Cinnamon Swirl Bread

My very first memory of working in the kitchen was how my dad and I made French toast every Saturday out of old cinnamon swirl bread. We would make huge batches so we had enough for the whole week. We always used the Pepperidge Farm cinnamon swirl bread. If you've never made french toast using cinnamon swirl bread, you haven't lived!

This week I tried out making cinnamon swirl bread from scratch, and it was so wonderful! I told my mom I'm bringing my bread machine home this summer so I can make this bread all summer for my parents.

You don't by any means have to have a bread machine to make this. I've included the directions for making the bread with and without the bread machine. All the bread machine does for me is knead and give me a warm place to let it rise. A kitchenaid mixer would work just as well, and I'm sure you could even mix it by hand!

I altered this recipe from LilLuna.

Best Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Yields: 1 loaf

1 1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp margarine
3/4 cup hot water
3/4 cup cold water
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
4 cups bread flour (the original recipe calls for AP flour but I used bread flour)

3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon

1. Mix the salt, brown sugar, margarine, hot water, cold water, and active dry yeast together. Let the yeast proof for about 8 minutes.

2. Add the flour and knead for 6-8 minutes. Put it in a greased bowl and let it rise for 1 1/2 hours.

3. Mix cinnamon and sugar. Roll out the dough to be as wide as the loaf pan you're putting it in and as long as you can reasonably make it. Spray with a little bit of water or spread about 1 tbsp of butter across the dough. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar all over and roll it up. Put it in a greased pan and let it rise for 30 minutes in a warm place.

4. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until golden on top.

Bon appétit!