What is better for breakfast than a warm slice of homemade Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread with a little melted butter?
My favorite new segment for the blog is “Cooking with Ella” because it gives me a chance to pass on my love of cooking to my youngest daughter teaching her lifelong skills and the chance for us to grow and bond together.
So far this year Ella has made and posted Beefy Volcano Potatoes, Chicken Enchilada Puffs and Oatmeal Raisin Scones. Well, this week we are back working on our baking skills by making homemade Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread.
Since Ella was little she has always loved cinnamon toast. Such a simple breakfast especially if you keep homemade cinnamon sugar mix on hand. When I suggested this recipe from King Arthur Flour for Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread she jumped at the chance.
This was her first time working with yeast. She got a kick out of them being alive. After we added warm water she kept waiting for the yeast to do something. I think she thought it was going to be like the circus. Here is a list of lessons Ella learned while making her awesome Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread.
Things Ella learned from making her Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread:
- How to double a recipe. Because one loaf is never enough.
- The Proper way to measure flour by using weight instead of volume.
- How not to buy instant loaded potatoes in lieu of potato flour. I need to wear my reading glasses at the store!!
- How to substitute when necessary. See above.
- What yeast does and why you can’t see the little yeast come alive.
- How to melt butter properly in the microwave.
- How to make wonderful bread from scratch.
The recipe we modified called for potato flour and Bakers special dry milk. My local grocery did not have either of these items. Not a problem because you can substitute dried potato flakes and dry milk if needed to make bread. Why do we need dry milk and potato flour?
Milk is added to bread for flavor, well-coloured crust and a tender crumb. Dry milk is used because it easy to store and easy to use in bulk. Milk also contains an enzyme called glutathione which can weaken gluten and result in a poorer quality loaf – the drying process destroys this enzyme.
Potato flour is used to add moisture to baked goods.
So I thought I was purchasing mashed potato flakes but did not read the bag correctly and grabbed a bag of fully loaded baked potato mashed potato flakes. Obviously, this was not going to work in a sweet bread. We substituted equal parts regular flour and coconut flour.
It worked out fine and Ella learned two things from good old Dad; Read labels carefully and learn how to substitute with what you have. She did great making her Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread. It was a big hit at home and at Christie’s work. So get in the kitchen and make something with your kids. They will love the chance to learn and spend time with you.
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- 722g King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 cup potato flour
- 1/2 cup Baker's Special Dry Milk
- 2 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 6 Tbsp. sugar
- 5 tsp. instant yeast two packages
- 8 Tbsp. butter 1 stick
- 2 cups lukewarm water If it is to hot for your hand it is to hot for yeast... 100°F - 105°F
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 cup raisins or currants
- 4 tsp. King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 2 Tbsp. water with 2 large egg beaten
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the dough ingredients, mixing until the dough begins to come away from the sides of the bowl.
- Knead the dough with an electric mixer for 2 minutes; allow it to rest for 15 minutes, then continue kneading it for an additional 5 to 7 minutes, or until it's smooth.
If you're kneading by hand, transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface; knead it for 3 minutes; allow it to rest for 15 minutes, then continue kneading till smooth, an additional 8 to 10 minutes. You can also simply knead the dough using the dough cycle of your bread machine.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl (if you're not using your bread machine's dough cycle), cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set it aside to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours; it'll be puffy, if not doubled in bulk.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface. Cut dough into two equal portions and shape each into a long, thin rectangle, about 16" x 8".
- Combine the sugar, cinnamon, raisins or currants, and flour in a food processor (mini preferred) or blender, processing until the fruit is chopped.
- Brush the dough with some of the egg/water, and pat the filling onto the dough.
- Beginning with a short edge, roll the dough into a log.
- Pinch the side seam and ends closed (to keep the filling from bubbling out), and place the log in a lightly greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan. Repeat with the second portion of dough.
- Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the bread to rise for about 1 hour at room temperature, or until it's crowned about 1" over the rim of the pan.
Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a small bowl or mini processor, combine the streusel ingredients, cutting in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. If you're using a mini processor, watch carefully; streusel will go from crumbly to a cohesive mass in just a second or so.
Brush the loaves with some (or all) of the remaining beaten egg, and add the streusel, using your fingers to gently apply it to the dough, being careful not to deflate the loaf.
Bake the bread for about 45 minutes, tenting the loaves lightly with aluminum foil for the final 15 minutes or so if it appears to be browning too quickly.
- Remove the loaves from the oven, and after about 5 minutes, gently remove it from the pan.
- Some of the streusel will fall off, but you can alleviate this by first loosening all around the edges of the loaf with a knife, then turning the pan on its side and gently pulling it away from the loaf.
Recipe modified from King Arthur Flour
First published by Quinn and Ella Caudill for dadwhats4dinner.com © 2016
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Josette@thebrookcook says
Cooking with Ella is the best. My kids want to post their cooking expeditions. 🙂 This bread looks absolutely PERFECT. I have a soft spot for cinnamon swirl bread. (Who doesn’t?) I usually throw it all in the bread machine- it tastes the same but doesn’t have the perfect swirl. 🙁 I guess I know what I have to make now! Thanks, Ella & Quinn!
Quinn Caudill says
Thanks Josette. We are having a lot of fun with it. Until we made the bread Ella couldn’t figure out how the swirl got there. :)) I have never had a bread maker. Have a great weekend.
alwayzbakin3 says
That bread looks gorgeous! So sweet you’re cooking and baking with your daughter. I’ve started doing that with my youngest son. I taught my older kids to cook and bake too. They all love it!
Karly says
This bread looks amazing! Thanks for linking up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!
Quinn Caudill says
Thanks Karly and thanks for hosting.
Jess DiGiannurio says
This looks divine! I especially love your foodtography, totally pinning 🙂 Have a great day! xo
Quinn Caudill says
Thanks Jess
Khrista {ezeBreezy Life Simplified} says
I LOVE cinnamon bread! My daughter and I will definitely this next weekend. Thanks for sharing!
Quinn Caudill says
Thanks for stopping by. Let me know2 how it turns out.
Michelle @ Giraffes Can Bake says
This looks so good, cinnamon is always a winner with me! And it’s always better when you can bake with your family!
Janet Vinyard says
Hi Quinn, This bread looks so good I can almost smell it! 🙂 Thanks for sharing the recipe! Blessings, Janet
SweetJ says
Excellent work on this loaf! It looks at least 2x better than the packaged, store-bought stuff. I’m applauding you from my local library.
Emily | Oat&Sesame (@OatandSesame) says
I love cinnamon swirl bread! It’s the swirl that makes it so delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Prairie Gal Cookin says
Hey, just wanted to drop you a note and say thanks so much for linking up over at Sunday’s Simple Homemaker on Prairie Gal Cookin! Your recipe was featured!
Please feel free to drop in and leave a different link or two on this week’s link-up, we’d love to have you! http://www.prairiegalcookin.com/sundays-simple-homemaker-3rd-weekly-link-up/
FrugalHausfrau says
Love the lessons! lol! I still vividly recall making my first loaves of bread with my mom! We doubled the recipe and made one loaf and used the rest for cinnamon rolls. And we (our family) didn’t wait for dinner or breakfast, just devoured everything as it came out of the oven…