Name: Cinnamon swirl bread
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 3 h 5 min
Ingredients: 450 g Strong white bread flour, extra for dusting; 7 g Dried active yeast; 50 g Caster sugar; 90 g Unsalted butter, cold and diced; 200 ml Full fat milk; 1 Medium egg; 25 g Melted unsalted butter; 120 g Light brown sugar; 2 tsp Ground cinnamon; Zest of 1 Orange (Optional), optional; 100 g Icing sugar; 1 tsp Orange juice, freshly squeezed

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The recipe

Cinnamon swirl bread

Cinnamon swirl bread recipe with a literal Twist. Change your baking game with this easy-to-follow tutorial.

20 min prep
1 hour cooking
1 hour 45 min hands-off
Takes a bit of care

Times and difficulty are our estimates from the method, not stopwatch figures.

Quantities

Measurements

Method

Step 1
Place the flour (450 g), yeast (7 g), and sugar into a mixing bowl and mix using a whisk until all ingredients are fully distributed.
Step 2
Add in the cold diced butter (90 g) and rub together to form a breadcrumb-like consistency. Make a well in the centre.
Step 3
Heat the milk (200 ml) in a saucepan until just warm. Do not boil. Pour the milk into the flour (450 g) and crack in the egg. Mix to form a dough and then turn out onto the worktop and knead for 5 to 10 minutes.
Step 4
Shape the dough into a ball and place it into a greased mixing bowl. Cover with a clean damp cloth and leave in a warm place for 1 hour to rise.
Step 5
For the filling simply mix together the brown (120 g) sugar and ground cinnamon (2 tsp), set to one side. Melt the butter (90 g) in preparation.
Step 6
Once risen, turn the dough out onto a bench and knock out the air. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a rectangular shape, roughly 1cm in thickness.
Step 7
Brush the melted butter (90 g) over the dough, covering the whole surface area, and then sprinkle it with the brown (120 g) sugar and cinnamon (2 tsp) mixture. At this stage, you can zest over one orange if you'd like, but it is optional.
Step 8
Roll the dough up into a sausage shape and then cut it in half long ways to reveal the cinnamon (2 tsp) layers. You will be left with two strands of dough. Pinch the dough together at the top and then twist the dough together. Place it into a loaf tin lined with parchment paper. Zest over more orange Zest if using (optional) and cover with a damp cloth for a further 45 minutes to prove.
Step 9
Once risen for a second time, bake in a preheated oven at 170°C Fan for 45 to 50 minutes until golden on top. Cool on a cooling rack.
Step 10
For the topping, mix together the icing sugar (100 g) and orange juice (1 tsp) to make a thick paste and drizzle it over the cinnamon (2 tsp) loaf once it has cooled.

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Questions people ask

How long does cinnamon swirl bread take?

About 3 hours 5 min from start to finish: 20 min of prep, 1 hour of cooking, and 1 hour 45 min hands-off while it waits. That figure is worked out from the method rather than timed with a stopwatch, so give yourself a little more the first time.

How much does this make?

The original recipe did not state a yield, so nothing has been invented for it. The scale control on the recipe card multiplies the quantities instead, which is the honest version of the same thing.

Can I see the ingredients in ounces and pints?

Yes. The metric and imperial switch on the recipe card converts every quantity, rounded to amounts you can actually weigh or measure rather than to four decimal places. Your choice is remembered for every recipe on the site.

Is it vegetarian?

Yes, as written. If you are cooking for a strict vegetarian, the one to check is the cheese: several hard cheeses are made with animal rennet.

Cinnamon swirl bread

Cinnamon swirl bread

Ingredients

The dough

Cinnamon filling