What do you cook for Thanksgiving breakfast?
It is almost Thanksgiving. Everyone is focused on Thanksgiving dinner recipes, but do you know what you will make for Thanksgiving morning breakfast? I have a super easy cinnamon roll bread recipe that is perfect for an easy Thanksgiving breakfast.
What is cinnamon roll bread?
I love cinnamon rolls, and I also love bread. Cinnamon roll bread is the perfect mixture between gooey pull apart cinnamon rolls and fluffy homemade bread. Homemade bread is a staple and always a treat to have in my kitchen, but adding in swirls of cinnamon sugar is one of my favorite twists during the holiday season.
How do you use cinnamon bread?
This bread is perfect to enjoy with butter fresh out of the toaster or use it for French toast! It is the perfect bread for French toast because it has the absorbency of a normal loaf of bread but the taste of a cinnamon roll, so you will end up with cinnamon roll French toast—yum! Both of these treats are easy throw-together Thanksgiving breakfast ideas!
How do you make your house smell good for the holidays?
The aroma this cinnamon loaf recipe spills into your kitchen is perfect for a fall day: warm, spicy, and cinnamon-y! The oven also helps warm up my old farmhouse every time I bake this loaf. This cinnamon bread recipe is also a perfect gift idea for neighbors, friends, and coworkers—it’s easy to make and it tastes delicious!
Tips for making the best cinnamon roll bread:
- If you can, use bread flour. Bread flour has a higher protein content which allows it to have more form, stability, and the ability to lift and hold the shape of the dough. All-purpose flour is a lower protein content, so the breads will be lighter and shorter. If you don’t have bread flour on hand, you can use all-purpose and still get a tasty homemade bread loaf, but bread flour is preferable.
- Bake the bread fully through. Because of the cinnamon swirl layers, if the bread isn’t baked through, it can collapse on itself. I have found 35 minutes to be the perfect amount of time in my oven, but ovens vary. How do you check if a loaf of bread is finished baking? Tap the top of the loaf and it should sound hollow!
- When you are rolling out your dough, roll it out to the width of your bread pan. For example, my bread pan is 9x5, so I roll out the dough to be 9 inches wide then I roll it out as long as possible. The further you roll it out, the more cinnamon swirls you will be able to have in the loaf!
What is in cinnamon bread?
Typical bread ingredients are found in this loaf. Basically, you are taking a normal loaf of bread and adding in cinnamon spices! The ingredients in this homemade cinnamon bread are: yeast, milk, sugar, butter, egg, bread flour, cinnamon, and salt.
The process for making this loaf of bread is similar to a regular loaf of bread, you start with making the dough and allowing it to rise. For a regular loaf of bread, you would typically allow it to rise again in a loaf pan then bake it. For this cinnamon loaf, you will roll out the dough after the first rise and spread on the cinnamon sugar mixture, roll it back together then allow it to rise in a loaf pan before baking.
Cinnamon Roll Bread
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup warm water (slightly warmer than lukewarm)
- 2 1/3 tsp (1 packet) yeast
- 1/2 cup warm milk (slightly warmer than lukewarm)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 tbsp butter, melted
- 1 egg
- 4-4 1/2 cups bread flour
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
Filling
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
- A pinch of ground clove, optional
Instructions
- Pour the warm water into a mixing bowl and sprinkle the yeast over the top. With a butter knife, gently mix to combine. Allow the yeast to bloom for 10-15 minutes.
- Mix in the warm milk, sugar, melted butter and egg.
- Add in the flour one cup at a time until you have added in 4 cups. If the dough is nice and smooth, you may not need to add the additional half a cup. If the dough is still sticky and not coming together, continue to add the flour in 1/4 increments until it becomes smooth and comes together.
- Knead the dough by hand for 5 minutes or use a dough hook on a standing mixer.
- Allow the dough to rest and rise in a covered lightly greased bowl for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size.
- After the dough has doubled, punch it down and roll out onto a floured surface. Roll the dough to the width of your bread pan then roll it out as long as possible. For example, my bread pan is 9inx5in. I roll it out to a width of 9 inches then roll it out as long as possible. The longer you are able to roll it, the more cinnamon swirls will be in your bread. Typically, I shoot for 20 inches to roll my dough out to.
- Combine the sugar, cinnamon, melted butter, and pinch of clove. Spread it out over the top of the dough. Roll the dough back together, pinch the edges to seal and place in a buttered loaf pan.
- Cover and allow to rise for another 1-2 hours or until the dough has risen an inch over the top of the loaf pan.
- Preheat the oven to 350F and bake for 30-40 minutes until the bread is done. With my oven, it is typically done around 35 minutes. I check the done-ness of the bread by tapping the top of the loaf. If it sounds hollow and the top of the loaf is golden brown, I consider it down.
- Allow the loaf to cool for 5-10 minutes before placing onto a cooling rack. Enjoy immediately or for breakfast the following days!
