There’s something special about a fresh loaf of Homemade Cinnamon Raisin Bread, especially when a warm slice is toasted and spread with butter. This soft yeast bread is filled with raisins and rolled around a buttery brown sugar and cinnamon mixture that creates a delicious swirl in every slice. It’s a wonderful choice for breakfast, brunch, afternoon snacks, or homemade French toast.
Why You’ll Love This Cinnamon Raisin Bread
This recipe combines familiar pantry ingredients with a flavorful cinnamon filling. The dough is made with milk, brown sugar, instant yeast, eggs, all-purpose flour, salt, and raisins. You can use dairy milk or a plant-based alternative, and choose neutral oil or melted butter for the dough. The filling adds brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and melted butter for that classic sweet swirl.
Although yeast bread takes time to rise, much of the process is hands-off. Once the dough has risen, roll it into a rectangle, spread the cinnamon filling over the surface, and roll it into a loaf. As it bakes, the bread develops a golden crust and a fragrant cinnamon aroma.
Tips for a Soft Loaf and Beautiful Swirl
The dough may feel sticky, but resist adding too much extra flour. Too much flour can make the finished loaf dense instead of tender. Use lightly floured hands and a work surface when shaping, and roll the dough into a tight, even log so the cinnamon filling is distributed throughout the loaf.
Place the shaped dough seam-side down in a greased 9 × 5-inch loaf pan and allow it to rise again before baking. Bake at 375°F until the loaf is cooked through. An instant-read thermometer is helpful for checking the center; the recipe recommends an internal temperature of 190°F to 200°F. Let the bread cool completely on a wire rack before slicing so the loaf holds its shape.
How to Enjoy and Store Raisin Bread
Serve slices lightly toasted for breakfast, or use them to make cinnamon raisin French toast for a weekend brunch. Because homemade bread has no preservatives, store it well wrapped and freeze any extra slices or portions for longer storage. A quick toast straight from the freezer makes it easy to enjoy homemade cinnamon raisin bread whenever the craving strikes.
Not what you are looking for? Try these other bread recipes: another French Bread recipe, Rustic French Bread or homemade Ciabatta Bread.
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Raisin Bread
- Total Time: 1:05
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Ingredients
- 1 c. Milk, Almond Milk, Or Soy Milk, At 110ºF
- 2 tbsp. Brown Sugar (See Note)
- 2 1/4 tsp. Instant Rise Yeast
- 6 tbsp. Neutral Oil (See Note) Or Melted Unsalted Butter
- 2 Eggs
- 3 1/2 c. All-purpose Flour (17 1/2 Ounces By Weight), Plus More For Dusting
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 1/2 c. Raisins
- 1/3 c. Brown Sugar
- 2 tbsp. Ground Cinnamon
- 3 tbsp. Melted Butter (or Oil)
Instructions
- Combine milk, brown sugar, and yeast in a bowl or measuring cup. Let sit for 10 minutes, until foamy. This indicates that the yeast is alive and well.
- Pour the yeast liquid into the bowl of a stand mixer, and add oil and eggs. Whisk to combine the wet ingredients, then add flour and salt. Use the dough hook or a spatula to roughly combine the wet and dry ingredients into a shaggy dough. Add the raisins, then fit the bowl and dough hook to the stand mixer. Knead on medium low speed for 10 minutes.
- Remove the dough hook, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise for 1 hour, until doubled in size.
- Flour your countertop as lightly as possible, then spread and stretch the dough into a rectangle that is the length of your loaf pan, about 9 inches by 18 inches. I prefer to use a 9×5 loaf pan.
- Make the cinnamon filling by stirring together brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Spread this mixture all over the top of the dough rectangle, then roll the dough up as tightly as you can, rolling the long way. Place the roll seam-side down into a greased loaf pan, then cover with plastic wrap to let rise for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375ºF, then bake bread for 40–50 minutes until the inside reads 190ºF to 200ºF with a thermometer. Let the bread cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
Notes
1. The 2 tablespoons brown sugar won’t make the bread very sweet. If you want a sweeter loaf, double the brown sugar.
2. I use grapeseed oil, but you could also use canola oil, vegetable oil, a light olive oil, etc.
3. The dough will be sticky, but resist the urge to add more flour, as it will make the bread more dense.
Storage: Since there are no preservatives, the cinnamon raisin bread will only keep for a few days at room temperature. I recommend freezing any unused cinnamon raisin bread.
- Prep Time: :20
- Cook Time: :45
- Category: Snack Bread
- Method: Baked