This buttery cinnamon bread, with an extra gooey cinnamon swirl is like a giant cinnamon roll that you can slice, toast, & slather with butter.

My husband and I recently spent some time in Southern California with some of our closest friends. One day we found ourselves standing in line at Dudley's Bakery, mouths drooling over the selection of decadent looking pastries we were about to purchase.
The folks at Dudley's are smart. The line to the pastry case and registers winds through shelf after shelf of freshly baked bread and sweet rolls. It's nearly impossible to not purchase at least one loaf or package of rolls.
While (unsuccessfully) doing my best to not succumb to temptation, our friend lamented that cinnamon bread never contains enough cinnamon. He wanted a cinnamon swirl that was downright gooey - kinda like a cinnamon roll. He also pointed out, while picking up a loaf of Dudley's cinnamon raisin bread, that it's rare to find a package of cinnamon bread that does not contain raisins.
He has a point. There are few things I love more than thick slices of toasted cinnamon bread, dripping with butter. However... the slices of packaged cinnamon bread are never thick enough, always include raisins, and rarely contain a swirl of cinnamon and sugar that you could rightfully call "gooey".
And so, I decided to just bake a couple of loaves myself. Now, if you're not a bread baker, this might sound overly ambitious. But baking bread is not a difficult task. Most simple loaves - like this homemade white bread recipe - require very little hands on time and, honestly, very little skill.
What I'm trying to say is that a lot of bread baking is pretty basic.
What's NOT basic is the flavor and texture, and pure pleasure of eating homemade bread. It's one of those things for which the reward far outweighs the actual work. If you're a seasoned bread baker, you know of what I speak. If you're new to bread baking, this is a great recipe to start with.
The magical versatility of this cinnamon bread dough
This cinnamon bread is made from the same dough as my favorite dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, caramel rolls, yeast doughnuts, doughnut holes, and apple fritters.
It gets around. I'd been using it to make dinner rolls for years when I realized that it would probably make incredible cinnamon rolls. And, it does. From there, I used it to make caramel rolls. Then doughnuts and apple fritters. All delicious.
So, it was a simple decision to use it for loaves of cinnamon bread as well. The dough is rich and buttery, slightly sweet, and deeply flavorful. After mixing it in a stand mixer (you can also knead it by hand), you simply leave it alone to rise, shape it into rolls, or loaves, or whatever, let it rise again, and bake. Depending on the temperature of the room, the whole process will take less than 4 hours and the actual hands-on time is about 20 minutes.
Homemade Cinnamon Bread, step by simple step
I nearly always use a stand mixer to make bread dough because it makes the process so incredibly easy. Simply add the ingredients to the bowl of the mixer and let it do the work of mixing and kneading.
Having said that, you certainly can make the dough by hand. Use a wooden spoon to begin mixing the dough and then switch to your hands when the dough begins to get to stiff to stir with a spoon. Knead the dough on a lightly floured work surface until smooth, pliable and only slightly tacky.
A note about the yeast: Adding the yeast to the milk before the rest of the ingredients and waiting for it to get a bit foamy is simply a way of checking to make sure the yeast you are using is still active.
If you suspect that your yeast might not be active (perhaps it's old or was exposed to high heat), stir it into just a half cup of room temperature milk to test it. If it gets foamy, then it's fine to add the rest of the milk and proceed with the recipe. If it doesn't get foamy, you should assume that the yeast is inactive and start over with a new package.
A note about the consistency of the dough: Start by adding only 5 cups of flour, then add as much or as little flour as you need to create a smooth, slightly tacky dough. Whether you will need to add all of the 6th cup of flour or just a bit of it depends on a lot of different factors - the humidity of the air, how tightly packed your flour is, the size of the eggs, etc.
What you want is dough that does not stick to the sides of the bowl while the dough is mixing, but DOES stick slightly to the bottom of the bowl. It should feel smooth and elastic, and a bit tacky. If it's so sticky that it immediately sticks to your hand when you touch it, add a bit more flour and keep kneading.
After the dough has kneaded for about 10 minutes, let it rise in a bowl that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. (You can also use a bit of melted butter or oil to coat the inside of the bowl.)
Let it rise, covered with a piece of plastic wrap that has also been coated with non-stick spray (or butter or oil), until it's doubled in size. Depending on the temperature of your room, this will take between 1 and 2 hours.
Shaping and filling the loaves of cinnamon bread
After the dough has risen (doubled in size), dump it out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough in half, into two equal portions and shape each portion loosely into a ball. Cover with the greased piece of plastic wrap and let rest for about 5 minutes. This will allow the gluten in the dough to relax a bit, making the dough easier to roll out.
Coat the inside of two loaf pans with a bit of melted butter. Then mix the cinnamon and sugar together. Roll one of the balls of dough out into a rectangle that's approximately 18 inches long and 10 inches wide. Use a pastry brush to cover the dough with melted butter, spreading the butter within about a half inch of the edges, then sprinkle the surface of the dough with cinnamon sugar.
Starting on one of the short ends of the rectangle, roll the dough into a log, rolling as tightly as you can without squeezing out all of the cinnamon sugar filling. Secure the edge of dough to the loaf by pinching the seam together with your fingers. Roll the log of dough over, so that it's resting on your work surface seam side down, and gently pat the ends of the loaf together to compress it slightly.
Place the loaves into the loaf pans, brush with melted butter, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise until nearly doubled in size before baking.
How to tell when cinnamon bread is done
The loaves will take about 35-40 minutes to bake, at which point they should be a rich golden brown. But, it can be tricky to know for sure that they are baked through. To test, remove one of the loaves from the oven. Plunge a meat or candy thermometer into the center of the loaf to see what the temperature of the inside of the loaf is. If it registers between 195 and 200 degrees, the bread is done baking and can be removed from the oven.
If you don't like the idea of punching a hole in the center of the top of one of your loaves, gently turn one of the loaves out of the pan and plunge the thermometer into the bottom of the loaf to check for doneness.
Let the loaves cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. This will allow the bread to firm up a bit before slicing. If you attempt to slice it right away (soooooo tempting), you're liable to smash it.
More recipes that begin with this bread dough:
- Homemade Dinner Rolls
- Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
- Overnight Caramel Rolls (Sticky Buns)
- Homemade Yeast Doughnuts
- Doughnut Holes Filled with Salted Caramel Pastry Cream
- Homemade Apple Fritters {Overnight Recipe}
Two simple everyday homemade loaves:
Used in this recipe:
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6-Quart KitchenAid Stand Mixer
If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or take a picture and tag it #ofbatteranddough on Instagram.
📖 Recipe
Cinnamon Bread
This buttery cinnamon bread, with an extra gooey cinnamon swirl is like a giant cinnamon roll that you can slice, toast, & slather with butter.
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 2 cups whole milk, at room temperature (between 75 and 85 degrees)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3 ½ teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, slightly beaten
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- ½ teaspoon almond extract (optional)
- 5-6 cups unbleached, all purpose flour
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg (to taste)
- 2 teaspoon salt
For the Filling:
- 5 ½ tablespoon salted butter plus 1 more tablespoon of salted butter for brushing over the tops of the loaves
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Make the dough:
- Pour the milk into the bowl of a standing mixer, and sprinkle in the sugar and yeast. Stir to combine and then let sit for about 5 minutes to let the yeast begin to come alive. (*See note) Whisk in the egg, egg yolk, melted butter, and almond extract if using.
- Fit a stand mixer with the dough hook, add 5 cups of the all-purpose flour, and the nutmeg. Mix on low speed until the dough begins to come together. Slowly add just enough of the remaining cup of flour so that the dough comes together into a soft, slightly sticky ball. This might take the entire remaining cup or only a bit of it. What you’re looking for is a soft, smooth ball of dough that clings to the dough hook, does not stick to the sides of the bowl, but does stick slightly to the bottom of the bowl.
- Once the dough has come together, sprinkle in the salt. Continue to knead in the mixer for about 8-10 minutes. The dough should be very soft, smooth, and elastic.
- Spray a large bowl with non-stick cooking spray and dump the dough into the bowl. Spray a piece of plastic wrap with non-stick spray and use it to cover the bowl. Let the dough rise at room temperature for 1-2 hours, until the dough has doubled in size.
Shape and fill the loaves:
- Put 5 ½ tablespoons of butter in a microwave safe bowl and microwave just until melted. Using a pastry brush, coat the inside of two loaf pans with some of the butter. Set the remaining butter aside.
- Put the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and stir to combine.
- Dump the dough out onto a very lightly flour surface and cut it into two equal portions. Cover the dough with the plastic wrap and let stand for 5 minutes. This will help the gluten relax, making it easier to roll out.
- Working with one portion of dough at a time, roll it out into a rectangle that's approximately 18 inches long and 10 inches wide. Brush it with half of the remaining melted butter, spreading the butter to within a half inch of the edges. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar mixture over the butter in an even layer that also comes to within half inch of the edges.
- Starting with one of the short sides, roll the dough as tightly as you can into a log. Pinch the edge of the dough to secure it. (See the pictures above.) Pat and press the ends of the log to compact it slightly. (Think of it as pressing in on an accordion.) Place the log of dough into the loaf pan, pressing it down into the pan gently.
- Repeat with the remaining dough, butter, and cinnamon sugar.
- Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and brush it over each of the loaves to coat. Cover each loaf with a piece of plastic wrap. Let the loaves rise until nearly doubled in size, 60-120 minutes, depending on the temperature of the room.
- To Bake: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the plastic wrap from the loaves and bake in the center of the oven for 35-40 minutes. To check for doneness, plunge a meat or candy thermometer into the center of one of the loaves. The center should register between 195 and 200 degrees. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
Notes
If the yeast doesn't get foamy after sitting in the milk for about 5 minutes, it's probably inactive. The only solution is to start over with new yeast. If you suspect that your yeast might not be active (perhaps it's old or was exposed to high heat), stir it into just a half cup of room temperature milk to test it. If it gets foamy, then it's fine to add the rest of the milk and proceed with the recipe.
Tammy says
Can you make this dough in a bread machine on the dough cycle then take it out at start with cutting it in two etc...?
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Tammy! Yes - I think that should work great. I haven't tested this in a bread machine personally, but have heard from a few readers who have made the dough in their bread machines and said it worked perfectly. Please let me know if you have any other questions, and if you make this, I'd love to know what you think! xo
Tammy says
I made this Wednesday night using my bread machine dough cycle my husband definitely gave it the eyes rolled up in your head it’s so good look! Thanks fir sharing.
Rebecca Blackwell says
I am so happy to hear that Tammy! I LOVE to see that look on the faces of people I bake for. 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment for me. I truly appreciate it! xo
Tammy says
I made this using my bread machine dough cycle my husband definitely gave it the eyes rolled up into your head it’s so good look! Thanks for sharing.
Bird says
Another Of Batter and Dough winner! My son was so excited to eat this and it did not disappoint. I don’t know if it’s a blessing or a curse to be stuck in the house with these delicious loaves. I can’t stop thinking about them and can think of too many delicious ways to eat them. French toast: check and amazeballs. Plain, buttered, toasted, and the myriad of jams and curds to put on it! This will likely be a regular in our house. Very easy and delicious!
Rebecca Blackwell says
Haha! This comment made me chuckle. The last time I made these I think we went through both loaves in two days. Oh well. Life is too short to not enjoy delicious things. 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment for me. I appreciate it more than I can say. xo
Patty says
I just noticed your video says tbsp of yeast and the written recipe says tsps which one is it?
Beautiful bread.
Rebecca Blackwell says
Thanks for catching that typo Patty! The recipe is correct - 3 1/2 tsp of yeast. I'm correcting the text in the video as we speak. 🙂 I SO appreciate your taking the time to leave a comment for me about this! xoxo
Patty says
I'm so glad it was tsps that's what I used . It's baking right now!! I can't wait to eat it. Thanks so much for your quick response.🤗
Nicoletta De Angelis Nardelli says
I love making bread of all sorts and this cinnamon bread is too delicious for me to pass. Going to make it soon!
Amanda Mason says
I've been on the look for a detailed enough recipe to make cinnamon bread and thanks to you I found it!! Love the detail and the final pictures are amazing. Can't wait to try this as this is going to be my signature breakfsst/brunch bread for the holidays
Rebecca Blackwell says
I can't wait to hear what you think of this recipe Amanda! There are few things I love more than a thick slice of toasted cinnamon bread slathered in butter. Please let me know if you have any questions along the way! xo
Cathy says
Just made this bread today.
Not only was it easy, it was absolutely delicious!!!
I really appreciated the tips throughout the recipe!
Rebecca Blackwell says
I am so happy to hear that your loaves baked up well and that the recipe was easy to follow! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment for me! xo