This homemade cinnamon swirl bread recipe is a family favorite and requires only a handful of basic ingredients (just 8!). It’s soft and tender with the most unbelievably gooey cinnamon swirl inside. Each yeasted bread slice tastes fabulous on its own, but try it toasted with some honey butter… unbelievable! For a no-yeast version, see my cinnamon swirl quick bread.
I originally published this recipe in 2015 and have since added new photos and made a few changes to the recipe steps, which are outlined in the post below.
Homemade cinnamon swirl bread is one of life’s greatest treasures. Hot & fresh out of the oven, the smell alone will captivate a large crowd. The bread is buttery soft and the hypnotizing swirls are deliciously sweet. This recipe is basically a simplified version of my cinnamon crunch bread.
You know I love a good cinnamon sugar swirl (I mean, have you tried this cinnamon swirl banana bread??) But honestly, there is nothing on earth quite like the craft of homemade yeast bread. Isn’t it so satisfying? That’s why I have so many homemade yeast bread recipes on this website. Everyone’s favorite!
One reader, Michelle, commented: “One of the best recipes for cinnamon swirl out there. The bread is fluffy like you would find in a bakery and it has just the right amount of cinnamon and sugar, without being too gooey. We made our first loaf last night and by morning it was gone, so we have to make a second loaf. ★★★★★”
Baking with Yeast Guide
Are you a yeasted bread beginner? Reference this Baking with Yeast Guide whenever you work with baker’s yeast. I include practical answers to all of your common yeast questions.
Updated & Improved Cinnamon Swirl Bread Recipe
This recipe has seen some updates over the past decade, and I want to show a quick comparison photo. When I first published this recipe, I shaped the dough into a thick square and rolled it up. This gave me very little swirl inside the baked bread. Now I roll it out into a thinner 8×20-inch rectangle. I brush the rolled-out dough with egg white, and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top. The egg white helps the cinnamon sugar stick, and helps prevent large air gaps in the baked bread.
This method produces more swirls in each slice. The loaf also rises taller as it bakes. I still can’t believe the BIG difference these SMALL changes make. Look at the slices:
How to Make Yeasted Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Today I’m teaching you how to become a bread-baking professional (well, close to it!). This recipe is very similar to my sandwich bread recipe, but it’s a little sweeter. Follow my tips and soon you’ll bake homemade croissants or croissant bread, homemade bagels, cheese bread, and even star bread. With only a handful of basic ingredients, your kitchen will transform into a bread bakery!
- Prepare the Dough: The first step is to mix the bread dough. You need yeast, sugar, water, milk, butter, bread flour, and salt. The thing about homemade bread is that the ingredients are SO basic, but throw the word “yeast” in there and many feel intimidated. I promise it’s not difficult to throw this dough together. As long as you give the yeast, sugar, water, and milk a few minutes to sit before adding the other ingredients, you’re on the right track!
- Use Bread Flour: All-purpose flour doesn’t have enough strength to support the rise and structure of cinnamon swirl bread. Bread flour is sold right next to the all-purpose flour in the baking aisle, and if you need some recipe inspiration for your leftover bread flour, try any of these recipes.
- Knead the Dough: Do you know how to do this? If not, I have an entire tutorial and video for How to Knead Dough.
- First Rise: The dough must rise twice. After you knead the dough, let it rise until doubled in size.
- Swirl the Dough: After the dough rises, punch it down, then roll it out. Brush with egg white, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, and roll back up.
- Second Rise: Place the rolled dough into a loaf pan and let it rise for 1 more hour.
- Bake: Pat yourself on the back because—congratulations!—you’re a bread baker with the simplest yet tastiest homemade cinnamon bread recipe in the world.
These Step-by-Step Photos Will Help:
These are the ingredients you need:
Here is the dough after kneading:
Let the kneaded dough rise until doubled in size, like this:
Punch it down to release the air, and roll it out into an 8×20-inch rectangle:
Using a pastry brush, brush the surface with a beaten egg white. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top:
Roll it up into a 9-inch log, place into a loaf pan, and let it rise once again. Here is the dough before and after this 2nd rise:
Before baking, lightly brush the top of the loaf with melted butter.
The bread takes about 40 minutes in the oven. Use an instant-read thermometer to check the internal temperature of the baked bread. This guarantees you won’t under-bake or over-bake the bread. The bread is done when the center is 195–200°F (90–93°C). An instant-read thermometer is an incredibly helpful bread-baking tool; you can also use it at the very beginning of the bread-making process to check the liquids are warmed to the right temperature to activate the yeast.
Gaps can form between the dough and cinnamon swirl in your homemade cinnamon swirl bread. It’s happened to me plenty of times! It’s the moistened dough separating from the dry cinnamon-sugar mixture as it bakes. To help prevent this, make sure you are brushing the dough with egg white before adding the cinnamon sugar. Additionally, you can use a toothpick or thin skewer to poke 3 holes in the top of the risen loaf right before baking; this will help steam escape.
I still can’t decide which is best: the smell of homemade cinnamon swirl bread baking, the buttery and fluffy interior, or the hypnotizing, gooey, sticky, delectable cinnamon swirl.
Try it with a swipe of homemade honey butter or cinnamon butter. And, you’ll definitely want to use this bread to level up your French toast game, especially if you use it for apple cider French toast!
Become a Bread Baker with My Approachable Recipes:
- Homemade Bread Bowls
- Multigrain Bread (so soft!)
- Whole Wheat Bread
- Soft Pretzels & Soft Pretzel Rolls
- Homemade Breadsticks
- Dinner Rolls
- No-Knead Honey Oat Bread
- Homemade Pizza Dough
- Homemade Flatbread Pizza
- Cinnamon Raisin Bagels
Here are all of my bread recipes and video tutorials.
Homemade Cinnamon Swirl Bread
- Prep Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours, 45 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This homemade cinnamon swirl bread recipe is a family favorite and only requires a handful of basic ingredients. It’s soft and fluffy with the most unbelievably gooey cinnamon swirl inside! See recipe Notes for freezing and overnight instructions. You can also reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (120ml) water, warmed to about 110°F (43°C)
- 1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk, warmed to about 110°F (43°C)
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7g) instant or active dry yeast (1 standard packet)*
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar, divided
- 4 Tablespoons (1/4 cup; 56g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature and cut in 4 pieces
- 3 cups (390g) bread flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the Swirl & Topping
- 1 egg white, beaten
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: Whisk the warm water, warm milk, yeast, and 2 Tablespoons of sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Loosely cover and allow to sit for 5–10 minutes until foamy and frothy on top. *If you do not own a stand mixer, you can do this in a large mixing bowl and in the next step, mix the dough together with a large wooden spoon or silicone spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle. A hand mixer works, but the sticky dough repeatedly gets stuck in the beaters. Mixing by hand with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula is a better choice.*
- Add the remaining sugar, the butter, 1 cup flour (about 130g), and the salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula, then add another cup of flour. Beat on medium speed until relatively incorporated (there may still be chunks of butter). Add the remaining flour and beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. If the dough seems too wet to a point where kneading (next step) would be impossible, beat in more flour 1 Tablespoon at a time until you have a workable dough. Dough should be soft and a little tacky, but still manageable to knead with lightly floured hands.
- Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 8–10 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 8–10 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need; you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading.
- 1st Rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1.5-2 hours or until double in size. (I always let it rise on the counter. Takes about 2 hours. For a tiny reduction in rise time, see my answer to Where Should Dough Rise? in my Baking with Yeast Guide.)
- Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan. (I usually use this one or this one.)
- For the swirl: In a small bowl, whisk 1/4 cup (50g) sugar and the cinnamon together.
- Shape the dough: When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Lightly flour a work surface, your hands, and a rolling pin. Roll the dough out into a large 8×20 inch rectangle. It does not have to be perfect—in fact, it will probably be rounded on the edges. That’s ok! Using a pastry brush, brush the surface with beaten egg white, then sprinkle on the cinnamon-sugar, leaving a 1-inch border uncovered. Roll it up into an 8-inch log. Place the loaf, seam-side down, into the prepared loaf pan. If any cinnamon-sugar filling spilled out of the sides, don’t waste it! Sprinkle it on top of the bread in the loaf pan.
- 2nd Rise: Cover the shaped loaf and allow to rise for 1 hour, or until it’s about 1 inch above the top of the loaf pan.
- Adjust oven rack to a lower position and preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). (It’s best to bake the bread towards the bottom of the oven so the top doesn’t burn.)
- After the dough rises, melt the remaining 1 Tablespoon of butter. Lightly brush the melted butter on top of the shaped loaf before baking. Bake for 35–45 minutes, or until golden brown. Check on the bread about halfway through baking—if the top of the loaf is browning too quickly, tent with aluminum foil. To test for doneness, if you gently tap on the loaf, it should sound hollow. For a more accurate test, the bread is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf registers 195–200°F (90–93°C).
- Remove from the oven and allow bread to cool for a few minutes in the pan on a cooling rack. Remove loaf from the pan and cool it directly on a cooling rack for at least 10 minutes before slicing. Feel free to let it cool completely before slicing, too.
- Cover leftover bread tightly and store at room temperature for 6 days or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
Notes
- Overnight Instructions: Prepare the dough through most of step 4, allowing the dough to rise overnight in the refrigerator instead of in a warm environment. The slow rise gives the bread wonderful flavor! In the morning, let the dough sit on the counter until it comes to room temperature, then continue with step 5. I don’t recommend shaping the bread the night before as it will puff up too much overnight.
- Freezing Instructions: Baked bread freezes wonderfully! Wrap the loaf in plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then warm to your liking. You can also freeze the bread dough. After punching down the dough in step 7, wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature. Once at room temperature, punch the dough down again to release any air bubbles. Continue with the rest of step 7 (shaping the dough).
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Stand Mixer | Glass Mixing Bowl | Wooden Spoon or Silicone Spatula | Rolling Pin | Pastry Brush | 9×5-Inch Loaf Pan | Instant-Read Thermometer | Cooling Rack
- Milk: Whole milk or 2% milk are best. I don’t suggest a lower-fat milk. Readers have used nondairy milks with success, but I haven’t personally tested it.
- Yeast: I always use Red Star Platinum yeast, an instant yeast. You can use active dry yeast instead, with no changes to the preparation. Rise times will be slightly longer. Reference my Baking With Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
- Flour: Higher-protein flour like bread flour is best for this bread recipe because of its strong gluten formation and high rise. All-purpose flour may yield a flimsy bread.
- Whole Wheat Flour: I don’t recommend whole wheat flour because it doesn’t have the same baking properties as white flour or bread flour (the gluten levels are different). If you wish to use whole wheat flour, try my recipe for whole wheat bread instead, and feel free to add the egg white/cinnamon swirl to that dough instead.
- Can I Add Raisins? Yes, you can add 3/4 cup (about 110g) of raisins to the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Sprinkle it over the egg white-brushed dough.
- Bread Machine Questions: I don’t own a bread machine so I have not tested it, but some readers have reported success in the comments section.
- Prevent Large Gaps: Gaps can form between the dough and cinnamon swirl in your homemade cinnamon swirl bread. It’s happened to me plenty of times! It’s the moistened dough separating from the dry cinnamon-sugar mixture as it bakes. To help prevent this, make sure you are brushing the dough with egg white before adding the cinnamon-sugar. Additionally, you can use a toothpick or thin skewer to poke 3 holes in the top of the risen loaf right before baking; this will help steam escape.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I made this recipe three times and I substituted the yeast with sourdough discard (8 oz). So I had to omit the water and adjust the flour. It took longer for both rises, but the sourdough flavor was amazing. Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Sally I made this bread yesterday using my bread machine for the dough cycle, which is a total of 1.5 hrs. Then proceeded with your directions to complete and it is fabulous!!! Thank you for all your delicious recipes.
This bread is delicious. Such an easy recipe with fantastic results- this time I soaked the raisins in rum- wow- delicious up grade!
OMG this was delicious. I added some raisins as I love them in my cinnamon swirl bread that I usually buy
I have made this at least weekly since I found the recipe (probably about 40x). The recipe is great as is, but we prefer to do half the sugar mixture with brown sugar. I also mist it after sprinkling the mixture over the dough which helps it from separating while baking.
The best part is, it works well on the dough setting of my bread machine – mixes perfectly and goes through the first rise with barely a thought. Then, I just roll it out, add the mixture, pan it, and let it go through the second rise while cleaning up.
Thank you!!
Made it for my girlfriend, since she loves cinnamon bread, but hates raisins (as you often find in store bought). She loved it. Brought some to work, and my coworkers suggested I quit and become a baker. Absolutely stellar recepie! It’s simple enough that a person who isn’t as experienced with baking bread can make it, and feel confident in their results. Absolutely will be a regular dish in my house.
Baked a loaf yesterday and it turned out amazing. The only issue I had was the dome shape at the top. Right before i put it the oven, it deflated from one side. It baked it in the same shape so not the prettiest. Any tips??
Hi Sanober, The bread could be over-proofed if it is deflating so easily. You could try a shorter rise time. Hope this helps for your next loaf!
Thank you so much. I just made this and it turned out amazing. So soft and delicious.
Hi! What could I use instead of egg whites? Would melted butter work? My daughter has an egg allergy and we would love to be able to make this!
Hi Elle! Water, milk, or melted butter would work just fine instead of the egg wash.
Is there any need to worry about the bottom of the bread burning or getting too dark by being on the lower rack?
I can’t wait to try this recipe. One question—can I reduce the amount of sugar in the dough, say by half? Or will that diminish the taste too much? Thank you!
Hi Lisa, Sugar is used for moisture and texture in baked goods as well as taste. You can certainly try reducing the sugar, but the resulting texture will be different than intended.
I’ve been baking this bread twice a week and haven’t gone back to store-bought since trying it. Definitely a keeper! It’s equally delicious hot out of the oven, cold on its own straight out of the fridge, or toasted with butter. Thank you, Sally!
Where does the butter go for the ingredients listed in the cinnamon sugar mixture? In the ingredients it calls for 1 Tbsp of butter, but step 6 calls for only mixing the cinnamon & sugar.
Hi Suzanne, you melt the butter and brush it on top of the loaf before baking. Enjoy!
Perfect! I added raisins as recommended. I would add more cinnamon sugar next time but we like things extra sweet.
Hi! I’ve made this a few times and end up with a soggy bottom. Do you know what would be the cause? Thank you!
Hi Karisa, sorry to hear it’s a bit wet! How long did you let the bread cool in the pan? Some readers have reported that they have had success at preventing soggy bottoms by removing the bread from the pan after just a few minutes of cooling, and finish cooling it on a wire rack.
Thank you, Sally, for the wonderful recipe! I baked this bread yesterday, and it was indescribably delicious! I think I may have figured out the real cause of the gaps that many bakers are experiencing. The recipe instructs us to brush whipped egg white over the TOP of the rolled-out dough, then sprinkle the dry cinnamon-sugar mixture on top. But here’s the problem: only the TOP surface of the dough is moistened. The cinnamon-sugar mixture is dry. So when you roll the dough up, the UNDERSIDE of each layer ends up in contact with the dry sugar mixture, which doesn’t stick well to the dough and can cause separation during baking.
To fix this, I mixed the cinnamon and sugar with the egg white to form A SPREADABLE PASTE, and then applied that to the dough. The result? A beautifully swirled loaf with no gaps and no layers pulling apart. Next time I plan to try the same method using softened butter instead of egg white—mixing it with the sugar and cinnamon into A PASTE before spreading it.
This method really helps the filling adhere to the dough better and prevents the layers from separating during baking. Happy baking to all!
Don’t do the butter. Big gaps. Egg white and cinnamon next time for me. I made my first loaf and other than the big gap towards the top of the loaf it’s perfect.
Update: Second loaf better than first, no gaps, but weak swirl. Rolled tighter with more turns, that was good. Made swirl with egg whites and cinnamon sugar, that was good. Mixed the 2 together and brushed it on, that was bad. The egg white/cinnamon sugar mixture squeegees out as you roll it up and you end up with a puddle on your mat. Going to do it exactly as the recipe says next time, brush on egg, sprinkle sugar on top.
Do you think I could make this but using the soft, multi-grain bread recipe? I love that recipe but want to add dimension to the flavors as a special treat.
Yes! We’ve used our multigrain bread dough and shaped it with the cinnamon swirl as directed in this recipe and it worked great. Let us know if you give it a try!
My Granddaughters say that this bread is the best thing they have ever put in their mouths! Of course, this makes me happy. I do everything that you tell me to do, but it has huge holes in it everytime. I poke 3 holes in the top and I brush the dough with egg whites. I bake it at 325 in a convection oven. What can I be doing wrong?
Hi Deborah, we’re so glad it was a hit! When rolling the dough up, be sure to roll it very tightly. And we find that if we really coat the dough heavily in the egg white, the sugar has more to stick to, and gaps are less likely to form. You want it sticky inside. Hope this helps!
Absolutely delicious! First time bread maker here and I loved the detailed directions and tips so I knew exactly what to do. I made some honey butter to go with it and my husband and kids loved it. It was gone within a day! I’m already making a second loaf!
Could I add raisins to the cinnamon?
Hi Wendi, see recipe Notes for details on adding raisins. Enjoy!
Hello, what can I use instead of using the egg white before sprinkling the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Can I use butter ?
Hi Anju, water, milk, or melted butter would work just fine instead of the egg wash.
Hi, I tried it yesterday. It came out extremely delicious and fluffy. This is the second time I tried making a bread. This one is just amazing. I used butter instead of egg white for the filling just as you advised. Thank you, thank you very much for sharing this awesome recipe.
My family absolutely loves this bread, especially the grandkids! Question though, my bread comes apart in layers. I brush my dough with the beaten egg…what am I doing wrong?!
Hi Sally, it’s completely normal for the dough to separate from the cinnamon swirl– that’s steam trying to make its way out. What we’ve found helpful is poking a few holes in the top of the loaf right before baking. This helps steam escape from the baking bread and holds the layers together a bit better. Hope this helps for your next loaf!
So delicious.. thank you for sharing!
I made this for my family, and it’s quickly become a favorite! I was hoping to taste the cinnamon a bit more, but it was still absolutely delicious. I used two 8×4-inch loaf pans, and it worked perfectly—plus, it lasted longer this way, which was a nice bonus. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe, Sally!
Can I add chocolate chips?
Hi Sandra, we haven’t tested it, but you could try adding 3/4 cup of chocolate chips to the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Sprinkle it over the egg white-brushed dough. Let us know if you try it!
1st bite of first piece of this delicious bread he’d ever eaten and my very picky son asked why I didn’t make it more often! Soooo good.
I found this sight when I needed cookie recipes because I had decided I could make them from scratch occasionally better and cheaper for my assisted living residents than pre-made frozen cookie dough. Needless to sat homemade cookies were soon expected every time I worked which was often 7 days a week. These recipes never let me down. When I developed carpal tunnel from scooping 150 cookie balls a day, I switched to cakes and those too never let me down, especially Sally’s carrot cake. I no longer work due to a brain injury, and my family is enjoying my new focus on bread recipes found here. This is a review not just of this delicious bread, but this entire sight. Also, since my injury I really appreciate the step by step instructions. Thank you!!!
Thank you for sharing this, Laura!
I know in the notes you said I could add raisins in the cinnamon mix. Would it work if I added them in the dough? I’m want to make this for my gma who loves cinnamon raisin toast.
Hi Meg, You can knead them into the dough if you wish. Hope she loves it!
Hi can I spread Nutella instead of cinnamon sugar
Hi Rhonda, we haven’t tried that with this particular dough. You might enjoy this Nutella babka recipe instead!
New to bread baking and have found this site invaluable! Made this today. Awesome, light and airy texture with just the right amount of cinnamon and sugar. Used unsweetened almond milk and it worked out fine. Question: could this bread be made using 2 mini loaf pans?
Hi Kathleen, you can definitely split the recipe to make smaller loaves. The bake time will depend on the size of your pans. Keep an eye on them and use a toothpick to check for doneness.
This is a very good Bread, nice and soft! Like someone else commented, my bread got huge! I usually use 2 1/4 tsp yeast to make 2 loaves, I guess it got twice as big because it had twice the yeast. My granddaughters love it!
This is so delicious! And it doesn’t fall apart like other cinnamon swirl bread I’ve made. Is it using egg white instead of butter to spread on the rolled out dough? I believe this will be a regular go-to bread for me! I’ve made it several times in just two weeks. I brought it to a function, and the comments were all 5 star!
Can you safely double this batch to make two loaves or do you recommend a single batch at a time?
Hi Lisa, we recommend making two batches for best results. Hope it’s a hit!
I’d like to add little apple chunks (instead of raisins). I’m guessing that fresh apples have too much water, would it be better to use dehydrated apples?
Hi Evan, dehydrated apples may work best here, or for fresh you may want to try this apple cinnamon Babka instead. Let us know what you try!
This bread is lovely and super easy to roll out. The texture is divine. I have a question. Can I lessen the amount of butter as I am not such a big fan of the butter flavor, without sacrificing texture? Thanks Sally.
Hi Joan, you can certainly try reducing the butter in the dough, but you’ll lose flavor and a bit of richness. How about doing a milk or egg wash on top of the bread instead of melted butter? That’s what we’d recommend trying first. Glad you enjoyed this bread!
I love this recipe. Super easy to follow. My loaf came out better then I had imagined!
I didn’t have butter so used equal weight vegetable oil with good success!