedly gets stuck in the beaters. Mixing by hand with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula is a better choice.*
- Add the remaining sugar, the butter, 1 cup flour (about 130g), and the salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula, then add another cup of flour. Beat on medium speed until relatively incorporated (there may still be chunks of butter). Add the remaining flour and beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. If the dough seems too wet to a point where kneading (next step) would be impossible, beat in more flour 1 Tablespoon at a time until you have a workable dough. Dough should be soft and a little tacky, but still manageable to knead with lightly floured hands.
- Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 8–10 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 8–10 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need; you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading.
- 1st Rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1.5-2 hours or until double in size. (I always let it rise on the counter. Takes about 2 hours. For a tiny reduction in rise time, see my answer to Where Should Dough Rise? in my Baking with Yeast Guide.)
- Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan. (I usually use this one or this one.)
- For the swirl: In a small bowl, whisk 1/4 cup (50g) sugar and the cinnamon together.
- Shape the dough: When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Lightly flour a work surface, your hands, and a rolling pin. Roll the dough out into a large 8×20 inch rectangle. It does not have to be perfect—in fact, it will probably be rounded on the edges. That’s ok! Using a pastry brush, brush the surface with beaten egg white, then sprinkle on the cinnamon-sugar, leaving a 1-inch border uncovered. Roll it up into an 8-inch log. Place the loaf, seam-side down, into the prepared loaf pan. If any cinnamon-sugar filling spilled out of the sides, don’t waste it! Sprinkle it on top of the bread in the loaf pan.
- 2nd Rise: Cover the shaped loaf and allow to rise for 1 hour, or until it’s about 1 inch above the top of the loaf pan.
- Adjust oven rack to a lower position and preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). (It’s best to bake the bread towards the bottom of the oven so the top doesn’t burn.)
- After the dough rises, melt the remaining 1 Tablespoon of butter. Lightly brush the melted butter on top of the shaped loaf before baking. Bake for 35–45 minutes, or until golden brown. Check on the bread about halfway through baking—if the top of the loaf is browning too quickly, tent with aluminum foil. To test for doneness, if you gently tap on the loaf, it should sound hollow. For a more accurate test, the bread is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf registers 195–200°F (90–93°C).
- Remove from the oven and allow bread to cool for a few minutes in the pan on a cooling rack. Remove loaf from the pan and cool it directly on a cooling rack for at least 10 minutes before slicing. Feel free to let it cool completely before slicing, too.
- Cover leftover bread tightly and store at room temperature for 6 days or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
Notes
- Overnight Instructions: Prepare the dough through most of step 4, allowing the dough to rise overnight in the refrigerator instead of in a warm environment. The slow rise gives the bread wonderful flavor! In the morning, let the dough sit on the counter until it comes to room temperature, then continue with step 5. I don’t recommend shaping the bread the night before as it will puff up too much overnight.
- Freezing Instructions: Baked bread freezes wonderfully! Wrap the loaf in plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then warm to your liking. You can also freeze the bread dough. After punching down the dough in step 7, wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature. Once at room temperature, punch the dough down again to release any air bubbles. Continue with the rest of step 7 (shaping the dough).
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Stand Mixer | Glass Mixing Bowl | Wooden Spoon or Silicone Spatula | Rolling Pin | Pastry Brush | 9×5-Inch Loaf Pan | Instant-Read Thermometer | Cooling Rack
- Milk: Whole milk or 2% milk are best. I don’t suggest a lower-fat milk. Readers have used nondairy milks with success, but I haven’t personally tested it.
- Yeast: I always use Red Star Platinum yeast, an instant yeast. You can use active dry yeast instead, with no changes to the preparation. Rise times will be slightly longer. Reference my Baking With Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
- Flour: Higher-protein flour like bread flour is best for this bread recipe because of its strong gluten formation and high rise. All-purpose flour may yield a flimsy bread.
- Whole Wheat Flour: I don’t recommend whole wheat flour because it doesn’t have the same baking properties as white flour or bread flour (the gluten levels are different). If you wish to use whole wheat flour, try my recipe for whole wheat bread instead, and feel free to add the egg white/cinnamon swirl to that dough instead.
- Can I Add Raisins? Yes, you can add 3/4 cup (about 110g) of raisins to the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Sprinkle it over the egg white-brushed dough.
- Bread Machine Questions: I don’t own a bread machine so I have not tested it, but some readers have reported success in the comments section.
- Prevent Large Gaps: Gaps can form between the dough and cinnamon swirl in your homemade cinnamon swirl bread. It’s happened to me plenty of times! It’s the moistened dough separating from the dry cinnamon-sugar mixture as it bakes. To help prevent this, make sure you are brushing the dough with egg white before adding the cinnamon-sugar. Additionally, you can use a toothpick or thin skewer to poke 3 holes in the top of the risen loaf right before baking; this will help steam escape.
Reader Comments and Reviews
The best recipe for cinnamon swirl bread ever. It was so soft and fluffy.
Tasty!!
Plus I was “kneading” dough with the dough hook in my Kitchen Aid stand mixer for over the recommended time due to when gently pushing down the dough it was not slowly coming back. Then I tried the windowpane suggestion & could not get it be see through. Ultimately I took my chance & it did yield a yummy bread
Anyone have suggestions for me?
Our post on how to knead dough may be helpful!
I did watch the video & was surprised to learn that you could over knead. Question if the dough does not respond to the finger “poke” test nor the window pane test what do I do?
Hi Paula, in that case, you would keep kneading until it does.
After a disaster with the 3 cups of flour, today I only needed to use 2.25 cups. I was unsure if that would be too little…?
My dough was the right texture & it rose beautifully in a pre-warmed oven with a kitchen towel draped over it.
I decided to add the raisins & did a combo of dark & golden,
I did not achieve an inch over top of the loaf pan & don’t know why? I baked it anyway & it is quite yummy albeit a tad too sweet for my taste buds. Hubby commented on how lovely the yeast baked bread scented our home.
Maybe someone can explain to me why 2.25 cups of flour worked & why the 2nd rising was lacking the inch over top of the pan.
Hi Paula! How are you measuring your flour? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping). If you’re scooping, you may be over-measuring. Your bread could have needed a little more time for its second rise to reach that inch over the top of the pan.
I have been making this recipe per your website for a year now, and it always comes out amazing! Question for you: have you recently updated the recipe? I can’t for the life of me remember using an egg wash on the filling previously. Do you possibly have a link to the original recipe? Thanks, love your site! ❤
Hi Jessica, We are glad you have been enjoying this recipe! We did recently add the egg white step which helps prevent gaps in the baked bread. We noticed that the moistened dough separates from the dry cinnamon-sugar mixture as it bakes creating holes in the bread. To help prevent this, we added the step of brushing the dough with egg white before adding the cinnamon-sugar. The rest of the recipe has remained the same!
I made this bread on Friday when the kids were home with a snow day. It is delicious and might even be better as toast! Next time, I will definitely double the recipe! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Has anyone tried making this as a smaller loaf??
This bread is almost dessert! The recipe is perfect. And as always, Sally gives weights as well as measures making it so easy to follow, and get right, every time.
I used sourdough starter in place of the yeast, and it is delicious. Absolutely will be making this one, over and over.
Really loved the flavor but I had trouble with the dough rising, especially the second rise. Could the addition of the raisins have affected it? And even though I poked three holes on the top before baking, a large separation occurred between filling and bread.
Hi Dianna, I don’t think raisins would have been the issue. Do you think you added too much flour during the kneading process? And how long did you give it for that 2nd rise? When rolling the dough up, be sure to roll it very tightly. And I find that if I really coat the dough heavily in the egg white, the sugar has more to stick to, and gaps are less likely to form. You want it sticky inside.
Thanks Sally! I’ll be making this again so I’ll focus on your suggestions 🙂
This recipe was easy to follow and I appreciated the overnight rise option. The dough was easy to work with (I did have to add about an extra 3-4 Tbsp of flour to get it to come together even though I had weighed it). The bread was light and fluffy. Personally I would like a higher ratio of cinnamon flavor. Next time I’ll increase the amount of filling. Definitely will make again – but for guests so I don’t eat all of it!
Great recipe! Followed it exactly and it’s delicious. My second loaf did not rise like I would have liked, probably because my kitchen was cold because of the low temps we’re having outside. Next time I’ll proof it in my oven on the proof setting. I also love your sandwich loaf. Turns out perfect every time! I’m thinking I’m ready to try out an artisan bread now. Thanks Sally and Team!!
Well my first time using yeast. Couldn’t have done it without you! Really good and you are right it wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be! Just need time and a bit of patience. Thank you, thank you and thank you. You never disappoint.
This is a GREAT recipe! I have made it perfectly every time and it tastes amazing! My son eats it everyday for breakfast. Thanks!
I made this recipe with my granddaughte, who loves cinnamon bread and she loves to bake, (she gets that from me!). It was easy and she loved making it almost as much as eating it. It was absolutely delicious. We made the dough in my bread machine, which made it even easier and it came out perfect. We made the three holes with a toothpick before baking and there were no air pockets. I’m not surprised at how good it is because I have never made one of your recipes that wasn’t amazing!! Thank you for all your tips and secrets!
Hi Sally,
I’ve been wanting to make raisin bread for the longest time. I’ve made all your other sandwich bread recipes and they’re all fantastic – I’ve never failed! I noticed in this recipe you don’t say anything about doubling. Would everything be the same to double as in other recipes, if doubled, some ingredients are not such as yeast? TIA <3
Hi Bella, For best results, we recommend making two separate batches of the bread rather than doubling it. Thank you for trying all of our breads!
Never a disappointment following your recipes. Well written and informative and delicious. Thank you.
My only regret is not making two loaves. Can I double the recipe to make two loaves or do I need to cook each loaf individually?
Hi Miriam, we’re so glad you enjoyed it! For best results, and to prevent over or under mixing, we recommend making 2 separate batches rather than doubling.
Make this! I made one loaf as I was I sure of how it would turn out. It disappeared 5 minutes later. My only regret is not making two loaves!
Delicious!
Thank you for this satisfyingly delicious bread recipe!
If you want to put a smile on your little ones face, just make this.
It has become a favorite bread recipe in our
Home.
Easy to follow directions.
Thank you
I made this today. It turned out perfect. I should have let it proof a little longer, but it still turned out great. The flavor and texture was great. It’s going to be hard to keep from eating the entire loaf this evening.
This is perfect! I’ve struggled with yeast breads in the past . Followed this recipe to a t and hubby loves it! He’s my most honest critic. Will be baking another loaf tomorrow.
This is a great recipe! I am an experienced baker, but bread has always been my nemesis. Made 2 loads last night. Delicious. The first loaf came out a bit on the flat side, but I used a bigger loaf pan. The second one was in a smaller loaf pan, (probably the right size), and turned out beautifully! I will definitely be making this again!
I made this yesterday afternoon on a cold Canadian day. Just what the doctor ordered! Directions are so easy to follow and it came out perfectly.
Tad
Toasted a piece for breakfast this morning. Awesome, thank you!
I followed your recipe to a “t” & yet the 3 cups of flour yield a very dry dough & would not rise. I had to throw it all out.
Heat oven to about 170 F. or so (lowest mine goes) and then shut off, and throw the bowl in there for the bread to rise in a warmer environment! My oven runs cool so I tend to run an extra 15 or so mins. Be mindful to not use materials that can melt or distort under higher temps as your mixing bowls in said scenario! I don’t even cover like I should, a good kneading before and after and greasing before goes far. I left mine in there with the artisan loaves (I make them as a rosemary version, yum!) to rise for 3 hours and it did wonders! No cook, just a daughter trying to feed her family so adjust to your probable better kitchen equipment. I’ve had that same issue but my kitchen has been quite cold as of late, you really need warmer temps for the bacteria to wake up. You also REALLY need to keep kneading the flour in, or you added too much. Did you weigh your flour? I tend to be a pretty good measure without the scale but breads can be finicky. I dont have any kitchen ware (aside from the spatula) so I use my hands alone and its a work out lol, you really gotta keep kneading and eventually it works itself in. If ever too dry you can add in 1/4 of a teaspoon of water at a time. I’m also working with AP flour not bread, so not sure of the differences. Definitely try again! I even missed a few steps the first 2 times I made this, oops! Still came out great!
TU
Pretty much my recipe too. I use 1/3 cup sugar and place one whole egg at room temp into the mix. I usually make two loves and freeze one.
I made this today and it did not disappoint! So easy to make Sally’s excellent instructions!
So, so good!
The only butter I use is “salted” butter. Does this make a difference in the recipes you send me?
Hi Luan! We prefer to use unsalted butter in baking because you can control the exact amount of salt going into a recipe. You can read more about salted vs. unsalted butter in baking here.
Crazy good bread!! Used my bread machine using exact measurements to make the dough, turned out amazing. Once the dough was complete followed the rest of the recipe for rolling/baking.
I’m so proud of my bread! It looks just like Sally’s! Yay insanely delicious
I am confused about the 4 tbs of butter. In step 10, it says to brush the loaf with the remaining butter, but it does not specify to save a tablespoon when making the dough.
Hi Carol, we’re happy to help clarify. The 4 Tablespoons of butter listed under the bread ingredients will all be added in Step 2. The 1 Tablespoon of melted butter listed under the “Swirl and Topping” ingredients is what you will use in Step 10. Hope this helps!
Hi! Any suggestions for skipping the egg wash? My son has an egg allergy.
Hi Kim, water, milk, or melted butter would work just fine instead.