Grandma’s Cinnamon Swirl Bread Recipe

Cinnamon sugar swirl bread is one of the best smells and tastes in the world! This is my grandma’s recipe, and it’s a family favorite. It makes enough cinnamon bread for everyone!

This homemade bread recipe makes 6-8 loaves of bread. It’s a lot of dough, so it’s much easier to mix this using a standing mixer. If you don’t want to make that much bread, you can definitely change the ratios to make a single loaf or two. And if you don’t want every loaf to have a cinnamon swirl? That’s totally a valid option. Just skip the appropriate steps.

Ingredients

• 6 cups of warm water
• 2 tablespoons of sea salt (or tablespoons Kosher salt)
• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 2/3 cup honey
• 3 tablespoons dough enhancer (optional)
• 2 cups high gluten bread flour OR 2/3 cup vital wheat gluten (optional)
• 3-4 cups of fresh ground flour to start
• 3 tablespoons instant yeast
• 6-9 additional cups of fresh flour
• about 1/2 cup cinnamon sugar (maybe more, depending on how much cinnamon sugar you put in each loaf)

Instructions

1. Mix ingredients in order from water to yeast in a standing mixer.
2. Let it sit for a few minutes to let the yeast activate.
3. Add the remainder of the flour, 1-2 cups at a time, while mixing the dough.
4. Knead the bread for 4-5 minutes with the dough hook.
5. Remove the bowl from the stand and cover. Let the dough rise until doubled in volume, which should take about 45 minutes.
6. Divide the dough into equal-sized loaves.
7. Roll the dough out into an even, flat-ish rectangle.
8. Spread a small amount of butter onto the dough, then sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar.
9. Roll the loaf up and seal the ends.
10. Place it in the loaf pan.
11. Cover the loaf pans and let them rise for about 30 minutes.
12. Bake the bread at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-35 minutes until done.
13. Once done, remove the pan from the oven and let it cool on a countertop for 10 minutes.
14. Remove the bread from the loaf pans and cool them on a wire rack.
15. Store in a bread bag or freeze in an airtight container.

Food Storage Items in the Recipe

This recipe is a great way to use up several items from your food storage. Here’s what I’ve used from food storage in this recipe successfully.

• Wheat – both white and red wheat. I like to do a 50:50 mix for the best taste combination. Just make sure you’ve got a grinder.
• Honey – both fresh and stored. Fresh can be used in the recipe or on top of freshly baked bread while it’s still hot!
• Sugar – every food storage needs sugar stored.
• Cinnamon – my kids go through so much cinnamon that I buy it in bulk at Costco and keep it in my food storage.
• Yeast – yeast keeps well for years in a freezer. We keep a good amount in our deep freezer.
• Canola oil – it won’t store indefinitely, but it’ll store for up to a few months in a cool, dry location. We keep an extra bottle on hand in our storage.
• Salt – every food storage needs salt. Costco by us sells large bags of it, so we grabbed one a year or so ago.

I used to use dough enhancers and vital gluten more often, but they really are optional ingredients. As I’ve gotten more confident in my baking skills, I’ve skipped adding those ingredients. I’ve also stopped stocking them in my personal food storage.