This sourdough cinnamon bread is a family favorite in our house. It has the soft texture of sandwich bread with a slightly sweet cinnamon swirl. Enjoy it toasted with butter and honey or for delicious French toast! My kids also love using it for an elevated peanut butter and banana sandwich.
How To Make Sourdough Cinnamon Bread
Let’s go over the ingredients. Here is what you will need to make this bread:
- bread flour (all purpose will work as well)
- sourdough starter that has been fed and doubled in size
- butter
- sugar
- egg
- salt
- water
For the filling:
- sugar
- cinnamon
- flour
- egg (to brush onto the dough)
This is a pretty simple and straight forward sourdough bread dough recipe. First, mix all of the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer just as you would when making plain sandwich bread. After all the ingredients are totally mixed together, let the dough proof until almost doubled in size. I love proofing my dough in this dough bucket because it is easy to see how much it has risen.
Next, pat the dough out into a rectangle that is about the width of your loaf pan and twice that long. Take your egg mixed with 1 tablespoon of water and brush it onto the dough.
Sprinkle the cinnamon filling mixture evenly onto your sourdough. Roll it up and place into your loaf pan. Lastly, let your bread do a final proof about 2 hours until it has almost doubled in size again. Lastly, bake and enjoy!
FAQ’s
Why does cinnamon bread separate?
I have had this happen with my cinnamon rolls before. I now add some flour to all of my filling breads now to prevent this from happening. Without flour, the sugar will just melt and seep out. This leaves and empty space where your filling once was.
Can I freeze cinnamon swirl bread?
Yes! I freeze my bread all of the time. If I am going to be making one loaf, I might as well double it and put one in the freezer.
Sourdough Cinnamon Bread
Ingredients
- 150 grams ripe sourdough starter about 2/3 cup
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2/3 cup water (room temp or lukewarm)
- 3 1/4 cup bread or all purpose flour 390 grams
- 4 tablespoons butter (softened to room temperature)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp salt 5 grams
Cinnamon Sugar Filling
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1.5 teaspoons cinnamon
- 3 teaspoons flour (whatever kind you are using for the bread dough)
Egg Wash
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
Make the Dough
- Combine all dough ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment.
- Let the mixer run for 1-2 minutes until all ingredients are incorporated. Cover with a towel and let rest for 20-30 minutes.
- Turn the mixer on low and let the dough hook knead for 6-8 minutes. You will notice that the dough will become more smooth and pull away from the side of the bowl.
First Rise
- Cover the bowl and let it bulk rise for 4-8 hours. This time can greatly vary by the temperature of your kitchen and the strength of your starter. Watch your dough, not the clock. It helps me to use a straight sided dough bucket (I have this one and really like it) so I can see how much my dough has risen. Let it rise until it is almost, but not fully, doubled in size.
- Take your dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured countertop, Pat it into a rectangle about the width of your loaf pan and twice that long.
- Make the egg wash by mixing the egg with one tablespoon water and whisking vigorously.
- Brush an even layer onto the top of the dough. You will not use the entire bowl of egg wash.
- Mix all cinnamon filling ingredients and sprinkle evenly onto the dough. Leave a small 1 inch border on one of the shorter ends to seal the bread together.
- Roll the bread up in a tight log and place into a buttered or greased loaf pan.
Second Rise
- Cover the pan and let the loaf rise until it has doubled in size again. This usually takes around 2 hours. I will set myself a timer for 1.5 hours and check on my dough. If it is not ready at that point set another timer to check on it every 30 minutes until it is ready to bake.
Bake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Bake the bread 35-45 minutes. If it starts to get too brown you can loosely tent it with foil.
- Let cool at least 30 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!