Fall Treats #12: Cinnamon Swirl Bread

remember how i'm terrible at making bread?

you probably don't. but i do.

the only form of bread that i have ever been able to even remotely make, is pizza dough.

because i have the best, easiest recipe for pizza dough ever.

but that's about it.

i tried to make rolls once, and they turned out like rocks.

itty, bitty, flat, chewy rocks.

nastayy.

so when this bread turned out like a dream come true, i wanted to cry for joy.

and since it looked so pretty, i didn't really care how it tasted.

until i tried a bite.

then my mouth was swirled into cinnamony-sugar sweet pandemonium.

does cinnamon swirl bread bring back childhood memories for you too? to me, it reminds me of my grandma jane and how she would always let me have cinnamon swirl toast when i would eat breakfast with her and grandpa in the summer time.

those were my favorite mornings.

so let's talk bread.

layers of gooey ooey cinnamony bread that's all swirled up into one. with a smooth crust and slightly crunchy bottom. add the cream cheese glaze and you might as well whisk me away to a nostalgic paradise.

plus, it works. the dough rises. and isn't flat as a rock and doesn't taste like playdough.

leading me to the best part:

if bread-challenged Hayley can make this bread, anyone can.

meaning you. so you should stop everything you're doing, and make the bread. and eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and midnight snack like i did.......

Cinnamon Swirl Bread with a Cream Cheese Glaze

adapted from Apartment Therapy

makes 2 loaves of awesomeness.

1 cup warm water

1 packet active dry yeast

1 cup milk

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

2 tsp. salt

5 1/2 - 6 cups flour

for the filling:

1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 tbsp. cinnamon

2 tbsp. butter, melted

2 loaf pans, greased with cooking spray

for the glaze:

4 oz. cream cheese, very soft

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

4 tbsp. milk

1/4 tsp. vanilla

In a medium bowl, combine glaze ingredients with a whisk until well-blended with no lumps, with a nice glaze consistency. set aside.

Pour the cup of warm water into the bowl of your electric mixer. Sprinkle yeast over top. Wait 2-3 minutes, then stir to fully dissolve yeast into water.

Stir in the milk, melted butter, and salt into water. Add 5 1/2 cups of the flour and stir with a wooden spoon to form a shaggy dough.

Knead with your dough hook in your mixer on low speed for 8-10 minutes to form a smooth, slightly tacky dough. If halfway through kneading dough is very sticky, add a little more flour. 

Spray a large bowl with cooking spray and put ball of dough into the bowl and cover. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place (i use the microwave) for one hour, or until doubled in bulk.

Meanwhile, combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and melt 2 tbsp. butter.

Once the bread has risen, divide the dough into 2 pieces. Working on one piece at a time, roll the dough out onto floured surface. The dough should be slightly less wide than the loaf pan you will use, and as long as you can make it. 

Brush the surface of the dough with melted butter, leaving 2 inches at the top without butter. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon-sugar. Starting at the end closest to you, roll up the dough. Once rolled, pinch the seam closed. Transfer to your greased loaf pan seam-side down. Repeat with other half of dough. 

Let the loaves rise in their respective loaf pans (covered with a dish towel) until mounded to at least the top of the pan (35-40 minutes). Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Remove the loaves from pan and drizzle glaze over top. Sprinkle with any remaining cinnamon-sugar.

Serve hot, warm, or room temperature and be prepared to be knocked off your feet.

:)