Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Name: Cinnamon Raisin Bread Recipe
Prep time: 120 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 165 min
Ingredients: 1 cup raisins (6 ounces ); 1 cup warm water*; 1 tablespoon active dry yeast; 1 cup buttermilk; 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted; 2 teaspoons salt; 5 1/2 - 6 cups all-purpose flour; 1/2 cup granulated white sugar; 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon; 1 large egg, beaten with 2 teaspoons water

ByLeigh Harris Published: April 12, 2016November 15, 2022 Updated onNovember 15, 2022

Freshly baked cinnamon raisin bread! Does it get any better than that?

You will never purchase another loaf of cinnamon raisin bread from the store again. This stuff is dangerously tasty!

Cinnamon Raisin Bread cooling on a wire rack.

Aren’t you craving a slice of this toasted and slathered in butter right now? Can you smell it baking? It’s absolutely dreamy!

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

This raisin bread is soft, fluffy, and full of cinnamon raisin flavor!
Your house will smell amazing while this bread is baking.
It toasts up like a dream.
Making your own bread at home is a healthier and less expensive alternative to store-bought bread.
It’s great for gifting a friend or neighbor.

Tips and Variations

Always measure your flour properly. Aerate, spoon, and swoop level.
You can use regular raisins, golden raisins, dried cranberries, or dried blueberries.
If you like add some chopped nuts such as pecans or walnuts.
We use all-purpose flour but bread flour works too.
This recipe uses granulated sugar but brown sugar works too.
Using the water that the raisins were soaked in adds flavor to the bread dough. Don’t forget to save that warm raisin water.

How to Make Homemade Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Soak the raisins in hot water and reserve this water for use in the dough. The raisin water adds extra tasty awesomeness to the bread.

Pour 1 cup of the reserved soaking water into the bowl of a standing mixer or large mixing bowl. Add the yeast and stir to combine. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes until foamy.

Stir the milk, melted butter, and salt into the water. Add 5 1/2 cups of the flour and stir to form a shaggy dough. Knead in your mixer on low speed with a dough hook or knead by hand for 8-10 minutes to form a smooth, slightly tacky dough.

Check the dough halfway through; if it’s very sticky, add a little more flour. The dough is ready when it forms a ball without sagging and quickly springs back when poked.

Dough rolled out on a wooden cutting board.

Toss the raisins with 2 tablespoons of flour to absorb any residual moisture from when they were plumped. With the mixer on gradually add them to the bowl and continue kneading until they are evenly distributed. This helps them stay in the bread when slicing.

Place the dough in a large greased bowl, turn over once and cover. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about an hour.

Meanwhile, combine the sugar and ground cinnamon in a small bowl and beat together the egg and water in a second bowl.

Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Roll out one piece at a time on a lightly floured surface, brush with egg wash, sprinkle with half of the cinnamon/sugar mixture, and roll up the dough.

Place in a loaf pan. Repeat with the second piece of dough and allow them to rise again.

Let the loaves rise until mounded over the top of the pan and puffy, 30 minutes or so. Halfway through rising, preheat the oven to 375° F.

Brush the top with some of the remaining egg wash.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread loaves on a wire rack.

Bake for about 45 minutes until golden brown. Let cool in the pans for at least 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack.

Remove the loaves from the pans and allow them to cool completely before slicing. (this is impossible in our house)

Cinnamon Raisin Bread sliced on a wooden cutting board.

That’s it! You now have fresh, homemade cinnamon raisin loaf. You can share the second loaf with a friend or freeze it for later use. Choose wisely, because it will be gobbled up quickly.

Leftover cinnamon raisin bread is great for bread pudding.

FAQ

Can this be made ahead?

Yes, make the dough, place it in the loaf pan, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate. When ready to bake remove the dough from the fridge, and let it rise until domed over the pan. Then bake as instructed.

Storage

Homemade bread can be kept covered tightly at room temperature for up to 4 days. Refrigerating it will extend the life of the bread longer, but it will not have as much of a soft and fluffy texture.

Can you freeze raisin bread?

Yes. Let it cool completely, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and freeze in a freezer-safe container or bag. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

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