Cinnamon Raisin Bread
This Cinnamon Raisin Bread is one of the simplest breads you can make at home from scratch, and and it’s loaded with wonderful cinnamon flavor and juicy raisins!
Homemade bread takes a bit of work and time, but to me it’s always worth it.
I’d rather make my own instead of buying one of those 3-week shelf stable loaves that have 50 ingredients in them instead of 5.
What I do to make things easier is have a “bread baking day” from time to time where I’ll bake several different loaves at once, then store them in the freezer. It lasts me quite a while.
To those who read my Apple Pie Panini post, this is my recipe for Homemade Cinnamon Swirl Raisin Bread that I used for the sandwich.
This cinnamon raisin bread is adapted from my plain sandwich bread post, and if you’re not a fan of raisins, just feel free to leave them out.
How to Make Cinnamon Raisin Bread:
Start by stirring together milk, butter, yeast, and a little honey, and let it sit for 10 minutes until foamy:
Add flour, eggs, salt, and raisins to the liquid and knead it in the bowl of a stand mixer for 10 minutes:
Let this soft, sticky dough double in size, which should take an hour or two (and if your kitchen is as cold as mine is right now, it will take two)!
It should look all stretchy and strand-like, like this:
Remove the dough and stretch it out into a rectangle on a lightly floured board:
Make the cinnamon filling by mixing together melted butter, brown sugar, and tons of cinnamon:
Spread the cinnamon filling all over the rectangle, and roll the rectangle up:
Pinch the seam shut at the end, and place the bread roll in a loaf pan:
Cover it with plastic wrap and let the roll rise for about an hour:
Into the oven it goes until it comes out golden brown:
Now you can slice it up and eat it toasted with butter, or make this glorious Apple Pie Panini with it.
Pumpkin Muffins are another one of my favorite recipes to bake. Enjoy!
How long does Cinnamon Raisin Bread last? A few days at room temperature, about 10 days in the fridge, or 2 months in the freezer.
Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 cup milk
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 3 tbsp honey
- 2.25 tsp instant yeast
- 17.5 ounces by weight all-purpose flour (3.5 cups, measured)*
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup raisins
- butter for greasing the pan
For the cinnamon filling:
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
- Combine the milk, melted butter, and honey in a microwave safe glass.
- Heat the liquid in the microwave** to 110 to 115 degrees F, then stir in the yeast. Let this mixture sit for 10 minutes, until foamy.
- Pour the yeast liquid into the bowl of a stand mixer, and add the flour, salt, eggs, and raisins.
- Stir it around with a wooden spoon or the dough hook of the mixer until roughly combined.
- Fit the stand mixer with the dough hook, and knead for 10 minutes on medium low speed.
- Cover the dough bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for one to two hours, until doubled in size.
- Lightly flour your countertop and spread the dough into a rectangle that is the length of your loaf pan (about 9 inches). It doesn't have to be perfect.
- Make the cinnamon filling by stirring together the brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, and salt.
- Spread this mixture all over the top of the dough rectangle, then roll the dough up like a cinnamon roll, and pinch the seam shut.
- Grease a loaf pan with butter, and place the bread roll seam side down into the pan.
- Cover the loaf with plastic wrap and let it rise for 60 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F, and place a sheet pan on the lowest shelf of the oven. Add enough boiling water to cover the bottom of the sheet pan, then bake the bread on the shelf above the water for 40-50 minutes until the inside registers 190 to 200 degrees on an instant read thermometer.
- Let the bread cool completely on a wire rack before slicing it. Enjoy!
- Storing: since there are no preservatives, the bread will only keep for a few days at room temperature. I recommend freezing any unused bread.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
Post updated in September 2018. Originally published November 2013.
100 Comments on “Cinnamon Raisin Bread”
Making this for the first time…and all my raisins have basically disintegrated during the kneading (with my machine). Better to add after the first rise??
Like most bakers I couldn’t just make the recipe as is but had to tweak it a little. I added a tbs of sugar to the dough. Soaked 1 cup of raisins in the egg for 1/2 hour, and tripled the filling cause I have one huge sweet tooth. Came out wonderful! Will make it again!
I gotta tell you that your recipe is amazing. And I’m a baker and cook.
I decided to cut the recipe in half. I forgot to half the instant yeast, but it came out fantastic anyway. I usually add more than recipes call for.
In the future I would divide dough from half of the recipe into 2 loaf pans as it makes a smaller slice and I can give a loaf to a friend.
I did roll the dough very thin so I had more swirl. Raisins are fine going in dry which I kneaded in at end so as not to crush them.
I’m enjoying the first slice with some grass fed butter.
You get a bravo for sharing this!!!! Will be a regular in my house!!!!
I used 2 cups bread flour, 1.5 cups whole wheat flour and doubled the raisins. Also added a teaspoon of vanilla paste to the dough. Result was spectacular. Hearty, earthy loaf with just the right amount of sweetness and a crunchy crust. Will repeat for sure!
I just made it and I am very satisfied with the outcome of this recipe, I love cinnamon raisin bread,I’d rather make it over and over again,than buy in the store.Thanks for sharing .I made two loaves of the recipe ❤
I just made this for my boys and they loved it! I had no honey on hand so I used molasses instead and the flavour is amazing! It’s already been requested for the weekend again.
Is there a step where one can pause and refrigerate overnight? This definitely takes longer than the 2 hrs 25 minutes quoted — with 2 hrs for first rise, 1 hr for second rise, and nearly 1 hr bake time…I’m running out of time tonight!
It’s best to do an overnight rise for the first rise. Though the second should work too. Since it’s winter right now it’s likely part of the reason the rise is on the longer side. You’re right that the calculation was not adding up properly, I’ve fixed that. Thanks for letting me know.
Beautiful cinnamon raisin bread and the rise was amazing! So good, it will be a regular in our house.
I enjoyed making it. Totally recommended. It is totally worth my time. I prefer making it now than buy it in a store. I taste way better.