Cinnamon raisin bread is a soft, buttery sandwich bread swirled with sweet cinnamon and raisins. Bake it the same day or refrigerate the dough overnight for fresh, homemade bread that fits your schedule.
Heather's recipe summary
Flavor/texture: Soft, buttery bread loaf swirled with sweet cinnamon and raisins.
Pan size: This recipe works in an 8.5x4.5, 9x4 pullman, or 9x5 loaf pan.
Yield: One loaf
Similar to: Overnight Sandwich Bread
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Flour - Bread flour works best in this recipe, but a high protein all-purpose flour can work as a substitute. I recommend King Arthur bread flour or AP flour for best results.
- Yeast - I use instant yeast in this recipe but dry active yeast will also work. If you're using dry active yeast, your rise times will be about 15 to 20 minutes longer.
- Cinnamon - The cinnamon could be substituted with a similar spice blend, like a Chai Spice Blend or pumpkin pie spice blend.
- Raisins - Could be substituted with dried cranberries or golden raisins. Don't like raisins? They can be omitted entirely without affecting the bread.
How to make cinnamon raisin bread
- Warm the milk and butter in the microwave, then whisk in the yeast.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until a sticky dough forms.
- Turn the dough out onto the counter and knead until smooth. Return to a greased bowl, cover, and rise for about an hour.
- Press the dough out into a 12x8 rectangle and brush with milk.
- Top with brown sugar, cinnamon, and raisins, and roll up into a log.
- Transfer the loaf to a greased pan.
- Cover and allow to rise until about 1 inch over the rim (in an 8.5x4.5 pan only).
- Bake until golden brown and bread reaches 165ºF.
Heather's top tip
Use an instant-read thermometer
It can be hard to tell when yeast bread is done using visual cues alone, so I use an instant-read thermometer. Bread is done when it reaches 195F in the center. A thermometer prevents doughy or dry bread and ensures baked goods turn out perfectly every single time.
Frequently asked questions
Whole wheat acts differently than AP and bread flours, and it's not as simple as replacing at a 1:1 ratio. In this recipe, you could replace up to 50% of the bread flour with whole wheat with good results. Expect to see less rise in your finished bread when adding whole wheat.
Use a serrated knife (like this one: 10" bread knife on Amazon) for best results. The serrated blade saws through the bread easily without pressing into the loaf or squishing it.
This recipe works with an 8.5.4x5 loaf pan (like shown in the photos), a 9x5 loaf pan, or a 9x4 pullman pan (for straight sides and a traditional store-bought look).
Cinnamon raisin bread is great toasted with a little butter for breakfast or made into French toast.
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📖 Recipe
Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Ingredients
Bread
- 3 ⅓ cups (400 g) bread flour
- 3 tablespoons (37 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons (6 g) kosher salt
- 1 cup (240 g) water
- ¼ cup (56 g) whole milk
- 3 tablespoons (42 g) unsalted butter, sliced into pieces
- 1 ½ teaspoons (5 g) instant yeast
Filling:
- 3 tablespoons (40 g) brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon (8 g) cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) whole milk
- ½ cup (75 g) raisins
Instructions
- Mix: In a large bowl, whisk together the bread flour, sugar, and salt. Set aside. In a microwave-safe bowl, add water, milk, and butter. Microwave in 20 second increments until warm to the touch, but not hot (about 110ºF), and butter has melted. Whisk the yeast into the warm liquids until dissolved. Pour this mixture into the flour mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until a sticky, shaggy dough forms.
- Knead: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Using floured hands, knead the dough until it looks smooth, slightly tacky, and slowly springs back when gently pressed, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Rest: Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, tossing dough to coat all sides, and cover with plastic wrap or an airtight lid. Allow to rise until doubled in size, about one hour at room temperature.
- Fill and shape: Have ready a greased 8 ½ x 4 ½ loaf pan. In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside. Punch the dough down in the bowl and then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Pat the dough into a rectangle, about 12x8 inches. Brush the rectangle to the edges with milk. Sprinkle the brown sugar cinnamon mixture on top, then add raisins. Gently press with clean hands to adhere your filling to the dough. Starting at a short end, roll it up into a log, pinching the seams closed. Transfer the loaf, seam side down, into the prepared pan.
- Overnight: Cover the pan with plastic wrap (allowing space for the dough to rise) and transfer to the refrigerator overnight (or up to 3 days).Same day: Cover the pan with plastic wrap (allowing space for the dough to rise) and rest until the dough has risen about 1 inch above the lip of the pan, about 1 hour.
- If overnight: Remove the loaf from the refrigerator one hour before you plan to bake the bread. Set it aside on a countertop to warm up.
- Bake: Fifteen minutes before you plan to bake, arrange an oven rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Bake until the loaf looks golden brown across the top and the center reaches 195℉ (90ºC) when tested with an instant-read thermometer, about 40 to 45 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Pop the bread out of the pan and place on the wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Bread browning quickly?: Tent your loaf with foil if you notice the top browning quickly during baking.
- Storage: Fresh bread will keep for about 2 days at room temperature, or up to 3 months in the freezer. Frozen bread can be thawed quickly in the microwave or toaster if pre-sliced.
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