By Melissa Clark
- Total Time
- 4 hours 15 minutes
- Rating
- 5(574)
- Notes
- Read community notes
You can use any white bread recipe to make any swirl breads listed below. The cinnamon raisin version is a classic, inspired by a recipe from James Beard. The sherry gives an unusual complexity to the sweet raisins and brown sugar, and most of the alcohol is cooked off while the mixture simmers. Feel free to use apple cider instead. This recipe makes two loaves, one to eat right away, preferably warm from the oven, or toasted and buttered the next day. Freeze the other loaf and use it to make what is arguably the best French toast imaginable.
Featured in: White Bread That’s Beyond the Ordinary
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Ingredients
Yield:2 loaves
- 2¼teaspoons/7 grams active dry yeast (1 package)
- 1½cups/355 grams lukewarm milk
- ⅓cup/67 grams granulated sugar
- 1tablespoon/15 grams kosher salt
- 3tablespoons/43 grams butter, melted, more for greasing bowl and pans
- 2eggs
- 5 to 6cups/625 grams to 750 grams all-purpose flour
- ⅓cup/79 milliliters dry sherry or apple cider
- 1½cups/225 grams raisins
- 4tablespoons/57 grams butter, melted
- ½cup/100 grams dark brown sugar
- 1tablespoon/8 grams cinnamon
- Cinnamon sugar, for dusting (optional)
For the Dough
For the Filling
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (16 servings)
306 calories; 7 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 56 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 22 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 248 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Make the dough: In a large electric mixer bowl, dissolve yeast in ¼ cup warm milk. Add the remaining warm milk, the sugar, the salt, the butter and the eggs. Add 5 cups flour and mix with paddle attachment until smooth, about 2 minutes. Switch to hook attachment and knead on low speed, adding more flour if necessary until dough is stiff and slightly tacky, about 10 minutes.
Step
2
Grease a large bowl with butter and turn dough out into the bowl. Flip dough over so greased side is up, cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and set in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in size, about 1½ to 2 hours. Generously butter two 9-x-5 loaf pans.
Step
3
Meanwhile, make the filling: In a small pot, bring sherry to a low boil and simmer until reduced by half, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add raisins, cover and let sit until needed for filling.
Step
4
When dough has doubled in size, turn dough out onto floured surface and knead for 3 minutes. Return to greased bowl, cover and let rise again for 30 minutes.
Step
5
Press down dough with your hand to expel the air. Divide dough in half and roll one half into a 16-x-8-inch rectangle. Brush with some of the melted butter. Drain raisins and mix with sugar and cinnamon; scatter half of the mixture over the dough and, starting with the shorter side, roll up tightly into an 8-inch log, tucking the ends under. Place roll seam-side down in a loaf pan and brush top with melted butter; dust with cinnamon sugar if desired. Repeat with second dough half.
Step
6
Cover and let rise until dough is just above the tops of pans, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Step
7
Meanwhile, heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake bread for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 20 to 30 minutes, or until loaves sound hollow when tapped, the tops are brown and the internal temperatures are 200 degrees. Remove loaves from pans and let cool on wire racks.
Tips
- To use a different swirl, skip Step 3 and use these fillings instead in Step 5. (Do not add cinnamon and sugar in Step 5, and skip the dusting of cinnamon sugar at the end.)
- Lemon ginger filling: Combine 1½ cups candied ginger, finely chopped, with 3 tablespoons lemon zest (from about 4 lemons).
- Orange marmalade filling: Use 1½ cups thick orange marmalade (do not use anything runny, like a jelly).
- Coconut dulce de leche filling: Combine 1 cup coconut flakes, 1 teaspoon cardamom and ¾ cup dulce de leche or cajeta.
Ratings
5
out of 5
574
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Cooking Notes
John
I tried this recipe and had problems with the raisins falling out of the open pocket from the swirl. I fixed it by mixing the raisins in with the dough right before proofing. The structure of the bread was better and there was just a thin cinnamon delicious swirl!
Tom M.
My new go-to recipe because it's so easy to cut in half for a single loaf! The only change I made was to knead the raisins in in Step 4. - that way they're running through the loaf with a separate cinnamon sugar swirl. Awesome! Oh, and forget the sherry step, just soak the raisins in water or juice for like 15 minutes and they soften nicely.
Sam
One Tablespoon of salt? That seems way too much.
Anne Thompson
Does anyone think you could add up to a cup of whole wheat flour to this without ruining it. Bread sounds good but I'd like for it to have a little more heft and nutritional value.
Mary S.
Wonderful bread! My changes: I used egg replacer instead of eggs, almond milk instead of regular milk, and soy butter. You have to increase the amount of milk to make up for the liquid in the eggs. It worked out very well! I also kneaded it by hand, which is a great activity on a rainy and will it ever be spring afternoon.
ailene
Delicious though the raisins piled up in the center. Next time I will add raisins in the dough before proofing. Salt amount was reduced to 1/4 tablespoon. Will add more ground cinnamon to 2 tablespoon to get more cinnamon flavor
DD
I just made it with 1 cup whole white wheat flour and it turned out great. Could probably even increase that to 1 1/2 cups. I used bread flour for the rest.
Be warned though that I've never made it with white flour only so I don't have a point of reference.
Bunnee
The raisins are great, but watch the sherry - it reduces really fast. I think I would sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar first and then distribute the raisins next time. And I think I would increase the cinnamon/sugar a bit. The bread took a bit longer to bake - maybe 10 to 15 minutes - before it reached 200 degrees.
Celena
Hi Anne, I added about 125 grams of all purpose whole wheat (King Arthur "White Whole Wheat") and the bread has come out great! I also used bourbon instead of sherry, but, only because I didn't have any sherry in the house.
Benson
This is the second time I've made this bread with my son. They turned out superbly. We didn't have sherry or apple cider, so we hydrated the raisins in hot pineapple juice, which was completely successful. When it came to filling, we did it in two steps: spread the dry cinnamon/sugar mixture by itself on the rolled-out dough, followed by the raisins (which we had separately coated in the cinnamon/sugar mixture). This made it easier to get even distribution of the filling.
Danielle
This is a great recipe. I personally would prefer the bread itself to be a little sweeter, so might add more sugar to the dough next time. But it is rather easy to make and is a great treat. Similar to other reviewers, I would prefer to sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon separately so it will be more even. I live in a "low resource" area, so instead of butter in the dough, I used canola oil, and it worked very well.
Margie&Mabel
Set aside a large chunk of time for this recipe.
Rich
Added the raisins in step 4 as suggested by others and doubled the cinnamon. FANTASTIC!!!! Another winner from Melissa Clark.
Ddelamberto
I made this using the cinnamon raisin filling in one loaf and the lemon ginger filling in the other. The lemon ginger is divine. Use plenty of candied ginger. I mixed the lemon zest with the melted butter, then brushed it on. This made it easier to spread it evenly.
Keith K.
How much did you increase the milk?
allisonlkm
This is the most delicious bread! We got jumbo raisins and soaked them in bourbon and vermouth so it was a nod to a Manhattan raisin bread. Two loaves is hardly enough because my family gobbled it up. And yes, the French toast was also delicious.
Caroline L
So I make this bread at least 1 a month and always have a loaf in the freezer. Through much trial and error of ALWAYS having the raisins fall out after slicing and while toasting, I have subbed the butter for a beaten egg when assembling the loaves. I brush with a light coating of beaten egg and then put the raisins on that and top with the sugar mixture...it works PERFECTLY to hold those raisins in place!!
so good!
Split the dough in half to make one loaf of raisin cinnamon bread and some cinnamon rolls! The bread is so fluffy and soft and buttery! Definitely a hit!
Mel
Love this dough- super easy to work with and results in a nice, soft, airy loaf. Left out the raisins - we don’t love raisins in our house. Just used cinnamon and sugar for the swirl. Also add some cinnamon to the dough just to give it a bit more punch. No raisins but love cinnamon.
Tikva
I seem unable to seal the rolled up dough sufficiently and invariably pull a bizarrely shaped loaf from the oven. We bust out laughing each time, and I love a jolly table, but what can I do to secure my eager-to-be-free dough?
Hannah
I added the zest of one orange to the dough, and used the juice from that orange and a dash of rum to soften the raisins with instead of the brandy. Turned out fantastic! Gave somewhat of a Pantone flavor to the final product.
Vduncan
Very happy with the results! Looks just like picture.
NK
can you let it rise overnight in the fridge and bake in the morning?
coastalcate
The recipe is easy to follow and makes an adequate though unexciting loaf. After reading other comments, I too added some raisins to the dough and added small pieces of cardamon-laced, butter sautéed apples to the filling. The swirl was maintained; the flavors enhanced. I will continue to follow M. Clark’s invitation to improvise
Caroline L
I have made this 3x in as many weeks lol! I enjoy, not only the finished products but the process...I have kneaded the raisins into the dough versus in the middle to great result! Does anyone struggle with it being too long to fit in the pan? I know it says tuck the ends under,and I do, but I end up with wonky looking ends. I would love to hear any feed back... Irregardless I will continue to make this because it is a fantastic recipe as are ALL of Melissa's recipes.
Caroline L
2nd post...I'm always ticked off at the comments where people completely change the original recipe into something that is not even close to the original ...I did make 1 addition ...I add 1 tbsp, yes tablespoon of vanilla to the sherry, AFTER reducing and before adding the raisins .. It makes an undescribable addition to the overall flavor and again it's very subtle but it definitely is a wonderful addition. Give it a try I don't think you're going to be disappointed!!
Elaine Ely
YES ! Brush beaten egg white on dough instead of butter so the filling & raisins will stick to the dough and not fall out after slicing. Works perfectly (not as many calories either)!
Sandy M
This recipe is just too complicated. Three different rising episodes! It smells good in my kitchen now but the work/pleasure ratio is still out.
Em
What causes gaps between the swirls? I rolled it tightly. Am i proofing it too long?
Nicole K
Can you let it rise in the fridge overnight for step 6?
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