cinnamon crunch bread

This is a basic soft bread dough that's rolled, twisted, filled, and topped with butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar. It looks like a lot of ingredients but the filling and topping ingredients are mostly the same. Read the recipe before starting so you're prepared for the rolling and twisting step.

Cinnamon Crunch Bread

cup (120 milliliters) buttermilk, warmed to about 110°F

(50 grams) granulated sugar, divided

Tablespoons (72 grams) unsalted butter, melted + slightly cooled

1 large egg,

teaspoon salt

cups (400 grams) bread flour (spoon & leveled),

Tablespoons (45 grams) unsalted butter, extra soft

(67 grams) packed light or dark brown sugar

cinnamon

Tablespoons (30 grams) unsalted butter, melted

all-purpose flour flour

Prepare the dough

Whisk the warm buttermilk, warm water, yeast, and 2 Tablespoons sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes or until foamy on top.

Add the remaining sugar, the butter, egg, salt, and 1 cup flour. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then add the remaining flour. Beat on low speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. *If you do not own a mixer, you can mix this dough with a large wooden spoon or rubber spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle.*

Knead the dough

Keep the dough in the mixer and beat on low speed for an additional 2 minutes or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 2 minutes.

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 with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. 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.)

Roll out the dough

Punch down the dough to release the air. Place dough on a lightly floured work surface and with a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out into a 9×15 inch rectangle (approximately).

For the filling

Spread softened butter all over the top of the dough, leaving a 1/2 inch border uncovered. The softer the butter is, the easier it is to spread in this step. (Microwave it for a few seconds to soften if needed.) Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together, then sprinkle evenly all over the butter.

Roll and twist the dough

If you need a visual, watch the cheese bread video to see exactly how I do this step. Tightly roll the dough into a 15-inch log. Place the log on its seam. Using a sharp knife, cut the log in half lengthwise. I find a serrated knife works best. Criss-cross one half on top of the other half– forming an X. Tightly twist the two together. Pinch the outer edges to seal as best you can. Place in prepared loaf pan and cover with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. (This step can get a little messy!) Allow the covered loaf to rest for 30 minutes. It will slightly rise during this time.

Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position. Place a baking sheet on the lower rack to catch any cinnamon/sugar that may drip down. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).

For the cinnamon crunch topping

Whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour together. Spoon over loaf right before baking.

Bake

Bake until golden brown and, when gently tapped, the top of the loaf sounds hollow, about 45-55 minutes. The top browns quickly as it bakes, so tent the entire loaf with aluminum foil. (I usually place foil on top after about 20 minutes.) Remove finished bread the oven and place on a wire rack. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove from the pan and cool loaf on the wire rack.

Slice and serve warm or at room temperature. Cover and store leftovers at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Leftover slices taste delicious when warmed in the microwave for 10 seconds. Topping tends to lose its crunch after a day or 2.

A comment to Angel above about yeast  -- I keep my yeast in the refrigerator because I use a lot of it, but you can keep it in the freezer and use it straight from the freezer, too. So don't throw out good yeast!  ;-)

So, so much better than Panera's bagel by the same name, Sally's Cinnamon Crunch Bread is just the right combination of sweetness, butter, sugar, and cinnamon in a soft almost roll-ljke bread.

This one's a keeper, for sure!

I took couple hours away from my busy day and I just had to make this bread. I love cinnamon baked goods. This turned out so delicious. It was like a giant cinnamon roll in a loaf pan. So so good. I made exactly according to the recipe. Definitely a keeper!! Thanks Sally! :)

I made this last night and it was great!  I just had some for breakfast this morning. I will warm my next piece in the microwave like you suggested. I have been following your blog for years and I love all of your recipes.  My cookie are legendary because of you. I want to thank you for sharing your recipes.

I made this today and it turned out fantastic.  I did not have buttermilk so I substituted half-n-half and the dough came out perfectly. Also,  I used my bread machine on the dough cycle for the first part of the recipe through the first rise.  It came out perfectly as I knew it would and rolled out beautifully.  I decided to drizzle a powdered sugar glaze on top which put it over the top.  Thank you for this easy delicious recipe!

I doubled this and made two, one for us and one to be dropped off to my best friend's porch. OMG YUM!  Both already gone. So delicious. I make cinnamon rolls a lot and this was a lot like making those -- easy. Twisting the pieces was fun. I sprayed my bread knife with oil to make cutting the dough easier. The top crunchy stuff MAKES this recipe! Thanks for this one. Your site has been a joy during  quarantine.

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The most viewed cinnamon crunch bread recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine